Daughter of Invention

The Daughter of Invention, a short story by Julia Alvarrez, chronicles a daughter's struggles to adapt to mainstream America in New York as an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. Her family is fleeing from the dictatorial regime of Trujillo. Julia's father, who apparently is an important figure in the insurgence fighting to topple the oppresive dictator, is a traditional, conservative, yet capable character. He does not allow his daughters and their mother to shop or …

…to embrace the freedoms of America. The prime example is her speech, in which she tests the waters by celebrating individualism in her speech and criticizing her teachers. This is not easily accepted by her father, who is accustomed to the oppression of the Dominican Republic. I could personally relate to this story having immigrated to America at a school age, when it was a somewhat arduous task adapting to changes, both minor and drastic.