Read the passage from "Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez.
When we arrived in New York City, our names changed almost immediately.
At Immigration, the officer asked my father, Mister Elbures, if he had anything to declare. My father shook his head no, and we were waved through.
I was too afraid we wouldn't be let in if l corrected the man's pronunciation, but I said our name to myself, opening my mouth wide for the organ blast of the a, trilling my tongue for the drumroll of the r, All-vah-rrr-es! How could anyone get Elbures out of that orchestra of sound?
At the hotel my mother was Missus Alburest, and I was little girl, as in, "Hey, little girl, stop riding the elevator up and down. It's not a toy."
Which theme is conveyed in this passage?
The Alvarez family struggles to find their new identity in the United States.
The members of the Alvarez family need to change their names to fit in.
All of the members of the family find new identities by taking on new names.
The Alvarez name represents the family’s foreignness in their new country.
Answers
Answer:
The idea that what people call you shouldn't alter who you are is one of the themes explored in Names/Nombres.
In the story, Julia is repeatedly questioned about her name and family history. Many people attempt to alter their identities in order to blend in with others. You might not be being authentic to yourself and risk losing sight of your true self if you do this.
In the short tale Names/Nombres by Julia Alvarez, Julia is a girl from the Dominican Republic who recently immigrated to New York City and finds it difficult to integrate because of her Dominican name.
By adopting new monikers and downplaying her heritage, she learns to fit in with her new environment.
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Answer:
B. The author wants people to pronounce her name correctly.
Explanation:
The central idea of the passage is that the author, Julia Alvarez, values the correct pronunciation of her family name and expresses frustration or disbelief at how easily it is mispronounced or changed by others. This is evident when she mentions how their names changed almost immediately upon arriving in New York City and how she silently corrects the immigration officer's pronunciation in her mind. The passage highlights the importance of one's name and the desire for it to be pronounced accurately, suggesting that the author wants people to respect and acknowledge her family's name by pronouncing it correctly.