Previous
13. Still Lives
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Language, Storytelling, and Identity
Immigration and Assimilation
Sexuality and Relationships
Revolution, Patriarchy, and Feminism
Racism and Social Class
Summary
Analysis
Carlos arrives home from a trip to New York. As the three girls shout in joy that he is home, their mother warns them to keep quiet for the baby’s sake. The girls ask what their father brought them from his trip, but he says they must wait until after dinner. The younger two girls run off, and the parents go to their bedroom. Carla follows Gladys, a maid, into the maids’ room. The maids ask what Carla’s father brought her from his trip, and say the girls are lucky. The maids complain about their unappreciated hard work.
The baby refers to Sofia. The maid’s complaints indicate that they consider themselves underpaid. The Garcías are wealthy and have a lot of disposable income, but since they don’t pay their servants well it seems that the family believes themselves to be superior to their servants due to their lower statuses, and probably also their race (most of the servants are Haitian, and Haitians are generally looked down upon at this time in Dominican culture).
Active
Themes
After dinner, Carlos reveals that his gifts are coin holders, like piggy banks, except each one is a mechanical figurine. They perform little mechanical actions when a coin is inserted. Gladys lingers in the kitchen, marveling at the gifts. One is a replica of the Virgen Mary, which Gladys especially likes. The family laughs at Gladys’s amazement. With endearment, Carlos calls the maids child-like. Gladys puts all her pennies in the Mary bank.
Carlos doesn’t think he’s being offensive, but comparing the maids to children is condescending, and it reveals how Carlos takes for granted that he is superior to them. Really, Gladys is probably amazed by the bank because she’s never had the means to purchase such things.
Active
Themes
On Christmas morning everyone has a pile of presents—even the baby Sofia as well as all the servants. That night, Carla can’t sleep because she’s excited about her new toys. Gladys comes into her room and offers to buy the Mary bank, but Carla says she can have it for free. Weeks later, Laura notices the bank’s absence and asks Carla where it is. Carla says she doesn’t know, but her parents are suspicious. They search the maids’ room and find the bank, and Carla admits that she gave it to Gladys. Gladys stops working for the family. Carla puts a penny in the bank, and the bank breaks. The statue of Mary, which rises and falls, is stuck in the middle.
Active
Themes
