Alvarez Shows Language Is A Tremendous Difference In Everyones Lives

Alvarez Shows Language is A Tremendous Difference In Everyone's Lives In His

Story

Rudy and Yolanda communicated in completely different languages. By language, I mean the written, and spoken kind. More so I mean the traditions, and values that go hand in hand with learning a language. When they learned their own languages, they inherited their own set of ideals, that were changed by what, where, and how they were taught.

Yolanda's language was Spanish. She learned to speak Spanish in the

Dominican Republic. Her lifestyle was one of a strict Catholic girl. Yo had a very traditional father. He allowed nothing but what was the social norm. His social norms became hers. When she moved to the U.S., she was completely naive when it came to the American culture. Yolanda was raised in the way that the use of drugs and alcohol were totally unheard of. Pre-marital sex was something that was taboo, and strictly reinforced. She had grown up with very traditional values that were adopted from her mother and her father. She was never exposed to any outside stimuli. Whether or not it was voluntary, she was forced to conform to the rigid Hispanic values. This conformity kept her at bay. She couldn't experience the things necessary to become a whole person.

Rudolf B. Elmhurst was a young man from a liberal family in the United

States. His parents were easy-going people, with thoughts of letting Rudy develop on his own. He learned English much the same way Yolanda learned Spanish.

He was taught by his parents. He also absorbed the culture around him and he learned the American way of doing things. Rudy had quite a bit of freedom. He could have come and gone as he pleased. He had no restrictions, and was allowed to grow freely. With that opportunity Rudolf Brodermann Elmenhurst was able to laugh along with everyone else at the mention of his difficult to pronounce name.

He had been allowed to grow unrestricted, but not unchecked. While his parent were liberal, they still gave him the attention necessary, and the room to evolve. This independence helped him to be who he was, invincible to insult, injury, and always in control.

When Yolanda and Rudy first met they were in English class. He had showed up late and totally unprepared for class, the exact opposite of her. She marveled at how he could walk in late, take what she thought of as an embarrassing scene, and laugh about it. She always went to class early, had all of her books and was well prepared for class.