Garcia Girls Blogpost #3

     After reading the whole book, things became more and more clear. Something that Alyssa had pointed out in class really intrigued me. It was the point that the Virgin Mary bank was stuck in the middle of her spin and it represented the time when the four girls were ending their time in the Dominican Republic and starting their new lives in America. Crystal pointed out the because the figurine is Virgin Mary, it represents something pure:

"The little figure rose, her arms swiveled. Then she stopped, stuck halfway up, halfway down." (274)

     From putting these two very deep points, I realized that it is true that during the beginning of the four girl's American experience, they are the most innocent when they go to America. When they were in the Dominican Republic, they were used to the things and people there, so they were not afraid to do what they wanted. When they went to America, they were in a new place with new rules. They didn't know the loophole of this environment and society yet, so they were afraid to do anything. They soon learned and experienced the things in America and have learned the boundaries they are given. They began to get used to the American society and culture where the view then, was that there was the freedom to do everything except for killing people and stealing things, which are all morals anyways. They exert this new found knowledge of what they believe they can do and as a result, they lose their innocence once again.
     An example of this is when Yolanda was in the Dominican Republic, she was a troublemaker and got away with everything. When she went to America, she became what can be called, a slut. She had affairs with many people and had become something very different from a innocent girl she was when she first arrived in America.
     The Virgin Mary's resemblance of innocence is very direct and I noticed that, but I would have never thought about the fact that in between the transition from the Dominican Republic to America, would be the time when there is the most innocence in the book.