Do Now 1/4Have any adults in your life ever lied to you to protect you from the truth? If so, why? Did you know they were lying? How did that incident change your perception of them? (Think Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, divorce, secret pasts, etc.)

Do Now 1/4What are your goals for the new year?

ExileJulia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez(1950 - )

Left her home in the Dominican Republic in 1960. (She was 10 yrs. Old.) Her father was involved in a plot to over throw the dictator The family had to flee from the DR because they would be murdered otherwise. She began writing as a high school student in the U.S.A.. She has written several books and poems which are taught in high school and college classes. She is currently a college professor

The Dominican Republic

A Brief HistoryThe island of Hispaniola (La Isla Espaola) was the first New World colony settled by Spain. As such, it served as the logistical base for the conquest of most of the Western Hemisphere. Christopher Columbus first sighted the island in 1492 toward the end of his first voyage to "the Indies. In the late 1980s, the republic was still struggling to emerge from the shadow of the ultimate Dominican caudillo, Rafael Lenidas Trujillo Molina (1930-61), who emerged from the military and held nearly absolute power throughout his rule. Today the country is a representative democracy

VocabularyFled-run a way from a place or situation of danger. Apiece- to for or by each of a group. I will give you $10.00 apiece. Marveling- to be filled with wonder and astonishment. Topple- to become unsteady and fall. Superimposed to put on top of something else. Plunging- to jump or dive quickly and energetically. Eager- wanting to have or do something very much.

CharactersPapi_ the narrators father Mami- the narrators mother Narrator- the speaker of the poem

SettingBegins in the capital city, Ciudad Trujillo. It is named after the dictator whom they are trying to flee. The poem ends in New York City.