Yunior is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who is living in the urban communities of central New Jersey. Struggling with the life he has he currently lives with his mother. Yunior's father left them for another women and lives in Florida. Yunior dislikes his father and calls him" a sad guy" because he only calls his mother to beg for money. In the story "Drown" Yunior he is a high school teenager who loots and sells drugs to make extra cash to help his mother to pay a few things around the apartment. Which I have notice in the story "Drown" his mother doesn't ask nor suspects where her son is getting this money from. His mother is very quiet as he describes and seems to be depressed that the fact her husband left. The looting continues when gets older even though he has a …show more content…
job delivery pool tables and building them he seems to have built this habit. Yunior seems to struggle with his personality and sexuality.
Yunior has a girlfriend but has had sexual experience with a man, his past best friend Beto which leads him into confusion. After the first sexual incident Yunior had with Beto he quotes "Mostly I stayed in the basement, terrified that I would end up abnormal, a fucking pato, but he was my best friend and back then that mattered to me more than anything.". At that time Yunior felt that being best friends is more important to him then the fact that Beto took advantage of him. In the story "Edison, NJ", Yunior has a girlfriend who then leaves him for a white-man named Dan. Yunior try to get her back and she says that she stills loves him but refuses to be back with him. I'm starting to think that he isn't a very happy person. There has so much drama that has happened in his life that he having a hard time getting past it. For instance, not having a father figure, living in urban area, trying to fit in, sexually confused, and thriving for someone to love him (ex-girlfriend). The narrator Yunior shows the "energetic hybridity of American life" because the character is dealing with questions of identity and where does he belong in
life. What I would define the "hybridity of American life" are immigrants who came to America and are living with cultures and/or traditions that are completely different then America. The interaction is like a hybrid, crossbreeding of unlike cultures. We have in these two stories where Dominicans migrated and are now living in New York and New Jersey and how it is a complete strange to them besides the fact that other Dominicans are living around them.
Summary of “The Money” by Junot Diaz In this essay, the author recounts a life event from his childhood. The story begins with Junot describing his family's financial status and living arrangement. Diaz and his four siblings lived with their two parents in a catchpenny apartment in a rough urban borough. Not steadily employed, his mother and father were in a constant struggle to keep the family afloat monetarily; to the point where decent, alimental food was not a likely sight in the household. Despite their meager inhabitance his mother was stowing $200 to $300 monthly and sending it to her parents in the Dominican Republic.
Junot Diaz is Dominican American, and he came from a very poor family with five other siblings. Since they were not that wealthy, they lived in a simple way. Even though his mother was basically the bread winner of the family since his father could not keep a job, she still manages to send money back home every six months or so. When they got home from their vacation, they had found out that someone has broken into their house and stole most of his mother’s money. It was easy for them to be a target because they were recent immigrant, and in their neighborhood cars and apartment were always getting jacked. His mother was very upset; she blamed her children, because she thought it was their friends who had done such a thing. “We kids knew where
By reminiscing on his upbringing from living in Lima, Peru, a third world country. Father would constantly recall his biographical anecdotes to share with the family. Some stories were beyond gruesome in detail. Going in depth to the painful memories that still lingers around like a scar, my father told us how our grandfather, his own father, was abusive for even the most minute things. For instance, when my father would wore outfits that did not meet my grandfather’s standards, or looked into his father’s eyes fearfully when he was being punished, and even when he did not walk my grandmother to and from the grocery store. The mistreatment had reached the end of father’s patience when he became a rebellious son, breaking curfews and refusing to return home at the end of the day. In Junot Díaz 's short story Fiesta, 1980, narrated by an son, Yunior, who describes the hardships he and his Dominican family shared as they drove to a party in the Bronx in New York City. At the age of twelve, Yunior loses his innocence as a result from the never-ending verbal, emotional, and physical abuse his father, Papi, had taunted him with. This lost innocence was caused by what he had said, did, and did
Eventually Macaria marries a well-to-do American, Sam Polk, and leaves behind the poverty and prostitution that once ruled their lives, but is never fully accepted by her peers into her new moneyed existence. Meanwhile Marcela grows into a beautiful, white-skinned, pale beauty. She is a ready conquest for any male, particularly those of darker descents like Tony, and a thorn in her mother’s side. Unfortunately Marcela’s whiteness draws sexual advances from the local male population and her mother blames her daughter for these interactions.
Reymundo was born in Puerto Rico in 1963 in the back of a 1957 Chevy. His mother was married at age sixteen to a man that was seventy-four years of age. Reymundo’s father died when he was almost five years old, therefore he does not have much memory of the relationship that they had. Reymundo has 2 sisters with whom he did not have a relationship with, one sister would always watch out for him, but that was about it. After the death of Reymundo’s father, his mother remarried a guy named Emilio with which she had a daughter for. After Emilio, Pedro came in to the picture with his son Hector. Pedro was an illegal lottery dealer and Hector sold heroin.
Junot Díaz’s Drown, a collection of short stories, chronicles the events of Yunior and his family. Each story focuses Yunior and his struggle growing up as a Dominican immigrant and finding a place for himself within American society. Throughout the progression of the novel, Yunior realizes the stereotypes placed on him and recognizes that being white is advantageous. Yunior’s experience growing up both in the Dominican Republic and the States has shaped his perspective on life and life choices.
In the ridged and shocking book that follows the lives of impoverished African American children, There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz accurately displays what life can be like for those who are not as fortunate as some. The story is set in the inner city of Chicago in and around 1987, and pivots around drug violence and the nightmare that is living in the Henry Horner housing project. Lafayette and Pharoah Rivers, two brothers who were born into the life of poverty, are followed throughout this true story. The two live with their mother, LaJoe, and their six siblings while some come and go, between jail and other places. Their father, Paul, is seldom around due to his alcoholism and drug addiction.
In Junot Diaz’s essay “The Money” he explains where his family stands economically. Stating that his father was regularly being fired from his forklifting jobs and his mother 's only job was to care for him and his four siblings. With the money brought home by his father, his mom would save some. Her reason was to raise enough to send to her parents back in the Dominican Republic. When his family went on a vacation, they came back to an unpleasant surprise; their house had been broke into. Eventually Diaz was able to get back their money and belongings. Diaz returned the money to his mother although she didn’t thank him for it, this disappointed him. Like Diaz I have also encountered a similar situation where I was disappointed. When I was in second grade, my life life took a completely different turn. My dad took an unexpected trip to Guatemala, on his return, the outcome was not what I expected.
Parents make sacrifices in order to provide an opportunity for their children to escape from Haiti to live a better life. In the short story Night Women a mother prostitutes herself to provide
Upon arriving they said they would stay at the oasis until it was safe to cross the desert. A camel driver tells Santiago that, “There are rumors of tribal wars” (The Alchemist 80). When entering the oasis they had to hand over their arms and stay in tents with locals and fellow travelers. During his short time at the oasis Santiago experiences love at first sight with a girl named Fatima. As the war drags on Santiago tells Fatima about his personal legend and she encourages him to continue on to Egypt. Although she has been waiting for him her entire life she still insisted that he achieve his personal legend. She said if they are meant to be together they will meet again one day. Then Santiago left the oasis with the Alchemist towards the pyramids. Through this he realizes that each challenge he faces on the way to his destination forms part of God's
With this in mind, Brenda cleverly obuses Neil’s open mindedness in formulating a scenario to enable a source of faith and new level of relation to develope among themselves. Once brought into action, she uncovers the other side to her integrity. Respectively, Neil shows benevolence to that part of her that seems to understand him deep inside, “There among the disarrangement and dirt I had the strange experience of seeing us, both of us, placed among disarrangement and dirt: we looked like a young couple who just had moved into a new apartment; we had suddenly taken stock of our furniture, finances, and future [...] ” (68) However since she has grown accustomed into a new rank of social status, and away from “the disarrangement and dirt” of Newark, she has become more attracted to life she occupies anon in Short Hills. This knowledge disillusions her that wealth advantages come with power, and that power is her responsibility. She through her selfish and noble heart feels the need to improve Neil, because it’s her past for a reason. Meanwhile, he interprets “the strange experience of seeing us” as a gateway into a compromise of “furniture, finances, and future” in their relationship. In this case, Brenda is unable to welcome the real and raw elements of Neil, distorts the possibility for them to experience love for one another. Thus, the misinterpretation and
Yunior struggles with personal acceptance, due to his father not completely accepting him. Papi struggles with being the head of a lower class family. Both of their personal conflicts with themselves and their conflicts with each other set the theme of “Fiesta, 1980.” Junot Diaz depicted a scenario a plethora of individuals know all too well. Both Yunior and Papi love each other, both have strange ways of showing it. The conflict of Man vs. man within this story shows that no matter the age, an internal struggle can greatly affect the people around you.
The tenement was the biggest hindrance to achieving the American myth of rags to riches. It becomes impossible for one to rise up in the social structure when it can be considered a miracle to live passed the age of five. Children under the age of five living in tenements had a death rate of 139.83 compared to the city’s overall death rate of 26.67. Even if one did live past the age of five it was highly probable he’d become a criminal, since virtually all of them originate from the tenements. They are forced to steal and murder, they’ll do anything to survive, Riis appropriately calls it the “survival of the unfittest”. (Pg.
Sandors own father brings him the biggest sense of hopelessness in that though his father is so wise in him knowing four languages and how he “loved all men and whose only thought was to help others” (32) was yelled and screamed at, being treated like a “dog” (32). This is one of the main catalysts in showing Sandor the poverty cycle and how there can be no way out. He has this epiphany realizing that how “If you were rich nobody would yell at you” (32). So Just like Ellen in “The Lamp at Noon”, Sandor goes to extreme in his desperate time. Both Ellen and Sandor try to run from their suffering and misfortunes, Ellen out into the desert trying to reach safety from the environment for herself and her baby, while Sandors drastic measures are by fully assimilating as full English- Canadian, even changing his name to “Alex Hunter” (115). In Alex’s conformity, he personally grows and develops into who he has always dreamed of being, a wealthy successful Canadian businessman, although in doing so he leaves behind his heritage and family on his journey to be the greatest. Along with hopelessness bringing personal growth so does anger. An anger filled environment leads to frustration and motivation to progress and advance in life. Sandor
In the beginning, Yunior and Rafa are both ignorant and show a sign of hate towards Ysrael. The story about Ysrael is that when he was a baby a pig bit him on the face. They find out about Ysrael, because a boy told them a story about him. Yunior and Rafa both show their views of ignorance and hatred towards Ysrael. One day they decide to go and look for him. Once they find him their first attempt is unsuccessful. Yunior and Rafa are trying to go along with the other kids so they can fit in. But when Yunior befriends Ysrael, he begins to have a serious conversation with him. Yunior is content talking with Ysrael, because he begins to realize that they share similar interest. Also both have family in the states. Yunior believed Ysrael when he told him that he wa...