Junot Diaz's Drown Characters

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Throughout Junot Díaz’s Drown, Yunior finds himself in complex romantic and platonic relationships. Although Yunior cares for the members of his family, his girlfriends, and his community, he is unable to show them love and concern in a healthy or effective manner. Yunior’s inability to positively demonstrate his affection stems from negative relationships he has with other members of the community. Although there are members of his family and community that pursue loving and affectionate relationships with Yunior, his desire for the approval of others impacts his ability to reciprocate that love. Yunior, for example, is unable to establish a healthy relationship with his friend, Aurora, due to the influence others have on their relationship. She asks him “to promise her a love that’s never been seen anywhere” and tells him about her dreams of them having …show more content…

Childhood friends, Beto and Yunior’s relationship develops from platonic to sexual before Beto leaves for college (Díaz 105-106). Although Yunior and Beto never display intimacy in public, Yunior still fears being caught with him. One day, while the two are spending an intimate moment with each other “the hallway door crashed open” which scares Yunior and causes him to leave Beto for good (Díaz 106). Even though no one saw Yunior and Beto, he was still afraid of what would happen if they were discovered because prior to their first sexual encounter, they would go with friends to gay bars and “point […] plastic pistol[s] at” the patrons of the club (Díaz 106). Yunior has witnessed how his own peers treat homosexuals, and so similar to the influence Cut has on Yunior’s relationship with Aurora, his homophobic friends impact his relationship with Beto. Yet, romantic relationships are not the only ones that Yunior allows others to impact. His father, Ramón, prevents him from sympathizing with other people that he has

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