Familial influence can have a great impact on a protagonists’ life decisions and future, whether it be a lack of paternal guidance or cultural expectations. This can be seen in the life of Yunior, the protagonist in Junot Diaz’s Drown. Yunior immigrated to the USA from the Dominican Republic when he was little shortly after, his dad left the family and went to live with another woman. This lead to Yunior’s mom becoming a single mother and the breadwinner of the house. The focus of this essay will be on the chapter in the book called “Drown”. In the chapter Yunior remembers his adolescence with his friend Beto and their life in their Dominican dominated neighborhood. The chapter showcases the financial struggles of Yunior and his family along …show more content…
The lack of paternal figures along with cultural expectations and stereotypes influenced the life and decisions made by Yunior, the protagonist in Junot Diaz’s Drown. As mentioned in the book Yunior’s family immigrated from the Dominican Republic, this affected Yunior’s future because of the many cultural expectations along with societal judgement. In the Dominican culture men are expected to be “masculine and the breadwinners” (Kevane 76) for the household but this is not the situation in Yunior’s family. Before abandoning the family, Yunior’s father helps them move to the USA, which forced them to chase after the American Dream. The family immigrated to escape poverty, but they still lived under the poverty line in the USA. But, “government funds to the Dominican” (Tores-Saillant) helped the family be better off, than they were in the Dominican. Despite …show more content…
Without the guidance of a father figure Yunior had to make his own life decisions. In contrast Beto who did have a father figure in his life stayed in school and can also be considered a foil character of Yunior. Both Beto and Yunior had similar lives when they were younger, they are both Dominican living in the same neighborhood with roughly the same income levels. The one difference between the two characters is their family dynamic. As seen at the start of the story Beto “hated everything about the neighborhood” (Diaz 504) which is why he was excited to go to college whereas Yunior believes he “wasn’t like [Beto]” (Diaz 504) and wanted to stay. Beto had a dad who is the breadwinner of his family whereas in Yunior’s family his mother is the breadwinner as their father left them. Diaz may be highlighting the importance of a father figure in this story as the two characters, Yunior and Beto, have vastly different futures. In their adolescence both character lead similar lifestyles of being trouble makers and committing petty crimes, the one difference being that Beto cared about school while Yunior did not. This may be due to Beto’s father suggesting that he should get a good education is he wants to be successful in the future. But Yunior not having a father figure and lacking maternal guidance which will be discussed later in the essay, does not care about his future and education instead he
Culture is our way of experiencing our daily lives. Dominican Republic’s culture is very complementary to mine, we respect our family dearly. Although it is peculiar for the housewife to be the bread winner of the family, the father is usually the one that will provide for the family. A Large family is infrequent nowadays, most families could have up to six children. A big family also plays a big role in financial problem. Junnot and his family leaves in a very poor neighborhood since it was just his mother that is basically feeding everyone in the house. The amount of income parents makes will determine the type of neighborhood they might live in, or the type of school the children might go to. “It is not as if the robbery came as a huge surprise. In our neighborhood, cars and apartment were always getting jacked.”(385) Majority of the immigrant lives in a poor neighborhood full of delinquency and crime due to poverty. Poverty level is based on the family circumstances. There is a higher chance of poverty with the newly immigrant, and they live in this condition because they are still new to the county. Education also plays a big role in this, because the more educated a person is the more they are likely to make it and become successful quicker. This might be a little different with the children, and there is a high
Dade’s father predicted that “[he] was going to end up on one of those curbs”(Canin 2), if he didn’t stop dreaming. This caused Dade to start self-reflecting on his life and wonder if he was going down the right path. Dade felt a connection with the women because he thought he would end up like her if he didn't listen to his father. After the talk began to take his work more seriously, but he still self-reflected. He felt connection with the women’s struggles because of his own life struggles. Dade’s mother knew that he “was destined for limited fame” because it “could not appreciated by everybody” (Canin 2). Dade did not know which one of his parents were correct. The conflicting opinions from parents caused more self-reflection, and caused Dade to struggle much more. Dade’s self-reflection caused him to struggle and feel a connection with the women’s
Family is one of those words that have a significant meaning to various individuals. Family may be viewed one way to an individual and another way to someone else. Family consists of those who have played a particular role in one’s life, whether it is positive or negative. In this paper, I will assess Reymundo’s family both nuclear and extended and speak of how his family has become significant in his life and how they have played a role in his decisions. I will also speak of my personal reactions to the story as well as address ways that as a social worker I could work to impact the gang problems in Orlando.
Yunior struggles with his exposure to male privilege in a Dominican family, as he is very sensitive. Yunior can not fully comprehend why men took actions that women didn’t attempt to do. For example, Papi made all the decisions in the family. “She and tío Miguel got themselves an apartment in the Bronx, off Grand Concourse and everybody decided that we should have a party. Actually, my pops decided...” (306). Papi decided that a party was obligatory to be thrown for their arrival, but not as his expense or home; Tia and Tío hosted it, despite it being Papi’s decision. Male privilege is shown in the way “the women laid out the food and like always nobody but the kids thanked them. It must be some Dominican tradition or something” (312). Instead of having both men and women lay the food, it is only the women’s job. Helping with the preparations is not their responsibility, nor is showing appreciation with a genuine thank you. Junot Diaz gives a personal example on his family in his
Firstly, one’s identity is largely influenced by the dynamics of one’s relationship with their father throughout their childhood. These dynamics are often established through the various experiences that one shares with a father while growing up. In The Glass Castle and The Kite Runner, Jeannette and Amir have very different relationships with their fathers as children. However the experiences they share with these men undou...
Diaz uses the characterization of Yunior to show that he may not he's isolated himself from loyalty and having good relationships with people as well. Yunior is a character portrayed as a true dominican male because he is good with women. In chapter 6 on page 269 Yunior got lola
Junot Diaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is focused on the hyper-masculine culture of the Dominican, and many argue that his portrayal of the slew of women in the novel is misogynistic because they are often silenced by the plot and kept out of the narration (Matsui). However, Diaz crafts strong women, and it is society that views them as objects. The novel recognizes the masculine lens of the culture while still examining the lives of resilient women. In this way, the novel showcases a feminist stance and critiques the misogynist culture it is set in by showcasing the strength and depth of these women that help to shape the narrative while acknowledging that it is the limits society places on them because of their sexuality
Demetria Martínez’s Mother Tongue is divided into five sections and an epilogue. The first three parts of the text present Mary/ María’s, the narrator, recollection of the time when she was nineteen and met José Luis, a refuge from El Salvador, for the first time. The forth and fifth parts, chronologically, go back to her tragic experience when she was seven years old and then her trip to El Salvador with her son, the fruit of her romance with José Luis, twenty years after she met José Luis. And finally the epilogue consists a letter from José Luis to Mary/ María after her trip to El Salvador. The essay traces the development of Mother Tongue’s principal protagonists, María/ Mary. With a close reading of the text, I argue how the forth chapter, namely the domestic abuse scene, functions as a pivotal point in the Mother Tongue as it helps her to define herself.
The story of “Fiesta, 1980” does not sugarcoat anything about the true nature of life and how many families operate. We are given the raw and gory details that are typically left out because most people rather shove them under the rug and deny that they even exist. In the case of Yunior’s family his father, Papi, is cheating on his wife with a Puerto Rican woman. The two sons who are at the presumed age of high school both are in on their father’s secret having both visited his mistress on separate occasions and even partaking on having a meal with her and their father as if they were all family. Even though everyone knows in the household, it is implied that the mother, Mami, does as well, that Papi is a cheating bastard it never is fully addressed or brought out of the shadows. Rather it hangs like a sickness that cannot be healed and infects each family member in a different unique way. We see this especially in the main character Yunior. For some strange reason Yunior is unable to ride in a car without getting car sick and vomiting profusely. It is explained that he never had a problem until the day he took a ride in his father’s new VW to the library that his vomiting episodes started (Shreve & Nguyen, 2006). Perhaps these events are not that enticing, however they do...
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
Do you have any friend or relatives that are considered to be broken or disorganized family? Do you know that many disorganized family are likely to ties with their extended family? If you know any broken or disorganized families, you may realized that a broken family usually faced many difficulties, such as financial problem, missing family members, and they tend to be unhappy comparing to others. Moreover, missing a father figure in the house for a child could cause numbers of problems. In the novel “Looking for Work” the main character and also the author who named Gary Soto, a nine year old Mexican American boy, he was from a disorganized and broken family. That Gary desire to live out a life style just like the standard white American
Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, set in the late 1900’s, tells a story of Oscar Wao, an overweight Dominican “ghetto nerd”, his mother and rebellious sister who live together in Paterson, New Jersey. Throughout the novel, Diaz incorporates many different stories about each character that show acts of resistance. One of the most prominent stories of resistance in the novel is through Oscar’s mom; Beli, who is prompted by great tragedy, known as the Trujillo curse, to love atomically and thus follow a dangerous path. Beli’s family history plays a large role in her choices that eventually compel her into a different life than what her adopted mother, La Inca, had wanted
Yunior’s fathers only concern was obtaining the “American Dream” job security, financial stability, and owning his own home. Yunior’s childhood memory of his father are vague; they have no bond or connection, to Yunior he’s just a stranger. “ He’d come to our home house in Santo Domingo in a busted up taxi and the gifts he had brought us were small things-toys guns and tops-that we were too old for, that we broke right away.” (Diaz, 129). For a young man growing up without a father figure has a profound effect on them that lasts way into manhood. “Boys need a father figure to learn how to be a man, without having this influence in their lives, boys are at risk of growing into men who have problems with behaviors, emotional stability, and relationships with both significant others and their own children.”
That feeling of leaving his parents in the Philippines to go with a stranger when he was 12 years old is truly unfortunate, but his mother was looking looking out with his best interests in mind. She just wanted her son to get a taste of the American dream, and have a better life in America rather than suffering with her in the Philippines. Vargas’s essay moves the reader emotionally as he explains when he was finally successful in getting the highest honor in journalism, but his grandmother was still worried about him getting deported. She wanted Vargas to stay under the radar, and find a way to obtain one more chance at his American dream of being
Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.