The frequent abuse that some women endure at the hands of men shows how powerless most women must feel in a male dominant society. This can be seen through Oscar’s sister and Yunior’s on and off girlfriend Lola, as well as with Oscar’s two major love interests, Ana and Yvon. Lola is a complex character; she is very independent, stands up for herself, and refuses to let men walk all over her. Yunior explains that Lola is different from regular Dominican girls. He vaguely mentions how she was raped in the sixth grade and, after that, she became tough: “She was one of those tough Jersey Latinas, a girl soccer star who drove her own car, had her own checkbook, called men bitches, and would eat a fat cat in front of you without a speck go vergüenza” …show more content…
Ana portrays a typical teenage girl who became good friends with Oscar up until her twenty four year old boyfriend Manny, who she adored, came home from the Army. Once he returned home, Ana and Oscar’s friendship began to drift. When they did get the opportunity to see each other, Ana would tell Oscar how abusive Manny was to her. Yunior’s narration said that “Manny smacked her, Manny kicked her, Manny called her a fat twat, Manny cheated on her…” When Oscar told Ana to break up with him she responded, “I know I should, but I can’t. I love him” (Diaz, 2000). This shows the manipulation Ana was experiencing under Manny’s control and how she was so wrapped around his finger that she felt as though she could not leave him. As for Yvon, she was a prostitute who Oscar met and quickly fell in love with. She has an ex boyfriend she refers to as the Capitán who became very jealous of Oscar and is the one responsible for Oscar’s death. It is said that Capitán beat up Yvon and gave her two black eyes for having a relationship with Oscar. All of these examples show how Lola, Ana, and Yvon all experience violence from men at some point in their lives, and that this violence is not questioned nor