Junot Diaz’s culmination of short stories, “Drown”, encompasses the essence of growing up as a male in the Dominican Republic. Diaz brilliantly interlaces this theme with the struggles of poverty, adolescence, and social expectations/gender roles. The story of a young Dominican boy growing up in less-than-ideal circumstances brings to light the many social and psychological difficulties associated with finding one’s manhood and identity as a person. Diaz tactfully utilizes two specific figures in the story “Ysrael” to symbolize these social problems. Rafa, Yunior’s older brother is a portrayal of the many “masks” of masculinity or machismo, including traits such as being sexually hyperactive, emotionless, and violent, which are imposed on Yunior …show more content…
After being molested by an older man, jumping off a bus that they didn’t pay the fare for, and running from the driver who chased the two brothers into a field, Yunior finally loses it and starts to cry. Rafa’s response follows: “You, he said, are a pussy…..what the hell’s the matter with you? We didn’t do anything wrong….If you can’t stop crying, I’ll leave you” (Diaz 13). Rafa proceeds to leave Yunior behind, and when he finally catches up, Rafa asks him, “Are you always going to be a pussy?” and Yunior is so ashamed that he cannot even bring himself to look his brother in the eye (Diaz 14). This interaction illustrates a distinct characteristic of machismo ideology in which one’s honor and shame is based sheerly on external factors and is removed/preserved by the opinions of those around them (Loureiro 9). Rafa is so concerned for his own honor, that he won’t even be seen with another boy who is crying, much less shed tears himself. He then shames Yunior, who is thought to be only about eight years old at the time, for crying over an experience that could traumatize some adults. However, machismo ideology has a zero tolerance policy for showing emotion, so Yunior is forced to push down his feelings and catch up with his