“Drown” by Junot Diaz is a 1996 novel that has a collection of short stories regarding the life of Latin Americans in the United States of America. “Fiesta” is a story that focuses on the family members at a small apartment in Bronx, New York. The main character in the story is Yunior, a young boy who struggles with his identity and who always fights his father due to their differences in opinion. “Aguantando” follows the story of how Yunior is anticipating to hear from his father that has left to go work in the USA. “Drown” explains the thoughts and feelings from a narrator regarding a friend departing after they share several sexual experiences. The research paper is going to focus on these three stories and the examination of how the title …show more content…
In “Fiesta” we see Yunior struggle with masculinity and how he is learning to be masculine from his father and his brother. Yunior’s uncle believes that he should be drinking alcohol already and should also be getting laid by his age. The story portrays masculinity as a social construct which is connected to the social and historical context (Riofrio, 24). Masculinity is a way a person identifies with the world. Yunior’s father is having an affair with another woman and even brings Yunior to the woman’s house after the party. In the Latino setting, we see infidelity being praised and people identifying themselves as men when they are having an affair. Yunior’s brother also goes to be with Leti, and he is left guarding the party. All these characters from “Fiesta” are trying to identify with masculinity and the actions of being a man (Santiago, 12). Another example of the father’s controlling patriarchy is his use of harsh punishment to make his family obey and respect him. Yunior states his father “expected your undivided attention when you were getting your ass whupped.” The entire family accepts and endures this treatment (Diaz,