As soon as I noticed that this would be the last reading of the semester, I got really excited. “Drown” by Junot Diaz is one of my favorite books; Diaz always sets the tone of his books to depict his reality growing up, though it may not be his exact reality, it is the reality that many young adults faced and continue to face living in poverty or with separated parents (while being part of the minority class, living in poverty).
For the portion of the book chosen for the class, I think the importance of the title “Drown” plays a key role in the society in which Yunior lived, he puts an emphasis on discussing what his surroundings were like and his almost non existent relationship with his mother, and his undoubtable dislike for his own father. Everything about his experiences has lead him to not going to college and being a mediocre drug dealer, he states “… And they pause when they see me, recognizing the guy who sells them the shitty dope” (pg 1242). He has managed nothing during this time when Beto (his close friend from high school was away), and going back to the swimming pool is only a reminder of what a failure he is, the fact that he hasn’t even been able to be good at drug dealing is a terrible reminder of this. In addition, when his mom brings up the fact that his friend has come looking for him, he just dismisses her, although he eventually does go looking for him (without really looking, just hoping that Beto may go back to some of there old hangout spots).
The tone of the reading is one of sadness, a repetitive story that never ends, going to the mall once a month with his mother, her constant struggle with the idea of getting back with Yunior’s father, all leads no where. Unfortunately his lack of ambition has brought him down a lane of memories that he knows all to well, he recognized that he was going no where even before his friend left for college, he stated “I wasn’t like him. I had another year to go in high school, no promises anywhere else.” (Pg 1242). He knew that his family did not have the money to send him to school, and knew that he would probably never leave his mother’s side, even at that point. Having knowledge of the rest of the book, he knows this because his father has always been unfaithful to his mother. Unfortunately that is a story known all to well in minority class households.
I, too, have also noticed his tendency to be reluctant to change. First you see how he is upset about the fact that his ‘partner in crime’ is so-called abandoning him to go to college. Then you see Yunior completely reject the red-haired southerner’s potential job offer. Whether or not the guy was truly a recruiter or a hoax, the fact of the matter is that Yunior immediately refuses to continue on the conversation. I have a feeling he is insecure about how badly his life is turning out but yet doesn’t acknowledge how he could escape it, or even deserve to escape it. He doesn’t make indications about leaving but does show incidents of needing to stay. One incident includes the vulnerability of his mother, who is living with a broken heart and living in paranoia.
I strongly agree with the importance of the title “drown” in this story because the mood he portrays and the way the story is outlined Yunior just talks about all the negative things of his environment. He sets a very sad mood with him living with his mother who he doesn’t have the best relationship with, being a drug dealer, not even thinking about moving past high school, to even shoplifting. He explains how everything is sort of just drowning him all at once, and i found it very ironic how the swimming pool was one of his hang out spots with Berto. I really liked how just in the beginning of the story we can set the mood it helped me understand it better.
The story is extremely negative, and the story seems to heavily contrast the two characters Beto and Yunior. Beto has managed to get out the ghetto life whereas Yunior stays in his current life. Even though many different opportunities are offered to allow him to choose a new life, he refuses to leave the life he is in now despite the fact that he is somewhat unsure about his life.
I also like this story because living in New York City, there is resemblances I can make with Yunior to people I’ve known. I agree with the “title” drown being very important and defining what the story is about. When you are drowning you feel like something is holding you down and not letting you come up. Yunior is drowning in his own negative thoughts and experiences. He is letting these negative experiences be the reason he won’t be successful in life which is a major issue in young kids living in poverty today. He lets his environment and poverty effect his decisions in life changing situations because he doesn’t give himself the chance. I feel like people and young adults in situations like these should use their negative experiences as encouragement to be better in life.
The story of Yunior is one that resonates with many minorities in New York City. Most don’t end up going to college because of financial stability and they have no one to look up to for guidance, and Yunior knows that his life will remain the same and there is no guarantee of what the future holds for him.
The mood is very appropriate for the story because there are no positive outcomes from any of Yunior’s actions. He sells drugs for a living and has to give money to his mom as well because she is extremely emotional and can’t even support herself. Yunior has to be the bigger person in the family; he knows that his father is an indecent man but he is also his mother’s hope.
The main character is stuck in a cycle of surviving and not actually living, and that is the saddest thing to it.
I like this story because of how much I can relate to it. Back in high school, I had a best friend who was just like Yunior. He caused a lot of trouble and his parents would always yell at him for it. He would always cut school because there were others who pressured him to and so he followed. I’ve tried to help him get high school and so did many of his friends. To this day, he still hasn’t graduated from high school. Although we don’t talk as much as we did in high school, I’m still currently his friend and I try my best to help him whenever he needs it. Similarly, I believe that Beto also wanted to continue to be Yunior’s friend and continue to help him with his troubles.