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.