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Junot Diaz – Burn Out

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“A few of you are going to make it. Those are the orbiters. But the majority of you are just going to burn out. Going nowhere” (1248).

This comparison by one of Yunior’s teachers captures the never-ending repetition of the depressing routine Yunior in willingly drowning in.

We being the short story by diving straight into the reason why Yunior is recalling the said experiences – Beto coming back to the neighborhood. Immediately following the account of his conversation with his mother about Beto’s arrival, Yunior begins his recount of the past with Beto and his descriptions of experiences without Beto.

I differentiate between “recounts” and “descriptions” because “Drown” is a mixture of both. In this story, Diaz breaks the narrative into pieces that, like an undated diary, do not have transitions. However, there is a distinction between the entries that involve Beto and those that don’t.

When Yunior recounts his experiences with Beto, he goes into details about non-repetitive events. For example, when Yunior recounts his homosexual experience with Beto, he starts the entry with “Twice. That’s it” (1247). The details he gives are directly related to those two unique experiences, such as the details of the event and his reactions following the event. Even when Yunior recalls his numerous shoplifting experiences with Beto, he cites specific examples that let readers know are single occurrences: “He even talked to mall security… and me, standing ten feet away, shitting my pants” (1244). Despite Yunior stating that his and Beto’s shoplifting was a common occurrence, he goes into specific details surrounding each event.

In contrast to these recounts including Beto, Yunior describes his experiences without Beto as repetitive ones. We are able to see this difference through the opening sentences of the entries without Beto. For example, when Yunior describes his outings to the mall with his mom, he says, “Saturdays she asks me to take her to the mall” (1244), implying that this is a common occurrence. Further into the entry, when Yunior is locking the windows, he says, “With the air conditioner on we never open windows but I go through the routine anyway” (1244). By using the word “routine” (1244), we see that what Yunior described is a repetitive event that always occurs when he and his mom go to the mall on Saturdays. When Yunior describes his bar experiences, he begins by saying “Nights I drink with Alex and Danny” (1245); when he talks about his morning exercises, he says, “In the mornings I run” (1245); whenever he is out running, he “[keeps] an eye out for the recruiter who prowls around our neighborhood” (1245).

Through his differentiation, we can see that Yunior’s life is not going anywhere. Now that Beto, the source of Yunior’s non-repetitive experiences, has moved away, Yunior is left with repetitive routines that leave him static. Just like the teacher said, Yunior is “going nowhere” (1248). Even Yunior, himself, recognizes this, when he says “I could already see myself losing altitude, fading, the earth spread out beneath me, hard and bright” (1248). However, we do not see any indications of Yunior struggling as he continues to drown and burn out.

The Story of the Stone – Land of Illusion Couplet

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“Truth becomes fiction when the fiction’s true;

Real becomes not-real where the unreal’s real” (528)

This couplet seen at the entrance to The Land of Illusion becomes an overarching theme in The Story of the Stone. Quite apt is the couplet  as the story contains numerous instances where appearances belie the “truth.”

After leaving the mythical realm in Shiyin’s dreams, we enter the Jia mansion. Immediately, we are told of the immense wealth and prosperity the Jias possess through Daiyu’s perspective. At the entrance, “two great stone lions crouched one on each side of a triple gateway whose doors were embellished with animal-heads” (541). The main apartments Daiyu is led into “were housed in an imposing five-frame building resplendent with carved and painted beams and rafters” (541-542).

Inconsistent with the riches so evidently displayed throughout the mansion, the Jias wealth and power have been waning as the family is plagued with financial problems. From Yucun’s conversation with Zixing at a village inn, we learn that “the Rong and Ning mansions are in a greatly reduced state compared with what they used to be” (533). Zixing does not speak directly of financial hardships, but rather the difficulties the Jias are facing in raising heirs who are less “degenerate from one generation to the next” (534) to continue this prosperity. For example, Ningguo’s eldest grandson, Jia Fu “died at the age of eight or nine, leaving only the second son, Jia Jing, to inherit. Nowadays, Jia Jing’s only interest in life is Taoism… With old Jia Jing… refusing to exercise any authority, [his son] has thrown his responsibilities to the winds” (534). We see similar descriptions concerning the male heirs of the Duke of Rongguo and can deduce that the male heirs of the Jia family may be unable “to economize or make any adjustments in their accustomed style of living” (534).

We see more evidence supporting Zixing’s claims as we learn more about the Jia household. The esteemed position of authority in the Jia household is occupied by Grandmother Jia. We are able to infer this from statements such as “… because Grandmother Jia doted on [Baoyu] so much, no one ever dared to correct him” (548). Grandmother Jia’s control over the Jia household, however, is paradoxical to the Confucian canons exalted and studied during that time.

Ironically enough, we see that the other females in the Jia family are also flourishing. For example, Wang Xifeng, a female “brought up… just like a boy” (544) oversees the finances within the Jia household. This is illustrated through Aunt Wang questioning Xifeng on the status of the monthly allowances being paid out.

Ultimately, the couplet at the Land of Illusion is telling when it comes to the Jia household. The “truth” that the Jias are wealthy turns false when the “fiction” that they are experiencing financial problems becomes true. What Chinese society considered “reality” concerning males being heads of households becomes just a tale found in Confucian canons when the “unreal” that females are running the Jia family turns real.

-Amy (SiJia) You