This isn’t my first time reading Diaz–or even this short story–but this is the first time where I realized what the title of the story was saying. In hindsight, the flashback that held the most insight to the meaning of the story is so painfully obvious, yet I missed it every time I read through “Drown.”
The line: “He was stronger than me and held me down until water flooded my nose and throat,” which describes an interaction between the protagonist and the his best friend, Beto, provides the foundation for the idea that Beto drowned Yunior (both literally and figuratively). Throughout the story we are given scenes that depict the narrator’s reluctance to see Beto during one of Beto’s breaks from college. This comes across as odd seeing as they were best friends. We wonder why? The first question is–why does he not want to see his best friend? The idea that Beto is the person who drowned the narrator is a logical answer to the question, but then the question becomes: How and why?
The line that I referenced earlier provides ample evidence: “He was stronger than me and held me down until water flooded my nose and throat,” is strong imagery of Beto overpowering the narrator. In fact the narrator said himself that “[Beto] hated when [the narrator] knew something he didn’t.” The motivation for Beto’s actions is clear: he enjoyed being superior to Yunior and having that power over someone. Throughout the story, Beto is seen influencing the narrator in shoplifting and defamation of property. While earlier on, the narrator is established as a person with good character (seen in his accompanying his mom to the mall, giving her money, and following her wishes however ridiculous he finds it), the actions he displays when with Beto completely contradicts that. Beto is placed once again as the superior friend. Even in scenes where Beto wasn’t present, the idea of him caused the narrator to act aggressively. While, as aforementioned, the narrator usually acts favorably towards his mother, the thought of Beto caused him to treat her rudely: “[m]y mother sensed that something was wrong and pestered me about it, but I told her to leave me the fuck alone.”
While there are countless other reasons that point to Beto drowning the narrator and how consequently, the narrator was changed after that one summer with Beto–there isn’t enough time to explore all those ideas in this blog post. Hopefully this has however, sparked your interest in that analysis and you see the ways in which Beto drowned Junot as you read through the story.
I agree with your idea that Beto wants to be in control of Yunior. It’s clear that they have a strange freindship going on, but Beto doesn’t seem to want the worst for him at all times. Despite the events you’ve stated that prove Beto is acting in a way that is only hurting Yunior, as he pressures him to do dishonest things, there are instances where I thought Beto wanted the best for his friend. When they were waiting for the bus together one morning Beto says to him “you need to learn how to walk the world, there’s a lot out there” (1247). Also in the beginning Beto tells Yunior that he should just find a job and leave this place as fast as possible. These instances made me think that Beto did not always act in a way that hurt Yunior.
When I initially finished reading Drown, it was hard to depict who in fact was the cause for the setbacks the narrator encounters. While it can be said that Yunior’s friendship with Beto was the reason for the narrator’s lack of success, can’t the blame also be put on Yunior himself? For instance, there are multiple occasions presented to Yunior for him to break away from the boundaries that obstruct him but its seems as if he doesn’t wish to do so nor thinks he can do so. His mentality about the situation he is and his lack of desire to prosper is evident when the “white dude” is trying to recruit him and when offered with the an opportunity his replies “sorry I aint army material” (1246). Nevertheless, the point here is that the world and the possibilities that come with it are too big for Yunior. Rather than stepping into the unknown he chooses to remain living a life that he has become comfortable with and hence drowns himself instead. But I’m just spitting balling here haha!
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I agree having initially read “Drown”, that the meaning behind the title appeared to be misunderstood. Having read your analysis and how obvious it was in the text tightened some loose ends. I certainly feel as where Beto physically drowns Yunior, Beto is mentally drowning him throughout the entirety of the short story. Just mentioning his name to Yunior, I feel, just places him in a certain mindset. He is intimidated and pressured; the primary reason I believe he does not leave home to attend college.
You tackled the mean of the title, hands down. But what I also think needs addressing pertaining to the title is how the story ends. The narrator ends up watching a movie with is mother, after “closing the windows” to his apartment. The windows seem to be a theme throughout standing for the narrators ignorance and isolationist lifestyle. The narrator is stuck in the life of an inner-city neighborhood where drug dealing seems like a normal job to him. Adding to his evidence of ignorance, he has never experienced these feelings of homosexuality before, and has no knowledge of whether to accept it or not. Also, or so it seems, he has never had anyone close to him announce his or her homosexuality. He has no way of knowing how to deal with these thoughts he alludes to as “abnormal.” To connect this to your post, the narrator is drowned literally by Beto, but also by his anxiety caused by his ignorance of all of these foreign matters he is not used to dealing with.