Invierno Junot Diaz Analysis

“Invierno” by Junot Diaz is the story of a family: a discontent mother, a brother that hides his actions behind those of his sibling, an abusive and controlling father, and the protagonist of the story, Yunior, the one sheltered by his father and forbidden from exploring his surroundings. Yunior, his brother Rafa and their mother were just brought into the states from Santo Domingo. Both Rafa and the narrator are unfamiliar with the man they referred to as “Papi.” Once they had arrived to their new home in London Terrace, Rafa and Yunior soon became aware of the hostile environment their father creates for them. They are not allowed to go outside and interact with the “gringos” who also live in their neighborhood. Instead, both their mother and father preferred them to be glued to the television for hours where they learn English, but still can not fight the urge to go outside and play. One day, Yunior makes a decision for himself and decides to step out and play with the other kids he recognizes through his window each day. On the other hand, Rafa becomes the …show more content…
“On the TV the newscasters were making small, flat noises at each other. They were repeating one word over and over... the word they were saying was Vietnam” (Diaz 123). Also, as stated by the narrator, the types of shows that they were watching were those such as “...Jonny Quest, The Herculoids, Sesame Street” and others as well. The reader is able to infer that the time period of the story takes place during the late 1960s as well as the early 1970s. As stated in the Biography of Junot Diaz, “ Díaz was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on December 31, 1968.” The author wrote this short story, a part of a bigger collection of stories, based on a flashback of his childhood centered around the time period of the late sixties as well as the