Junot Díaz

lasting effects of the notoriously violent Trujillato is impossible. In The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, our main characters continue to be influenced by the tumultuous Trujillo regime more than twenty years after its fall. Throughout the book, Díaz uses the symbolism of the Mongoose…

“Drown” by Junot Diaz. The story “Zoot Suit” by Luis Valdez illustrates the prevalence of this issue first, by structuring a narrative around a prominent act of discrimination in the United States, known as the “Zoot Suit Riots.” In this story, a member of a gang known as the 38th Street Gang named Henry Reyna details his experiences which eventually lead to him being unjustly sent to prison. While in prison, riots across the United States, prominently in his hometown of Los…

themes in their novels, in their respective genres. Junot Diaz weaves a unique blend of genres together including historical narrative, traditional realism, and science fiction in order to capture his and many others’ experiences as immigrants, especially Dominicans, in America. Diaz’s unique identity and literary voice is a pivotal element of his body of work. In his 2008 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Diaz incorporates his personal history, such as his own…

Although it’s very to lose hope with the battles Yunior faces in life, Junot Diaz always maintains to keep the character full of hope and always keeps an open mind about everything, making him optimistic and full of life. It’s understandable that you may believe this story is pessimistic in numerous ways. For example, he does fall off the grid for a while when he begins selling drugs and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Also, how the relationship between Yunior and Rafa isn’t the best…

progressed, lines between genders have become increasingly blurred. Many individuals have become more open about their gender, and the fashions and mannerisms of each gender have begun to merge together. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz explores the idea of how gender roles affect an individual's life in a traditional society. Oscar Wao is not the typical Dominican male. The book states that he “Had none of the Higher Powers of your typical Dominican male, couldn't have pulled…

The Life of Junot Diaz and His Notable Works Junot Diaz is known for incorporating different genres in his works that stem from the traumatic events that he and his family experienced under the wrath of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic for more than 30 years, before becoming immigrants (Contreras 5).“Diaz establishes an interesting technique that brings together different genres of North American pop culture: the comic book, science fiction film, and 1960’s…

Lastly, Junot Diaz presents a counter narrative against the mainstream narrative that women are far more emotional than men and subsequently more prone to being negatively affected by change and new prospects than males. Diaz does this by presenting the character of Lola, Beli’s daughter and Oscar’s sister. Lola was forced to move to the Dominican Republic with her grandmother, La Inca, for a short amount of time as a form of punishment after she ran away from home. Lola described the way in…

Sex: Let’s Get “Personal” “How To Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie)” by Junot Diaz is a short story and faux instructional manual, narrated in second person by a Dominican American teenaged boy named Yunior, on how to behave while on a date with a girl based on the her ethnicity and where she’s from. Throughout the short story, it becomes apparent that Yunior’s guide attempts to aid the reader in having their date fulfil their sexual desires. This indicates that the…

In the story “Fiesta” by Junot Diaz, Yunior shows us his struggles with motion sickness and how much it affected him and his family specially how mad his father gets when that happens. We can see this in the quote “ The first time i got sick was in the van papi was taking me to the library. Rafa was with us and he couldn’t believe i threw up. I was famous for my steel-lined stomach. A third-world childhood could give you that. Papi was worried enough that just as quick as Rafa could drop off the…

Individuality, Expectation and Behavior: A Literary Research Essay With an instructive narration style that aligns with the impression left by the title, Junot Diaz’s “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” illustrates how to present and compose oneself contingent on the racial and socioeconomic origin of one’s date. However, if the functionality of dating is to sincerely get to know the person of interest, then the guidance turns out to be disadvantageous. Realizing the other…