Yunior's Father Character Analysis

In Reymundo’s family, there are two familial based issues related to the family’s functioning as a system. The first issue is family abuse and neglect. Reymundo was abused and neglected by his nuclear family continuously and regularly. This led Reymundo to be co-dependent and to act out in his environment. The second issue is the role of Reymundo’s mother. Reymundo’s mother showed a lack of parenting

I still wanted him to love me, something that never seemed strange or contradictory until years later, when he was out of our lives” but that seems like too much to ask. His father does not only treat him like crap at home but in public too. At the party, Papi humiliates Yunior in front of everyone when he tells him “If you eat anything, I am going to beat you. ¿Entiendes? I nodded. And if your brother gives you any food, I will beat him too. Right here in

It is not just the language of the Dominican culture that we find characters struggling to hold onto in Díaz’s Drown. We also find that the characters walk a fine line of defining themselves as newly Dominican American, and it seems they feel pressured to leave behind their old ways and traditions to join their new society. In the short story “Fiesta, 1980,” we find many examples of the family being torn between their Dominican customs and assimilating to their new American life. This story begins with the explanation of Papi’s most prized possession: a brand-new, lime-green, Volkswagen van. Much to Yunior’s chagrin (due to the fact that he gets sick every time he rides in the vehicle), this van means a lot to Papi, because to him, it represents an American family. According to John Riofrio (2008), “it[the van] is the embracing of the American way which has reenabled Papi’s masculinity,” (p. 33). After arriving at their Tia and Tio’s home for the party, Yunior sneers at his relatives’ apartment stating, “the place had been furnished in Contemporary Dominican Tacky” (p. 32). It seems as though Yunior, after only a short period in America, is already feeling embarrassed by his culture’s traditions. This chapter of the book also discusses the betrayal of Yunior’s father to his family, by having an affair with a Puerto Rican woman, whom

Here we are revealed more about human nature. Just like any society that instills fear into its followers or citizens that is exactly what the father does with his family. The father is the figure of power of this family and instead of leading with love and kindness he demonstrates his power through fear and dominance. We are able to see that the family in itself is a whole and loves each other, yet there is this rift between each family member that is threatening to tear it apart. For example, when Yunior gets in trouble with his father and his brother is around instead of standing with Yunior and speaking up Rafa backs away and avoids any confrontation with their father in order to avoid his wrath. This makes Yunior look down on his brother in a sense that Rafa doesn’t have his back at times when he needs him most, so he truly can’t trust him (Shreve & Nguyen, 2006). This is just the small part of the family for there are even parts of the whole family that act in a similar fashion.

He acts differently towards his friends and other boys his age in the neighborhood. For example, when his friend refers to the girl Yunior is trying to date as ‘”that bitch”’ Yunior only agrees with him (Diaz 236). He doesn’t defend them at all, which is an indication that he doesn’t care for these girls at all, only what they’ll do for him. He also says that he will call his friends and let them know ‘”He did it”’ if he does hook up with one of these girls, with no respect for them. This is indicating that he is trying to hook up with these girls because he feels like his friends expect him too. Yunior does this because he sees other boys doing these things, and he wants to be like them. He wants to be the same and be accepted, and that’s why he treats these different people in different ways.

In everyday life, a relation is always identified as trust and support. In this novel, a relation between a husband and a wife is shown in a different way. Min, one of the characters in the story, is shown losing her mental stability and is living with her two children. She did not have any contact with her husband in few years and neither did he try to contact

However, as their early relationship continued, Shen Fu found that Yün was able to analyze and debate literature and poetry with him. (Fu: 31) Shen Fu soon realized that Yün was as capable as he was, but held back by their society. He recounts a time

Junior is very observant and he describes his mother in a detailed way. He deposits emphasis on his mother’s hands. “One thing about Mami, her palms never sweated.” (27) Junior’s mother is a very lovely person, pretty and knows how to take good care of his sons. In contrast, the Puerto Rican woman is described oppositely of his mother. “She had papery hands, and when she rubbed the towel on my chest, she did it hard, like I was a bumper she was waxing.”(35) According to Junior, the Puerto Rican woman is careless and is not lovely as his mother. This increases his disgust towards his father for being with such a woman that will never be like his mother. This fact supports the idea that his son-father relationship is related to the Freud’s Oedipal Conflict.

One thing all human beings, have in common is the struggle for self identity. Children are raised by parents or guardians who have struggled and fought for their own identities. In many cases, parents are still trying to figure it out, while raising their own children. Such is the case with the characters in Junot Diaz’s, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The theme of identity is conveyed through the characters’ Dominican culture, social standing, and in finding love. Oscar, Lola, and Yunior are three central characters in Oscar Wao, who’s Dominican cultural and family expectations were major obstacles as they struggled to establish their identity.

I think Yunior is the opposite of his brother Rafa. Instead of hiding his emotions and keeping everything inside, he looks for attention by acting out. He’s always in trouble, getting a “whack on the nalgas”, or a “slap on my neck”. The year when Papi was supposed to return, he threw tantrums, got hit and was punished almost every day. He rebelled by tearing his clothes, just to hurt his mom. On the day when Mami leaves

The narrator is totally crushed by the gender discrimination. She longed to be seen by her mother and her grandma. The narrator is heartbroken that her mother loved her brother more than her and failed to notice her. “When she went into Nonso’s room to say good night, she always came out laughing that laugh. Most times, you pressed your palms to your ears to keep the sound out, and kept your palms pressed to your ears, even when she came into your room to say Good night, darling, sleep well. She never left your room with that laugh” (190). Her agony can be easily seen by the way of her narrating. She does not get the affection that she deserves. She really needs the affection from her own mother, but she is not getting it. She compares the love which her mother shows to his brother and herself. This is gender discrimination can be seen with her grandmother too. She hated her grandma as she would always support her brother and find fault with her. Even though what the brother did, no matter what crime. Her mother and grandmother always supported her brother and never supported or showed interest towards

This highlights the realistic atmosphere prevailing as well as reflects the true meaning of relationship. The readers are exposed to the mother-son relationship. It can be seen that even if the narrator is a twenty-year old law student, he is still the little boy who needed his neck scrubbed from the point of view of the mother. Whatever good advice the son gives, it is not followed and instead he is given a lecture. This is a typical mother-son relationship which shows that no matter how much a child grows, he always remains a little kid for the mother. Moreover, the readers also notice the routine life of the narrator and his mother. The boy used to accompany his mother to work and help her which makes a four-hour job becomes two. There is solidarity, strong family bond and understanding between them because although he did not like his mother

Yunior’s lack of motivation to move upward is due the fact that he acknowledges that he is stuck. If there is one thing that the States have taught him it is that he is destined to fail. Recalling a memory about the shuttle launches Yunior’s teacher compares him and his peers to the shuttles. “A few of you are going to make it. Those are the orbiters. But the majority of you

One thing all human beings have in common is the struggle for self identity. Children are raised by parents or guardians who have struggled and fought for their own identities. In many cases, parents are still trying to figure it out, while raising their own children. Such is the case with the characters in Junot Diaz’s, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The theme of identity is conveyed through the characters’ Dominican culture, social standing, and in finding love. Oscar, Lola, and Yunior are three central characters in Oscar Wao, who’s Dominican cultural and familial expectations were major obstacles as they struggled to establish their identity.

From the inception of society, man has always had to cope with instinctive acts that ultimately lead to the decisions they make. In Friedrich Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals, the discussion of guilt and the theory of a bad conscience are portrayed in a noteworthy manner. In this chapter of The Betrothed, multiple characters morality is challenged by the idea of acting on their instincts. One of the main protagonists of the novel, Lucia, is challenged with the decision of listening to Gertrude or potentially lying to Father Cristoforo. Another character called The Unnamed, the man entrusted by Don Rodrigo to kidnap Lucia, faces the decision of acting on impulse in completing his promise he made Don Rodrigo or acting on his morals and letting