Post 3-The American Dream, as Portrayed in Drown

Drew Hussung

The American Dream is something that Americans hold in high esteem; the idea that anybody can come to America and "make it" through sheer will and determination is one that we cling to and admire.  However in Drown, Junot Diaz sheds light on just what the American Dream entails for those immigrating with hopes of a better life, the kind of sacrifice necessary to achieve this Dream and just how easy it is to fall into a hole and never make it out.

Through the first half of the book, Yunior's father "Papi" stands as a colossus; the reader receives very little insight as to his motivations and thoughts.  Papi is most notable for the type of violence and cruelty that he shows to his family.  It is known that Papi abandoned his family after traveling to America with little or no contact and money, but the reader never learns just what Papi does during this time. The last story in Drown is titled Negocios, and here we finally learn just what Papi does during this time in America.  Papi's story shows just what one must do to reach the promise of the American Dream.

Upon moving, Papi's first housing experience is in a tiny apartment with three other immigrants where he "slept on a carpet whose fraying threads kept sticking to his shaved head" (171).  Papi has to live in utter filth and poverty, saving and scrounging every bit he can in order to finally earn the money necessary to travel to New York, which is the embodiment of the American Dream for Papi.  He hitchhikes his way across the East Coast, even walking 380 miles from Virginia on in order to "...not arrive complete broke" (174).  Papi works nineteen-hour workweeks while in New York, two jobs with a four hour break in-between.  This sort of ragged determination is not a common attribute, and even those who have it are not promised upward mobility or wealth in America.

On top of the excessive workload and poverty that Papi must deal with in order to gain just a foothold in America, Papi also must engage in morally questionable behavior even to just gain citizenship.  While already married, he must marry another woman, gaining US citizenship, before shortly divorcing her thereafter.  What is truly shocking is a passage from page 178, which reads, "It was the old routine...Find a citizen, get married, wait and then divorce her."  So this practice is not just utilized, but commonplace amongst immigrants looking to achieve citizenship in as quick and painless a method as possible. 

These things that we, as Americans, praise as truths and simple possibilities like upward mobility and financial success are tainted with an uglier truth.  It takes incredible luck and intelligence to start with nothing and end up a happy, prosperous American.  Even incredible amounts of determination and work-ethic are not enough oftentimes.  Even something we take for granted like citizenship is a luxury that others would do nearly anything for.