Yunior also gains another negative perspective of traditional masculinity through his father. To begin with, Yunior has no relationship with or memories of his father for the first 9 years of his life. However, he is forced to watch his mother struggle to keep her children alive and get disappointed again and again every time Papi calls, lies, and begs for money. Through his mother’s sufferings, Yunior comes to resent his own father. Then when his father reappears in Yunior’s life, their relationship is based primarily on fear and screaming. As best exemplified in the story “Fiesta, 1980”, Yunior’s most vivid memories are of his father yelling at him for eating before they must drive somewhere. Although Yunior craves nothing more than for his father to love him, he is forced to accept the silent treatment or a whack to the ear for most of his life. Yunior and Rafa are also forced to meet their father’s latest tryst and listen to them have sex while they remain downstairs on the couch (paralleling how Yunior was forced to sit outside while Rafa had sex at the party). Yunior grows to resent these moments even more, for he must keep them to himself – Rafa tells him that their father’s actions are family business and not to be discussed with anyone, not even their mother. As Yunior grows, he comes to realize that his father is not a good person; he knows that the way he has treated his own family and wife are wrong. And because Yunior has no other role model besides Rafa or his father, he also comes to view these traditional objectives of masculinity, mainly domination and sex, in a very negative light. These traditional portrayals of masculinity are central to the development of Yunior’s own masculinity and thus to Drown as a whole.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Traditional Masculinity
A theme central to Drown
is Yunior’s experiences with traditional masculinity. With his father as the
poster child and his brother as a replica of their father, Yunior is surrounded
by negative male role models. These models lead Yunior to have quite disparaging
thoughts on traditional masculine objectives. The attitudes and actions of the
men in Yunior’s life cripple his own masculinity from an early age. For
example, at the party in “Fiesta, 1980”, Yunior states that he is terrified of
talking to girls. While Yunior sits on the couch or in the corner afraid of
conversing, he is forced to listen to his brother Rafa’s sexual escapades and
stand guard outside the door. Yunior is completely bowled over by his brother’s
personality and womanizing tendencies. Throughout his life, Yunior never
develops a close relationship with Rafa; when they are together, Rafa is perennially
running off to find another girl to sleep with, never letting Yunior tag along.
These selfish, alpha-male, overtly sexual attitudes repel Yunior. He is unable
to bond with his brother, as they have nothing in common, and he merely turns
inward at the brashness of Rafa’s actions. Yunior does not speak lovingly of
his brother; rather, he only talks negatively of Rafa’s actions that so mirror
their father’s.
Yunior also gains another negative perspective of traditional masculinity through his father. To begin with, Yunior has no relationship with or memories of his father for the first 9 years of his life. However, he is forced to watch his mother struggle to keep her children alive and get disappointed again and again every time Papi calls, lies, and begs for money. Through his mother’s sufferings, Yunior comes to resent his own father. Then when his father reappears in Yunior’s life, their relationship is based primarily on fear and screaming. As best exemplified in the story “Fiesta, 1980”, Yunior’s most vivid memories are of his father yelling at him for eating before they must drive somewhere. Although Yunior craves nothing more than for his father to love him, he is forced to accept the silent treatment or a whack to the ear for most of his life. Yunior and Rafa are also forced to meet their father’s latest tryst and listen to them have sex while they remain downstairs on the couch (paralleling how Yunior was forced to sit outside while Rafa had sex at the party). Yunior grows to resent these moments even more, for he must keep them to himself – Rafa tells him that their father’s actions are family business and not to be discussed with anyone, not even their mother. As Yunior grows, he comes to realize that his father is not a good person; he knows that the way he has treated his own family and wife are wrong. And because Yunior has no other role model besides Rafa or his father, he also comes to view these traditional objectives of masculinity, mainly domination and sex, in a very negative light. These traditional portrayals of masculinity are central to the development of Yunior’s own masculinity and thus to Drown as a whole.
Yunior also gains another negative perspective of traditional masculinity through his father. To begin with, Yunior has no relationship with or memories of his father for the first 9 years of his life. However, he is forced to watch his mother struggle to keep her children alive and get disappointed again and again every time Papi calls, lies, and begs for money. Through his mother’s sufferings, Yunior comes to resent his own father. Then when his father reappears in Yunior’s life, their relationship is based primarily on fear and screaming. As best exemplified in the story “Fiesta, 1980”, Yunior’s most vivid memories are of his father yelling at him for eating before they must drive somewhere. Although Yunior craves nothing more than for his father to love him, he is forced to accept the silent treatment or a whack to the ear for most of his life. Yunior and Rafa are also forced to meet their father’s latest tryst and listen to them have sex while they remain downstairs on the couch (paralleling how Yunior was forced to sit outside while Rafa had sex at the party). Yunior grows to resent these moments even more, for he must keep them to himself – Rafa tells him that their father’s actions are family business and not to be discussed with anyone, not even their mother. As Yunior grows, he comes to realize that his father is not a good person; he knows that the way he has treated his own family and wife are wrong. And because Yunior has no other role model besides Rafa or his father, he also comes to view these traditional objectives of masculinity, mainly domination and sex, in a very negative light. These traditional portrayals of masculinity are central to the development of Yunior’s own masculinity and thus to Drown as a whole.
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