The Evolution of Masks

Junot Diaz vividly depicts the Dominican culture in Drown, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and This Is How You Lose Her.  Women are seen as the accessory to men, who harbor the control in the relationship.  In general, men are also seen as "sucios" - filthy cheaters who objectify women and abuse their families.  However, these novels depict the transition between the Dominican culture and the Dominican-American culture, showcasing the significant alterations in what men and women expect out of a relationship and what they will do to receive what they believe they deserve.

In the Dominican culture, the typical male is expected to behave in a certain way, suppressing his emotions in exchange for power and dominance.  Yunior, a recurring character in all three of these Diaz novels, struggles to achieve what is seen by his culture as the ideal Dominican male.  In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the narrator states that Yunior "Had none of the Higher Powers of your typical Dominican male, couldn't have pulled a girl if his life depended on it.  Couldn't play sports for shit, or dominoes, was beyond uncoordinated, threw a ball like a girl.  Had no knack for music or business or dance, no hustle, no rap, no G.  And most damning of all: no looks" (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 20).  In order to overcome these shortcomings, Yunior masks his true personality in his effort to optimize the Dominican in him. 

These masks stem from a place of shame due to the pressures that were placed on him by his Domincan peers, especially his father and brother.  For example, Yunior says, "I was fourteen and reading Dhalgren for the second time; I had an IQ that would have broken you in two but I would have traded it in for a halfway decent face in a second" (This Is How You Lose Her 31).  Ultimately, Yunior turns to sex and lust to achieve the inner-Dominican in himself, but it is clear how quickly he regrets his decision, making it evident that this was simply a mask he put on to be considered "normal" by Dominican standards.  After cheating on his kind and generous girlfriend Paloma, the narrator shares, "[Your father and brother were] sucios of the worst kind and now it's official: you are one, too.  You had hoped the gene missed you, skipped a generation, but clearly you were kidding yourself" (This Is How You Lose Her 161).  Yunior's hope that he would not become like his father or brother demonstrates a key difference in his character: his desire to treat women with respect. 

Overall, Yunior's behavior in the three novels exhibits a conflict between what he is expected to be and what he believes is moral.  Although the typical Dominican male can achieve happiness and success with the expected demeanor, it is clear that life in the United States does not necessarily coincide with this outcome.  Women gain more independence and alter their expectations and standards.  They tend to shed their masks, forcing men like Yunior to shed theirs as well if they want any hope in achieving a happy, loving life or in achieving the American dream.