All three of Diaz's book centralize around Yunior's life. He is the character that the readers get the most background on and get the most insight to his thoughts and feelings. The readers get the opportunity to see Yunior grow up as a young Dominican boy brought later to the United States. Diaz does a very good job at presenting this idea of a standard Dominican man; someone who is strong, gets lots of women, and doesn't show much emotion. Throughout the books, Yunior himself displays many of these traits at some point or another, but he also seems to have some differences from this stereotype. Is Yunior just another Dominican man or is there something more to him?
Drown gives readers a glimpse of Yunior's childhood. From the first couple of stories it is clear that Yunior is different from his brother and father. Rafa is very impulsive and enjoys getting in trouble and sleeping with as many girls as he can get, much like his father. However, Yunior is much more emotional. He cries when Rafa and him have strayed too far on their journey and seems to really care for his mother. Yunior's sensitivity is one of the reasons him and Rafa "fought so much" that their "neighbors took to smashing broomsticks over [them] to break it up" (Drown 5). He
is also often further ridiculed by Rafa and beat by his father. As a child, Yunior seems to lack the qualities of the "macho" men that every male seems to strive for in these books. At first it seems hopeful that Yunior will be the one to break this mold, but it seems the pressure from his family and society get to him as he ages through the other books.
As a teenager, Yunior emerges as a sex crazed adolescence that can't seem to stay out of trouble. On the outside, it seems that his family and society has transformed him into the Dominican stereotype. Yunior can not remain faithful in a relationship and even cheats on his would be fiancé with over 50 other women knowing full well that the one thing "she swore she would never forgive, was cheating" (Lose Her 175). He gets involved with drugs and outwardly seems to objectify women. By all outward appearances there doesn't seem to be anything special about Yunior and he is just a typical Dominican man.
However, as much as Yunior tries to be masculine, he still has some differences that set him apart. First, Yunior is nerdy and this may be part of the reason Yunior's sexual experiences begin much later than his older brothers. He states that it without the other nerdy girls, he "might never have lost [his] virginity"(45). He is clearly intelligent, writes often, and knows random nerdy facts like how to read Elvish. Yunior's hidden interests allow him to interact well with Oscar in college, but unlike Oscar, Yunior hides from others these interests and at times seems ashamed of it. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, readers can start to pull back Yunior's mask at catch a glimpse at the real boy inside. While Yunior messes around with many women, the quirkiness Yunior displays when alone with Oscar shows that there might be more to him than his facade of masculinity.
Yunior also stands apart from other Dominican men with his treatment of women. Yunior does sleep with and cheat on many women, but unlike his father and brother, some of his relationships seem to be looking for something deeper than sex. This is How You Lose Her presents two very similar stories about Yunior. In the first and last story of the book, Yunior is in a relationship, revealed to have been unfaithful, and the two different girlfriends in the stories stay with him for a short time. It is the things he does after he has been caught cheating that set him apart from the other men in the story. Yunior tries his hardest to make it work. He claims to be "a sex addict and starts attending meetings","gives her the passwords to all [his] e-mail accounts", and composes a mass e-mail disowning all [his] sucias" (176). It seems to be very clear to Yunior that he screwed up and he works his butt off trying to win his women back. Many of the other men in the books, likely would not have done the things Yunior did. They likely would have accepting being caught and move on to the next women in line. While he still is controlled by a lot of the physical aspects of relationships, Yunior actually seems to put some emotional investments into some of his relationships. He real intention does seem to find love, but sex keeps getting in his way. Unlike Rafa, Yunior sometimes really struggles after a break-up which is especially seen in the last story of This is How You Lose Her. Yunior's heartbreaks shows that he actually formed strong bonds with some of these women and probably loved a couple of them. Even with Flaca, Yunior is in a relationship that is not meant to be serious and is mainly about sex. While this would be many mens' dreams in this book, Yunior is not satisfied, and after Flaca leaves, he wishes there had been more to their relationship. Unlike most of the men, Yunior seems to be looking for a deeper emotional connection with many of these women and regrets hurting them.
While Yunior puts on this mask of being a stereotypical Dominican man, Diaz shows the readers that there is more to him than just that. Even in childhood, Yunior is shown to be more sensitive than other boys and to have different interests. However, as he gets older, he soon conforms to the society he is raised in and follows the example of his brother and father. Diaz tries to show through that Yunior has different ideals than the men in his family and perhaps if he had been raised in a different kind of environment, he might have grown up to be much more like Oscar.
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