Dominant Male in Drown

                In Junot Diaz’s Drown, unnerving gender roles are extremely prevalent throughout the novel. In Yunior’s home, the readers are given a picture where the male of the household resides dominantly over the female, an accepted and normal part of their culture. Yunior’s father has the final say in everything, and is able to use physical violence and threats as he pleases, without having to worry about repercussions or interference from anyone else, especially his wife. In their household, the boys live in fear of their aggressive father. For example, when the family was getting ready to drive out to visit their cousins, Yunior makes the mistake of eating before the road trip. The father is infuriated, since Yunior has terrible carsickness every time he rides in the car. He ensures that on the trip back, Yunior is not allowed to eat beforehand. He threatens that if Yunior eats anything, he will beat him, and if Rafa were to grab him anything, he would beat Rafa as well. However, this exchange is kept between the two of them, and not on public display. Perhaps this indicates that violence within the family is not a part of normal family life in this culture.

                Their father has a woman on the side, and feels free enough to introduce the boys to her and bring them to her home. Their father feels above everyone else, and takes advantage of the fact that he can do whatever he wants without any threat of consequence. Although, his wife does not know about the woman he is having an affair with, and I find it interesting that the father is not more open about it with his wife. Perhaps this means that having an adultress is not widely accepted, but not entirely rejected, either.

                 However, despite the acceptance of a dominant male, the abusive side is not treated with the same fashion. While the boys are visiting their cousins, they expect their uncle to hit his son who turned the TV up too loudly. However, he does not, and the boys are shocked. In addition, sharing any information about their father gets Yunior into trouble with Rafa. Through these experiences, the readers are shown that although it is common for a dominant male to reside in the house, abuse is not a factor in the norm. The difference in the way the uncle treats his son and the concern expressed by the aunt further proves that dominance is not equal to abuse in this culture.