The Endless Cycle of Poverty

The environment in which one lives and the people that surround him can have monumental effects on their mannerisms, behavior, and view of others. The psychological influence that Rafa and Ysrael have on Yunior in the beginning of the book is apparent even in the way that Yunior writes. The harsh “Spanglish” and derogatory names such as “pato” and “pendejo” reflect the unkempt lifestyle Yunior lived in shabby New Jersey. Rafa taught Yunior early on that showing weakness wasn’t manly or tough and definitely not accepted in their neighborhood. Even after Yunior went through such a traumatic event on the bus when the man violated him, Rafa said, “You have to get tougher. Crying all the time. Do you think our papi’s crying? Do you think that’s what he’s been doing the last six years?” (Díaz 14).

When the only people Rafa and Yunior have to look up to are a father who is unfaithful and beats them at the sight of any flaw or misbehavior, the only life they’re going to know as they grow up is a life of violence in every aspect. This lifestyle perpetuates the drug industry, the crime in cities, and mistreatment of women in relationships; illustrated by Yunior’s life itself. We wonder at the stereotypes of those growing up in a poor neighborhood, but they are all the result of an endless cycle: violence creates violence. In Yunior’s drug dealing business, in his physical violence in every friendship, and his abuse of Aurora, he embodies the stereotype of a kid growing up in a ghetto.

The entire environment thrives on fear. It seems as if the only way one can ignore and hide their own fear is by instilling it in others – a never-ending cycle. When Yunior sees his friend Eggie getting beat up and peed on in an alley (58); when his life revolved around drugs, sex, and violence; he doesn’t know any reaction other than to deal with those around him in the same way. It’s almost like culture shock for me to watch his life spiral down so fast, having grown up in a fortunate, safe neighborhood, and I hate that some people live like that. In a neighborhood like that, fear eliminates any hope – no one even tries to escape because everyone else they know seems trapped. Stemming from the “manly” influences Yunior had in his father and Rafa, it seems as if he just followed the one narrow path he knew – the common path into a life of violence.