Poor Yunior

Throughout Drown, Oscar Wao, and This Is How You Lose Her, one can see how Yunior’s chances at being a loving man are doused by his environment. Yunior frequently displays characteristics that deviate from the stereotypical Dominican male, however, he has been taught to repress his oddities and act as a macho man. One can only be left feeling that if Yunior had been given a chance with a different environment and culture, he would have been a loving and nurturing young man.

 In Drown, Yunior’s innocence is slowly chipped away by his father and Rafa’s behavior. When Yunior is being interrogated by his aunt, he narrates an internal conflict, “something told me to keep my mouth shut. Maybe it was family loyalty, maybe I just wanted to protect Mami or I was afraid that Papi would find out – it could have been anything really” (Diaz 39). Yunior, while clearly displaying his recognition that his family life was dysfunctional and a small desire to share that information, he has been taught by his surroundings to keep things under wraps. Earlier, Yunior had made the mistake of sharing his opinion of his father with an “outsider”, and Rafa quickly corrected this behavior, “Don’t you say that shit in front of people” (Diaz 38). As a result of these interactions, Yunior is taught to be closed off and reluctant to share any family problems or express his concern to anyone.

In Oscar Wao, Yunior’s true nature and personality is easier to pick up on and analyze throughout his writing. Yunior, deep down, is truly a nerd, just like Oscar. However, he has been taught by his peers that this sort of behavior is unacceptable and undesirable. As a result, he is hateful of that side of himself, shown when he talks about the sign on his and Oscar’s dorm room door, “Do you know what sign fool put up on our dorm door? Speak, friend, and enter. In fucking Elvish! (Please don’t ask me how I knew this. Please)” (Diaz 172). Yunior reveals a deeper side of himself in this narration, by acknowledging the fact he knew the sign was in elvish. However, he also is embarrassed of it, emploring the reader to not think too much on that fact. Yunior hides who he truly is from everyone. His negative reaction towards Oscar’s nerdiness is reinforced by his peers, “Actually, Melvin said, it’s gay-hay-hay” (Diaz 172). Melvin, in response to Oscar’s correction to Yunior, mocks him. This reveals how Yunior’s friends respond to this “outlandish” behavior among Dominicans, and as a desperate attempt to fit in, suppresses it. So, the reader can see the Yunior has been taught to hide his true character through Oscar Wao.

In This Is How You Lose Her, Yunior is becoming more like his father in the way he treats women. He cheats, he lies, but is still expectant of his woman to continue to stay with him. This is especially prevalent when Yunior reflects on himself after the encounter with Miss Lora, “Both your father and your brother were sucios […] sucios of the worst kind and now it’s official: you are one too, too. You had hoped the gene missed you, skipped a generation, but clearly you were kidding yourself” (Diaz 165). Yunior acknowledges that he has become like his father and brother, despite a strong desire to not become them. This shows Yunior’s helplessness in this situation: he clearly does not want to be a cheating scumbag, but he became one anyways. He is a victim of his environment, and his true self will never have a chance to show as a result. Yunior has learned to suppress his quirkiness, hide his true feelings and concerns, developed a lack of trust for confiding in others, and has become a mirror image of his father and brother, despite his deepest wishes.