Stuck

In all of Junot Diaz's books, the character Yunior is used as as the main example of a Dominican-American immigrant. Contrary to the books statements on Dominican masculinity, Yunior is meant to be different than the rest. Rather than merely being a careless womanizing man, he begins to develop deep relationships with his lovers especially depicted in This Is How You Lose Her, "Magda's my heart" he says sincerely in the first story (This Is How You Lose Her, 6). Though Yunior has several distinguishing qualities which set him apart from others, such as a being a fairly accomplished writer, and being very intelligent (and secretly nerdy), he seems to be stuck in an everlasting rut of which is the stereotypical "Dominican male".

Yunior's main male figures in his life when growing up were Rafa and Ramon. Ramon a man who took his sons to go see his mistress, and Rafa who was evidently hooking up with girls at the age of 14. In accordance to these influences, Yunior begins to do the same. In college he cheats on almost every girl he meets, he reminisces "My girl Suriyan found out I was messing with one of her hermanas" (Oscar Wao, 175). But in many cases, the moment he is found out, is the moment he is most connected to the girl, he is"overwhelmed by a pelagic sadness. Sadness at being caught, at the incontrovertible knowledge that she will never forgive you" (This Is How You Lose Her, 49).  At this point (after being caught), he becomes an apologetic wreck for months upon months: "You stop drinking. You stop smoking. you claim you're a sex addict and start attending meetings. You blame your father" (This is How you Lose her, 180), and when she is finally gone, he becomes neurotic turning back to drinking, smoking, and his "sucias". 

Yunior shows the most variability through his experiences with Oscar. This man who was not the stereotype, not the womanizer, but rather a passionate dreamer who effects Yunior much deeper than he ever expects. Eventually after Oscar's death he claims "I'm a new man, you see, a new man, a new man" (Oscar Wao, 326). But is he really? He is happy, content, writing, but he cannot ever escape his heritage. Even though he is married he states "I don't run around after girls anymore. Not much, anyway" (Oscar Wao, 326). 

So for most of Yunior's life, he is stuck. Stuck in this sort of everlasting circle of relationship, cheating, getting found out, deep regret, and then the circle repeats. In this way Yunior is a slave to his heritage, no matter what American standards seem to be.