Analysis Of The Poem Drown By Junot Diaz - 1561 Words

To practice machismo, also known as masculinity in a Dominican culture, males have to hide their flaws and act a certain way. If men express their un-masculine nature, they will be seen as expressing their weakness. In Drown written by Junot Dà ­az, contains many stories about Dominican Republic male struggles as an immigrant in America. One of the struggles Dà ­az expresses in his text is appearing masculine in society’s eyes. From the story â€Å"Drown†, the unnamed narrator expresses what it means to be masculine. â€Å"Boyfriend† is a story about another unnamed narrator observing his neighbor’s relationship, and comparing it to his own past. Yunior, the narrator of the story â€Å"Negocios†, explains the history of his father Papi, also known as Ramà ³n. Society creates many definitions for what it means to be masculine, leading the narrator from â€Å"Drown†, the narrator from â€Å"Boyfriend†, and Ramà ³n struggling to choos e between doing what they want for themselves, or do what society wants to see. Being superior can lead to a dangerous relationship. From the story â€Å"Drown†, the narrator’s best friend Beto is about to go to college while the narrator still have a year left to go. During their hang out at a pool, the narrator mentions a word that Beto does not know while they are swimming. Beto demands the narrator to tell him the definition but he refuses. This causes Beto to become furious and pushes the narrator under the water. The narrator explains, â€Å"He was stronger than me and held me down