JUNOT DIAZ
1968-
“I’m sentence by sentence slow. And you would think that I would create
more elaborate sentences. For all my plod, I still produce rather
workmanlike, short sentences. So in some ways it’s rather sad, but yep,
it’s both. It’s easy to talk about this shit because people will tell you
nonsense, but I think the slowness of my production speaks for itself. I
work extremely slowly, and I will re-write a story fifty times.”
~from an interview with Marina Lewis (Other Voices #36)
Short Biography
• Born 1969, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
• Moved to the United States with his parents at age six,
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settling in New Jersey.
Graduate of Rutgers University and received his Master of
Fine Arts Degree from Cornell University.
Drown (1996). Diaz's debut story collection reflects his
experience as a Dominican born in the barrios of Santo
Domingo who was later transplanted to the gritty
environment of urban northern New Jersey. Published
when he was 27 years old.
Currently a creative writing professor at MIT.
Became the First Latino to be appointed to the Pulitzer
Prize board of Jurors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq0hytHV8o4
Major Themes
• Absent fathers
• Aimless sex
• Dreary housing projects (from his New Jersey
childhood)
• Mothers struggling for their families and themselves
• Casual and deliberate cruelty
• Poverty
Major Works
• “The
Sun, the Moon and the Stars,” his first short story
• (1996) Drown
• (2000) Cheater's Guide to Love
• (2007) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
• (2012) This Is How You Lose Her
• (TBA) Monstro
“Drown” - Characters:
• Yunior- Living in the US with only his mother now
• Mother- Quiet and lost, misses Yunior’s father
• Beto- Yunior’s old friend
• Alex and Danny- The guys Yunior drinks with at night
• Recruiter- Tries to recruit Yunior for the Army
• Father- Only present in flashbacks and when Yunior’s
mother talks to him on the phone. Lives in Florida now
with another woman.
“Drown” - Summary
• Mother tells Yunior that Beto is back and wants to see him
• Beto left for college and Yunior stayed behind
• Yunior goes to the pool in the middle of the night, half•
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expecting to see Beto there
Mother doesn’t understand why Yunior and Beto don’t
hang out anymore
Yunior takes his mother to the mall. It’s one of the only
times she leaves the apartment
Yunior and Beto used to shoplift together
Army recruiter once tried to recruit Yunior
Yunior skipped out of school a lot
Beto and Yunior had two homosexual encounters
Main Theme
• Difficulty of changing one’s place in life, despite the
recognition that there are preferable alternatives that
might be achieved with hard work.
Questions for discussion
• Is Yunior ashamed of his ability to read? (see page 1243)
• What do you think is the meaning of the title? How does
the title relate to the story? What sorts of metaphorical
drowning are present in the story?
• What are some elements that show racial antagonism in
the story?
• “Drown” closes with two parallel scenes: the narrator and
Beto watch a porn movie together, and then the narrator
and his mother watch a classic movie together. Analyze
the significance of these moments. How are they similar?
How are they different?