Identity Manipulation PDF

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In the novel Drown by Junot Diaz it features multiple short stories that focuses on the different hardships that the Dominican people have to face as they live in America. In these short stories one gets to follow Yunior, a teenage Dominican boy and his family as they go through trying to get adjusted to the American way of living after they have just immigrated to the United States. The reader gets to see these events happening in Yunior’s point of view and how he handles certain situations. As one reads the “guidelines” of how to date girls of different ethnicities in the short story How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl or Halfie, by Junot Diaz, we see Yunior struggle with his identity as he tries to deal with different girls based upon their racial stereotypes. If one was to look at the Dominican Republic culture they would see that their own people is not true to their real roots because of outside opinions. In his interview with NPR radio Diaz states that the Latino community is viewed as being “invisible, erased, or deformed” due to the fact that their culture has been constantly under modification because of the events in their history (Martin). The Dominicans in specificity has been subject to migration and cultural clashing which makes their ethnic group diverse; however, this has led to “…contradictions and pressures that continue to complicates Dominican-American identity creation in the U.S” (Bautista 83). This means that they have to try to get accustomed to a society that does not have a specific label for them. Also, resulting in these individuals not knowing how to truly classify themselves and not accepting their culture to the fullest, this tends to create a weak sense of identity amongst the individuals in this group. In the beginning of the story one can see how Yunior is not fully accepting of certain traits that is a part of his true identity. He is embarrassed to claim his African roots because he

tells the reader to, “hide the pictures of yourself with an Afro” (Diaz 166). Yunior does not want to risk the chance of the girls coming into his house and see that he is associated with having African descent, even though it is a part of his ethnicity. In their culture, they tend to look down upon people who are of a darker skin tone because the lighter the skin tone is the more they are praised. In result of this Yunior is more focused on trying to impress the white girl because, “whiteness is a sign of social mobility…sexual possession of a “whitegirl” is as close as Yunior can get to possessing whiteness itself” (Moreno 17). White people are associated with being higher up in the social class, so if he was successful in getting a white girl to date him this would be a big accomplishment for him. This is why he tends to have more interest in how to date a white girl in the story and getting him to like her, even if it means that he has to cover up who he true identity. As Yunior goes on to describe which way one should act towards a girl depending on her race, the reader gets to see the various stereotypes of the different races and how he is able to manipulate his identity. According to Paula Moya she makes a statement that, “…the title invokes the commonly accepted, but less openly acknowledged, practice of treating people differently according to the race, class, gender, and sexuality they are associated”, which means that it is not a surprise that when it comes to people of different races people they tend to treat and act differently around one another (Moya 109). People in today’s society has accepted the fact that one could not simply interact with someone the same outside of their race versus if it was someone of their own race. When dealing with another race people usually act upon them depending on the type of stereotypes that are set forth of that ethnic group, if dealing with them for the first time.

Yunior displays the action of changing his appearance based upon the type of race he is dealing with by saying that, “if the girl’s from around the way, take her to El Cibao for dinner. Order everything in your busted-up Spanish. Let her correct you is she’s Latina and amaze her if she’s black. If she’s not from around the way, Wendy’s will do” (Diaz 167). The girls from around the neighborhood have to be treated better because they are said to have a reputation that does not involve them being easily involved in sexual activities. Women of the Latina and African American ethnicity are known by other races to come off as more aggressive and harder to please so one would have to really go out of his way to impress them. In this part of the story we see where Yunior actually tries his best to show his Dominican ethnicity even though he does not care too much to display it. On the other hand, if the girl is not from around the neighborhood then Yunior claims that one does not have to put in a great amount of effort to impress them. For example, he says that, “a white girl might just give it up right then” because white girls are stereotyped as more outgoing and easier to have sexual interactions with (Diaz 168). In result of this he settles for less with these girls because it does not take that much of persuasion to try to get them to indulge in sexual activity with him. This means that he does not have to necessarily count upon his ethnicity because this is where he tends to hide it or put it off to the side To conclude, one can see how Yunior struggles with his identity, because he tends to take upon a new appearance depending on the type of girl he is around. Yunior is going off on what people perceive of these individuals and what he thinks is right because he is still young he has not had real experience with these girls. If the girl ethnicity shares common ground with his’ then he tends to try to stick to his Dominican race. On the other hand, if the girl is an outsider than he tries not to be so big in showing his real ethnicity. In addition to, when it comes to the

Dominican Republic heritage if a person’s skin color is lighter the more they are praised, so Yunior could see that dating a girl of lighter skin tone could be a big accomplishment for him.

Works Citied Ba u t i s t a ,Da n i e l . " I na ndou to ft h eMa i n s t r e a m:Domi n i c a n Ame r i c a nI de n t i t yi nJ u no tDí a z ' s Ho wt oDa t eaBr o wn g i r l , Bl a c k g i r l ,Wh i t e g i r l , o rHa l fie . "Ro ma n c eNo t e s , v o l . 4 9 , no . 1 ,

J a n.2 00 9 , p p . 8 1 8 9 . EBSCOh os t , s e a r c h . e b s c o h o s t . c o m/ l o g i n . a s p x ? di r e c t =t r u e &Au t h T y p e =i p, u i d&d b =a 9 h &AN=4 8 12 2 8 5 6 &s i t e =e h o s t l i v e . Diaz, Junot. “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl or Halfie.” Kendra N. Bryant and Veronica A. Yon. Writing from the Hill: An Introduction to Reading and Writing About Literature. First Edition. Boston: Pearson, 2015, pp.166-169 Martin, Michel, and Junot Diaz. “Author Explains Tales Of New Vision, New Life.” NPR, NPR, 10 June 2009, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105193110. Accessed 25 Feb. 2018. Moreno, Marisel. “Debunking Myths, Destabilizing Identities: A Reading of Junot Diazs "How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie".” Afro-Hispanic Review, University of Notre Dame, www.academia.edu/5402958/Debunking_Myths_Destabilizing_Identities_A_Reading_of _Junot_Diazs_How_to_Date_a_Browngirl_Blackgirl_Whitegirl_or_Halfie_. U Mo y a ,Pa u l aL. . TheSo c i a lI mp e r a t i v e:Ra c e , Cl o s eRe a d i n g ,a ndCon t e mp o r a r yLi t e r a r y Cr i t i c i s m,St a n f o r dUn i v e r s i t yPr e s s , 20 1 5 .Pr o Qu e s tEbo o kCe n t r a l ,h t t p s : / / e b o o k c e n t r a l pr oq u e s t c o m. f a mu p r o x y . f c l a . e d u/ l i b/ f a mu / d e t a i l . a c t i o n ? d o c I D=4 4 1 4 7 6 0....