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Junot Diaz's 'How To Date A Browngirl, Blackgirl'

1165 Words5 Pages

Dating: 101 Fiction Essay-How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie. Junot Díaz’s “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie”, an excerpt from Díaz’s novel, “Drown”, was written as an instructional brochure for teenage boys attempting to get a little action. The narrator walks the reader through the step-by-step process of not only staging the apartment, “Put the basket with all the crapped-on toilet paper under the sink. Spray the bucket with Lysol, then close the cabinet.” To what should be said during dinner, according to the race of the girl. Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey. A graduate of Rutgers College, Díaz is regarded as a critically acclaimed author, having received …show more content…

The narrator states that the directions must be in your best handwriting, out of fear her parents may think you’re an idiot. The connection between social order and intelligence is an indication that our narrator is not as confident with his bravado as he want us to believe. As we proceed on the actual date, provided the girl shows up, we are schooled on how to make the neighborhood, which could be a potential deal-breaker, seem more intriguing and less intimidating, hoping she takes interest in the story of the tear gas incident. Our narrator paints an image of extraordinary beauty, nothing short of watching the skylights of the Aurora Borealis, “Pollutants have made Jersey sunsets one of the wonders of the world. Point it out. Touch her shoulder and say, That’s nice, …show more content…

He wants the reader to take his words and instructions as words of wisdom, however, as we finish this section on dating, we become more and more aware that Yunior really has no idea what he is doing, no matter who the girl is, “In school she is known for her attention-grabbing laugh, as high and far-ranging as a gull, but here she will worry you. You will not know what to say.” Our narrators over the top confidence is shattered when the girl refuses intimacy and conversation is where her mood is. As readers, we are only given the very minimal details on other characters, a blackgirl will have grown up with ballet lessons and three cars in her driveway, a whitegirl is the one you want the most. A Halfie will tell you about her parents meeting in the movement and she really doesn’t like black people, ironic due in part that one of her parents is black. Yunior is a very flat character, we know of his intentions for dating, we he is Dominican, and we know he is embarrassed of his childhood. Other than these character traits, we do not know what Yunior’s aspirations could be. The character of Howie is also flat, we only know that he causes issues for Yunior and acts as somewhat of a terrorizer in the neighborhood. Junot Díaz writes about dating, social classes, the differences between parental roles based on race, and the difficulties that come with being happy with yourself. You’re the

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