Junot Diaz is a Dominican-American writer who mostly speaks about his Dominican

culture and how it pertains in America, mostly about young Dominican-American men. The story
I read from Diaz is How to Date a Brown Girl, Back Girl, White Girl, and Halfie. This story is
every interesting to me because a young timid foreign boy doesnt really know how girls are and
seeks advice from his friend on how to bag a girl.
For smooth guidance, the following is Diazs collections and stories in those collections
(in order):
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-drown/#gsc.tab=0
Drown : Ysrael, Fiesta, 1980, Aurora, Aguantando, Drown, Boyfriend, Edison,
New Jersey, How to Date a Brown Girl, Blacl Girl, White Girl, or Halfie, No face, and
Negocios.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brief_Wondrous_Life_of_Oscar_Wao
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: Ghetto Nerd at the End of the World, Wildwood,
The Three Heartbreaks of Belicia Cabral, Sentimental Education, Poor Abelard, Land of
the Lost, The Final Voyage, The End of the Story. The Final Letter is an epilogue (Wiki).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_How_You_Lose_Her
This Is How You Lose Her: "The Sun, The Moon, The Stars", "Nilda", "Alma, "Otravida,
Otravez", "Flaca", "The Pura Principle, "Invierno", "Miss Lora, "The Cheaters Guide to
Love".
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105193110

This website contains an interview of Junot Diaz and host, Michel Martin. Diaz talks
about his book collection, Drown and takes listeners into the stories that are in the book
collection. The stories are based on young Dominican-American men and talks about them
building new lives and seeing a new vision.
First, Diaz talks about the setting of his story Drown. He said that he began with the
idea of Drown being based in central New Jersey. Having immigrant communities that are
organized or that are located around major cities but not exactly in them. His next idea was to
base a family (one that was very similar to his own) and write about the standards they have to
deal with in their American communities as immigrants. Diaz is also known for speaking of
painful truths. Diaz is an author who isnt shy to tell it like it is in his stories. How to Date a
Brown Girl, Back Girl, White Girl, and Halfie can vouch for that. In the short story, Diaz
touches on different races and how each race of girls will act towards the date with Yunior.
Would the girl give it up on the first date? If so, where do you need to take her to get some by
the end of the night? I recall Yuniors friend telling him that if the girl is not from around the way
taking her to Wendys is okay. Just for the record for any of the guys who has read the story,
please be aware that it is a false approach to go about. Diaz said it himself in the interview. Diaz
says, The story is actually sort of a deranged and deeply flawed how-to guide (Martin). If you
ever read Diazs stories then youll notice that he includes Spanish words in the middle of a
sentence here and there. Although Dias does not like to translate Spanish words to English, in the
book collection, The Story and Its Writer by Ann Charters the words/phrases in Spanish are
translated in English. But for future references if you read his stories that are not in the book
collection, The story and Its Writers it is best to look the word up on the web just so you can
have a better understanding of the word. Words and/or phrases can actually be valuable to the

story. The reason Diaz does not like to translate the words is because he wants the reader to seek
out to other people and ask them. Diaz said, For me, not translating the words was more about
like just this deep faith that readers who are really curious are going to reach out to other people.
You know, in some ways I leave stuff un-translated not as a way to vex my audience but as a way
to just, you know, it gives people things to do, man. It sort of encourages folks to like reach out
and to do a little of their own research, to talk to friends, man (Martin). I should also note that
not every Spanish word means the same in every Spanish culture/community. I am Salvadorian
and from experience I know that Salvadorians, Mexicans, and Dominicans all have our different
language. In the story, Yuniors friend tells him to call one of his boys and say Lo, hice, loco. Or
just sit back on the couch and smile (Diaz 354). The word loco or loca is used by a majority
of Dominicans. As a witness, most of them say it after every sentence-males and females. You
can say it is apart of their culture, no harm is intended when they say loco/a. But in my culture,
I would hear the word loca as a negative connotation. For instance, my mom can say Tu stas
loca which translates to You are crazy. The direct term means crazy, but the way Dominicans
use it is more of a saying like bro for instance. For example, teenage boys and some adult
males will use the word bro just as a saying or even because it has become a habit to say it.
They could say, how was last night bro?-even if that person is not their actually brother.
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-main-character-how-date-brown-girl-by380286
Although this website provides somewhat of the same information as the other website I
mentioned earlier, this webpage goes more into depth about the story How to Date a Brown
Girl, Black Girl, White Girl, and Halfie. There is a saying in the story about government cheese,
and it had my classmates and I wondering what it actually meant (it was formed in a different
way for one of the question on a Reader Response discussion board). The saying in the story

said, Clear the government cheese from the refrigerator (Diaz 352). I will be honest and say
that this sentence had me thinking what Yuniors friend meant by that. After I read what Carol
Davis, a college teacher, said it became clear to me. And if I may add, it was the most obvious
connection ever! Davis said, government cheese indicated that his family is on welfare. I
cant believe it didnt cross my mind thats what Yuniors friend meant by government cheese.
Upon this finding, I then thought of where Yuniors friend who is giving him all this advice is
from. Does he and his family live on welfare too? Is he Dominican-American, or from another
Spanish culture? And how does he know so much about different types of girls? Is his friend
narrow-minded that he has to classify every girls culture and ethnic background or is he just
being a guy? But Yuniors friend may be a girl-It was never stated. I think that some of these
questions are important to have in mind when reading this story because it can help sort out
Yuniors friend character-since he/she is the second main character-who isnt discussed, he or she
is just the one giving Yunior advice.
One other thing that downed on me as I read this article by Davis is that I failed to realize
that Yuniors friend was just giving Yunior pointers to have sexual relations with different types
of girls. I thought that it was more of Yunior going on dates, and telling him how to act on these
dates to eventually get another one for the girl to become his potential girlfriend. Its quite funny,
as I read this story I thought to myself why Yunior would want these kind of girls to be his
potential girlfriend if they seem so easy. It wasnt so they can be his girlfriend one day, it was so
he can sexual relations with the girls depending on their social class. I think the following quote
from Davis is something to keep in mind while reading How to Date a Brown Girl, Black Girl,
White Girl, or Halfie:

The theme of the story comes from the narrators lack of understanding in the
actual relationships between girls and boys. To him, everything has a sexual
overtone. This may be true of many young men. He does not understand that
manipulation is not the way to create a relationship with anyone. Not based on
biases and preconceived ideas. Many of his comments hinge on stereotypes or
preconceived notions about a characteristic that some group possesses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/magazine/junot-diaz-hates-writing-short-stories.html?_r=0
This is a website I came across that gives insight to Diazs stories- meaning what they are
based on by Sam Anderson.
The story collection, This Is How You Lose Her is about wrecked love affairs,
multilingual violence, unsatisfying labor, and stranded children. This is valuable to know
because knowing and understanding a persons background and culture can connect you with the
characters in the story. On top of that, it can connect you with the author most times. Just like
Raymond Carver, Junot Diaz bases his stories on his personal experiences. The difference
between these two authors is that Carver would write his stories based on his life and the
struggles he has gone through. And Diaz based his stories on his Dominican-American
culture/community in the United States. [The stories] take place in a floating world between the
Dominican Republic and the Eastern Seaboard. Anderson also noted that the book ends with
inspiration. The inspiration is that the narrator begins to write a book, The Cheaters Guide to
Love which is a book that is very similar to This Is How You Lose Her.
http://www.thedp.com/article/2012/11/qa-junot-diaz-on-writing-yunior-and-books-that-makehim-angry
This website is another interview and gives a general idea of what Diazs books are based
on and his characters, Oscar and Yunior. Yunior has been in several of Diazs stories, mostly
because Diaz wanted to write a novel and have consistency throughout. Diaz eventually finished
the novel and wanted to write new stories as well as new characters. In this interview it becomes

apparent that Diaz wrote the characters Oscar and Yunior to have completely different
personality traits. To follow this interview what is in bold is the interviewer, Shoshana Akabas
(DP) and Junot Diaz is in regular font (JD).

Daily Pennsylvanian: If someone asked you to describe your writing style and what your
books are about, what would you tell them?
Junot Diaz: Thats a good question. I guess I would have to say my writing style is I think of
it as a disobedient child of New Jersey and the Dominican Republic if that can be possibly
imagined with way too much education. You can never do it justice. Its sort of like describing a
kiss versus having a kiss. To read the book is to have it.

DP: So what helps Oscar see the beauty, the beauty at the end of Oscar Wao?
JD: I believe as much in the hope of literature as the hope of art. That theres transformation. I
think citizens seem to be more readily transformed than political leaders. So I guess for me when
I think about Oscars transformation, his transformation is the realization that and it in some
way reflects his openness the realization that he has is that what he really longed for in the
end is intimacy and not sex. Most of us, I think it takes a long time to realize the errors of our
patterns, but Oscar sort of gets it on the first go. Hes very open-minded. I like that about him.
DP: Has Yunior, the main character in most of your writing, taken steps to do that?
JD: I mean, my last book argues that he has, possibly. The book raises the possibility at the end
that he has, but its really up to the reader to decide that or not. Its nice to empower the reader
with the final decision as to the disposition of your characters transformations. The reader is
empaneled to be the judge, and I prefer it that way.

DP: Going back to Yunior, in an interview with Gregg Barrios at the LA Review of Books,
you mentioned that, to understand Yunior, the reader has to consider his personal history.

What from Yuniors history do you think ultimately leads to his trouble with women later
in life?
JD: I think its not so simplistically determined. Weve got to remember, were not writing
parables. Parables lead to one-to-one correspondence, but I think what one should take into
account is what the book, at least the last book, makes explicitly clear is, uh, lets see: He has a
father who despises him, a mother who thinks of him as basically just an adjunct to his older
brother. He has an older brother who is a great danger to him, in fact, an older brother who is
rather cavalier and I dont think would lose any sleep if he accidentally murdered his brother.
Note that Yunior comes from a hostile home environment. Weather you read stories on Yunior
from middle, to beginning, to end he has always had this going on. In the story, How to Date
there are no hints to how his parents or brother treat Yunior. I didnt know that Yuniors father
and brother had such ill feelings about him until I came across this interview. Although this story
doesnt touch so much on Yuniors family towards him, it is important that you keep an eye out
while reading Diazs other stories that include Yunior.
Now that I have come across this, I wonder if Yuniors aunt has ever molested him. In the story,
How to Date in the first paragraph Yuniors friend says, Youve already told them that
youre feeling too sick to go to Union City to visit that [aunt] who likes to squeeze your nuts
(Hes gotten big, shell say) (Diaz 352). Im not sure if it is just his aunt who does that, but that
is not considered appropriate from any of my family, nor have I ever heard that that is normal
behavior from a family.
It also makes sense that Yuniors brother doesnt care for Yunior, because in most cases you look
up to your older brother and seek advice from him, but instead Yunior doesnt confine in his
older brother.
*Rafa is Yuniors brother and Rafael is Yuniors father.
DP: On Yuniors relationship with Rafa: that was central in Drown and its also a big
part of This is How You Lose Her. It seems like in that relationship, maybe more than
others, we see two sides of Yunior in a very compressed space. Theres the caring side of
Yunior when he checks up on his brother, and the rough side and theyre in the space of a
single paragraph. Can you talk about that relationship and how his brother brings out
those two sides?

JD: I mean, he loves somebody who doesnt like him. Whats the difference between Yunior and
a lot of the women that Yunior ends up dating except that he takes over his brothers position?
Yunior loves his father, his father despises him. He loves his brother and his brother doesnt give
a fuck about maiming him. He is incredibly loyal to people who loath him, and yet, the people
who actually care about him deeply, hes incapable of mustering up that loyalty for. And so I
think that hes just like many of us. Hes an incredibly complex character. We often long for
things and then are incapable of practicing them in other contexts.

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/12/junot-diaz-interview
This interview by Ross Scarano is mostly based on the main character in Diazs stories, Yunior
and his family ill feelings towards him. Scarano is in bold letters and Diazs is in regular letters.
Lets talk about the work. When did you write your first Yunior story?
Yunior first appears in 1991. And it was a miserable story, but it was the story with which I
applied to my MFA program. It was the first attempt to make a pass at this character. I didnt
have much of him down, but there was a sense of possibility. So you chip away from the stone,
and youre looking at the stone, and say, Maybe if I work on this for a couple years, it will come
out. There was this sense that I was leaning toward this very particular kind of complexity that
had not yet shown itself. I felt that I had to push his honesty more; I had to push how smart he is,
and how he hides it; I had to push his inability to have real intimacy. All of these things were in
my head, and they eventually started to come together over the next four years.
Are you still chiseling away at him?
I think I have him locked down in an okay way. My idea, ever since Drown, was to write six or
seven books about him that would form one big novel. You connect This is How You Lose
Her to Drown to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and you can read this thing.

One thing in this interview that Diaz mentions is that reading his stories in pieces compared to a
novel (in order) gives the reader a different feel and perspective. I would say if you are reading
his stories for fun, read it in order. Itll give you more of what you are looking for in a book-

sequence. Youll have a better understanding from where all of the characters are coming from.
Also, things most likely will be explained in the beginning of the stories than say the middle of
the end. For example, Rafa is short for Rafael. Lets say you come across Rafael, Yuniors father
in one story and later you read another story which says Rafa, Yuniors brother you may be
confused by this and mistake them for being one person.
In conclusion, Junot Diaz made three story collections so far: Drown, The Brief
Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and This Is How You Lose Her. Diaz focuses most of his stories in
New Jersey, and speaks on race. How immigrant families live in known states, but dont really
live in the known cities. He speaks on Dominican-American men and their lives in the United
States. All of the stories in this collection has a meaning and all tie to Yunior; however, The Brief
Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao collection is mostly based on Yuniors friend Oscar. In addition, it
would be easier to understand these stories if you read them from start to finish it can give you
insight to each character in the order Diaz wanted to present them.