Drown

Choose three male characters and form a five-paragraph literary analysis essay which parses, in detail, the themes about masculinity that Díaz articulates through them.

What is the role of women in Drown? Choose three female characters and write a five-paragraph literary analysis essay that explains the role and function of female characters in the collection. Does Díaz use female characters to mount his critique of hypermasculinity, or does he ultimately fall into heterosexist traps through his own representation of them? Or is it a mixture of both?

Choose 1-2 stories within Drown and explain Díaz’s engagement with and/or depiction of the idea of American assimilation. How does he portray his characters grappling with the violence and complexities of the American mandate to assimilate?

Perform a character analysis of Rafa and Yunior. How, exactly, do they foil each other? What themes and messages does Díaz communicate through this duo of characters?

Trace the character development of Ramón as it develops over 2-3 of the following stories: “Fiesta, 1980”, “Aguantado”, and “Negocios.” How does Díaz layer his depiction of Ramón with complexity and nuance, and to what end? What themes does Díaz develop through his cumulative depiction of Ramón?

Trace Yunior’s engagement with masculinity over the course of 2-3 different short stories. How do Yunior’s perceptions of both masculinity at large and his own masculinity morph and change between different stories, and how do they stay the same?

Explain the significance of the character of Ysrael within this collection of short stories. What themes does Díaz communicate through Ysrael, and how does Ysrael function as a go-between with the other characters in the collection?

Trace and analyze the issue of substance abuse as a recurring motif in the collection. Offer at least three distinct iterations of it, and explain why Díaz includes this motif in the collection at large.