Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed "Drown" and it's definitely one of my favorite books so far. I thought Diaz did a great job of writing individual stories that worked really well as a collection.
I want to talk about the fathers in "Drown." Obviously Ramón is the main one that comes to mind but Ysrael's father is also an interesting albeit underdeveloped character. Despite Ramón being significantly more present in the book, the two fathers share the parallel of leaving their families for New York.
According to Yunior, Ysrael's father was the one to put the mask on Ysrael as he was "very sensitive about anyone taunting his oldest son." Later in "Ysrael," Ysrael mentions his father is in New York and had sent him the kite that he flew in front of Yunior and Rafa.
Although in "Ysrael" Ysrael's father seems to care deeply about his son, "No Face" reveals a different reality. It's clear that something has happened to explain why Ysrael sleeps in the smokehouse instead of his room and leaves early in the morning every day. "Go...Before your father comes out," Ysrael's mother says and Ysrael rushes to leave knowing "what happens when his father comes out." My guess would have to be Ysrael's father has disowned/banished Ysrael from the family. Maybe he grew to see Ysrael as so many others do: a sideshow freak. I wish Diaz had expanded on Ysrael's relationship with his father in "No Face" or at the very least given us more information to draw conclusions from.
Ramón is first mentioned in "Ysrael" as the father of Yunior and Rafa who sends "letters and an occasional shirt or pair of jeans at Christmas" from New York. Right away we can tell he has a distant relationship with his family but we don't know why or how it came to be that way.
In "Fiesta, 1980," we're jumped to when the family is together in America. All speculation of what type of person Ramón is gone here as we see that he's almost just as terrible a husband as he is a father. Yunior frequently alludes to Ramón's physical abuse and we really get a sense of the fear he evokes in Rafa and Madai (the sister) as well. The bulk of his wrath is unquestionably directed at Yunior, who feels so terrorized that he writes a story called "'My Father the Torturer'" for a school assignment. As a husband, Ramón isn't much better. Though there are no clear signs of domestic violence, his interactions with Mami consist of either telling her to shut up or ignoring her. To add insult to injury, he maintains an affair with a Puerto Rican woman and even has the gall to bring Yunior and Rafa along on a couple of the visits.
In "Aguantando," we're jumped back to when Ramón is still in New York. Though he's not physically present in the story, he's very much the driving force of the plot. He toys with the hearts of his wife and kids, failing to return home as promised in two of his letters. Because of his neglect, Mami is driven into a depression and Yunior pitifully fantasizes about the perfect father, an expectation that proves to be preposterous in "Fiesta, 1980."
Finally, we have "Negocios." This is by far the most in-depth look of Ramón we get and yet it still comes from the perspective of Yunior. Like others in class, I was shocked at how understanding he seems to be of his father. Despite starting a new family and all but forgetting about his old one, Yunior seems bent on portraying Ramón in a sympathetic light. What baffles me more is how he directs his anger at Nilda instead. If anything, Yunior should relate with her. After all, Ramón strung her along just as he did Yunior and his family.
What are your opinions of Ramón and Ysrael's father?
What are your opinions of Ramón and Ysrael's father?
