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Essay / The Importance of Chapter Eight in How to Date a Browngirl, a Blackgirl, a Whitegirl, and a Halfie by Junot Diaz
In chapter eight of Drown, “How to Date a Browngirl, a Blackgirl, a Whitegirl, and a Halfie Halfie,” Yunior displays inconsistencies with his sexual orientation through his attempt to flirt with girls, as earlier in the novel the narrative implied that he was interested in men. In previous chapters, Junot Diaz portrays Yunior as more feminine than her brother Rafa. This can be seen when Yunior refuses to tell his mother about his father's affair because he wants to protect his mother, which portrays him as an emotional, compassionate, and caring person. Through Yunior's narrative at the beginning of the first chapter, which describes his relationship with his brother, it is clear that Rafa is heterosexual and has a strong desire for girls. Unlike how Rafa talks about girls all the time, Yunior is more emotional and less outgoing around girls. Chapter Eight is important to the story because Yunior's changes in viewpoint, voice/tone, and sexual orientation indicate that his brother's influence on him to be more masculine is not genuine for Yunior, and this confirms previous hints that he was gay. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The change in point of view in this chapter indicates how unfamiliar Yunior is when it comes to flirting with the opposite sex. “Put down your burger and say: That must have been difficult… Don't ask, let her talk about it and when you're both finished eating, go back to the neighborhood. The sky will be beautiful, the pollutants have made Jersey's sunsets one of the wonders of the world. Point it out. Touch his shoulder and say: That's nice, isn't it? Be serious. Watch TV but stay alert. Sip some Bermudez that your father left in the cupboard, which no one touches. Unlike previous chapters, Yunior tells the story in the second person. The use of "you" in the chapter shows how Yunior tries to distance himself from what he is doing. This shows how selfless he is in his conversations with girls. Every sentence he says is unnatural and seems forced. He speaks as if he is reading a list of instructions on how to have a girl. He probably learned how to flirt with girls by watching his brother. Yunior shows a strong desire to befriend his brother earlier in the novel. From a young age, Yunior learned from his brother that it's cool to hang out with a lot of girls. Yunior tries to become more masculine by imitating what Rafa does. In this chapter, Yunior is not acting like his true self because he is trying to be another version of Rafa. He tries to pretend he knows everything about girls by listing the steps. The change in voice/tone in this chapter indicates that he is nervous about inviting girls over to his house because everything he knows is based on his brother's experience with girls. He takes care to hide government cheese, a type of cheese distributed to welfare recipients. “Take the government cheese out of the fridge. If the girl is from the Terrace, stack the boxes behind the milk. If she's from the Park or Society Hill, hide the cheese in the cupboard above the oven, where she'll never see it. Through the way he hides the cheese from the government, it is clear that Yunior is embarrassed by his economic situation. The chapter further describes his action with: “Take all the embarrassing photos of your family in the campo, especially the one with half-naked children dragging a goat on a rope leash….