Drown

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

Essay: Choosing a Title

In this activity, students will write a brief essay justifying the title of one of the stories, “Drown,” for the entire collection.

Diaz chose to give the title of the story “Drown” to his entire collection of stories. In what way is that story a microcosm of all the stories the author tells? How does it reflect the realities of all the complex characters in the collection, from Yunior, Papi and Mami, and Rafi, to Ysrael, Beto, and other more minor, yet important characters? How can all the characters said to be “drowning” in some way, and why? Write an essay justifying Diaz’s title choice and providing text evidence to support your ideas. When you are done, trade your essay with another student and see if you found commonalities in your support for the title. Finally, share your joint findings with the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity invites students to consider the theme The Complexity of Human Identity. Encourage students to brainstorm in advance about both the literal and figurative meaning of “drown” and to consider the common challenges faced by all the characters.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who struggle to articulate their thoughts in writing might focus solely on those stories involving Yunior and his family, structuring the essay with an opening paragraph, one paragraph each on Yunior, his parents, and his brother, and a closing paragraph.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Díaz’s collection of stories touch upon The Complexity of Human Identity as an intersection of various attributes.

• Choose one story and analyze the characters within it through the lens of intersectionality. (topic sentence)
• How do race, gender, class, and sexual orientation converge upon your chosen character(s) to produce layered inequalities and/or social and interpersonal conflict?
• How does this character’s narrative speak to the larger theme of The Complexity of Human Identity?

2. 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? (topic sentence)
• Identify 2-3 examples from the text to justify your response.
• How is Yunior’s narrative an example of The Power, Influence, and Construction of Hypermasculinity?

3. With the exception of a few stories, the majority of Drown takes place in the US through the eyes of first- and second-generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

• Choose 1-2 stories within Drown and explain Díaz’s engagement with and/or depiction of the idea of American assimilation. (topic sentence)
• How does he portray his characters grappling with the violence and complexities of the American mandate to assimilate?
• What is Díaz trying to say about The Subtle, Psychological Effects of American Racism/White Supremacy?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the character development of Ramón 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?

2. 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 does he do both?

3. Trace and analyze the issue of substance use 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. In particular, what point is Díaz making about the relationship between substance use and low-income individuals?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. In the story “Ysrael,” which of the following sentences best describes the relationship between Yunior and his brother Rafa?

A) Rafa idealizes his brother Yunior.

B) Yunior cannot always relate to Rafa’s antics.

C) Rafa believes in setting a good example for his brother.

D) Yunior looks down upon Rafa’s emotional state.

2. Which of the following phrases links together the narratives of “Ysrael” and “Fiesta, 1980”?

A) Sexual assault in public spaces

B) Violent responses to situations

C) Impact of working women on immigrant households

D) Infidelity and its strain on marriages

3. Which of the following words best describes Yunior and Rafa’s response to Papi’s infidelity?

A) Violent

B) Understanding

C) Disturbed

D) Admiring

4. Which of the following words characterizes Lucero’s relationship with Aurora?

A) Gentle and symmetric

B) Abusive and chaotic

C) Loving and intense

D) Sober and supportive

5. What is notably different about the story “Aurora” compared to the other narratives in the collection?

A) It focuses on a different set of characters than the majority of the narratives.

B) It is set in a notably different time period.

C) It is told from the perspective of a LGBTQ+ character.

D) It is written in a second-person narration style.

6. In “Drown,” the narrator notes, “Some nights me and the boys drive to New Brunswick. A nice city, the Raritan so low and silty that you don’t have to be Jesus to walk over it.” Which of the following literary terms does the narrator use in this quote?

A) Allegory

B) Alliteration

C) Allusion

D) Anaphora

7. Which of the following phrases best describes a preoccupation that most of the narrators express in their narratives?

A) Frustration with the opposite sex

B) Desire to make more money

C) Struggle to assimilate into American culture

D) Intention to move back to the Dominican Republic

8. Which of the following sentences best describes the writing style of the narrative “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie”?

A) Poetic verses written in free-form prose

B) Instructional advice in a second-person narrative

C) Lengthy commentaries on the LGBTQ+ community

D) Opening statements to a debate on sexual assault

9. What does Yunior’s preparations of his house prior to a date indicate about how he feels about his family?

A) He is conscious of their financial status.

B) He is embarrassed about his heritage.

C) He is ashamed about his cousins’ appearances.

D) He is confident in his abilities with the opposite sex.

10. Which of the following roles does Ysrael model in “No Face”?

A) A politician

B) An actor

C) A superhero

D) A businessman

11. Which of the following words best describes how Ysrael feels about the possibility of operations?

A) Amazed

B) Ashamed

C) Apathetic

D) Apprehensive

12. Which of the following best describes how Ramón felt about leaving his family once he arrived in the US?

A) Concerned for their well-being

B) Angry with their final interaction

C) Comforted with the knowledge of their loyalty

D) Apathetic to their situation

13. “Whenever [Ramón] felt weak, he’d take from under the couch the road map he bought at a gas station and trace his fingers up the coast, enunciating the city names slowly, trying to copy the awful crunch of sounds that was English. The northern coast of our island was visible on the bottom right-hand corner of the map.” Which of the following sentences best describes the purpose of the second sentence in this quote?

A) To emphasize the need for better cartographic presentations

B) To clarify the short distance between the Dominican Republic and the US

C) To suggest that Ramón’s homeland is not the primary focus of his new life

D) To remind readers of the necessity of English and Spanish bilingual education

14. Which of the following vices does Ramón struggle with throughout the text?

A) Alcohol addiction

B) Gambling

C) Infidelity

D) Narcotics

15. Which of the following did Vitra and Nilda share?

A) An apartment

B) A birthplace

C) A car

D) A husband

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What are the settings of the short story collection? How are these settings conveyed throughout the text?

2. What is the narrative perspective of most of the stories? How do the changes in narration contribute to the overall mood of the collection?