Drown

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Consider the history of immigration to the US. How does the concept of the “American Dream” attract communities from around the world? What are the challenges and misperceptions for immigrants, if any?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer Question invites students to reflect on their own understanding of the “American Dream.” Díaz’s collection of narratives touches upon the realities of life in the US for many immigrants from the Dominican Republic, as he intertwines comments and asides related to the difficulties of social mobility, the reality of substance abuse and narcotics selling for survival, infidelity and multiple families, and broken promises by family members. All of these situations speak to the larger themes of The Complexity and Hypocrisy of the American Dream and The Complexity of Human Identity, particularly for migrants of color. This Question connects with the main Activity.

• Díaz shares his motivations for sharing these stories in “Junot Díaz Talks Dominican Identity, Immigration and the (Complicated) American Dream.”
• Vox.com explores misconceptions and misperceptions of immigrant upward mobility via interviews in “What the American Dream Looks Like for Immigrants.”

2. Define the word “multiculturalism.” In which ways does the US exhibit the positive aspects of multiculturalism? In which ways has a history of multiculturalism led to hierarchies of inequity in the US?

Teaching Suggestion: This question orients students with the sociological context of the text: that many immigrants experience The Subtle, Psychological Effects of American Racism/White Supremacy while living in the US. Díaz highlights these subtleties by the narrator’s observations of non-immigrant, usually wealthy communities that pass judgment on Díaz’s characters. Conversely, Díaz’s characters desire to “fit in” to the American lifestyle by changing their speech, dating girls from outside their community, and adopting “white” mannerisms; however, the reality for these narrators is that the hierarchies of inequity continue to persist, particularly for people of color.

• Boston Review’s 2021 article argues that “[t]he United States is Not ‘a Nation of Immigrants’.”
• Pew Research Center explores the correlation between skin color and discrimination in 21st-century US society.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the stories.

Consider the terms “masculinity” and “femininity.” How are these words interrelated? In which ways can gender norms and traditional gender roles create toxic environments for individuals?

Teaching Suggestion: This Personal Connection Prompt invites students to broadly consider the relationship of femininity and masculinity in the construction of gender norms. Through the eyes of his male narrators, Díaz touches upon that role of cisgender heteronormative masculinity, and, in particular, the role that gender norms of masculinity in Latin America plays on the mental health of young men. These male characters are in a liminal state between their own understanding of masculinity and a version of masculinity that is expected by other men in their culture, which can be understood as a form of “hypermasculinity.” Ultimately, Díaz’s narratives highlight the woes of The Power, Influence, and Construction of Hypermasculinity as it affects the mental health and identity of young Latin American men.

• Nuñez et al. (2015) discuss the concept of traditional Hispanic gender roles in “Machismo, Marianismo, and Negative Cognitive-Emotional Factors: Findings From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study.”

Differentiation Suggestion: For more advanced classes who are prepared for a research component, this prompt may also include the following question: how does the concept of “machismo” in Latin American communities connect with the traditional understanding of masculinity?