The Portrayal of Women in the Literary Works of Junot Díaz

2. The Portrayal of Women in the Literary Works of Junot Díaz By: Janet Patricia Rodríguez Advisors: Dr Urioste and Dr Gomez

3. Table of Contents • Why I chose this topic? • Feminism in literature • Biography of Junot Díaz • Why are women important to Junot Díaz? • The three literary productions • This is how you lose her • The Protagonists • Díaz’s portrayal of women • Conclusion • Bibliography

4. Why I chose this topic? • I was raised in a female dominated household -My mom was raised by a single hardworking, home-owner woman -My dad passed away when I was 14 and my mom assumed the role of mother and father • Reading the works of Junot Díaz, I had an emotional connection because some of the situations the protagonists experienced, I have experienced in real life and still experiencing today -Family member dying of cancer -Growing up really fast due to different family difficulties -Diaz was raised by a single mother and was influenced in his writing

5. Feminism in literature • Feminism: the advocacy of women’s rights for political, social, and economic equality to men • Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651-1695): precursor of feminism in Latin America • Sor Juana is one of the first that developed the feminist concept and feminists today are still referring to her -Reply to Sor Filotea de la Cruz -You Men Whether you're favored or disdained, nothing can leave you satisfied. You whimper if you're turned away, you sneer if you've been gratified. (You Men)

6. Feminism in literature • Mid XIX century the feminist movement started in the United States and in Latin America • Sara Guardia says “During the XIX century woman wrote about the everyday experience and a woman living in a man’s world” (Voces y Cantos de las Mujeres) • The female protagonists had a different treatment in the XIX century, Sara Guardia expresses “The women in this time were being represented as powerless and fragile. They needed support and direction from the male” (Voces y Cantos de las Mujeres) • The beginning of XX century women protagonist dramatically changed they were portrayed powerful and independent even men were writing about female protagonists and making their main characters(Guardia 2) • In the XX century Junot Díaz was introduced to Sandra Cisneros and Toni Morrison in a creative writing class he attended and made me realize the portrayal of women is important

7. Junot Díaz • Born on December 31, 1968 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on the poor side of the city • Arrived to New Jersey at age 6 in 1974 with his mother, brothers and sisters • Junot Díaz says he did not know how to read until he arrived to the United States where he started with the “juicy books, chapter books” • He was a “nerd” growing up, he would miles to different libraries to read the books, he had a “secret life” because no one knew about his passion for books • He attended Rutgers University majoring in English in 1992 • In 1995 he attended Cornell University for a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing • Currently he is teaching Creative Writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

8. Why are women important to Junot Díaz? • Junot Díaz grew up with his mom and grandparents in Santo Domingo, because his father was in the United States for 5 years until he sent for his family • When Junot Díaz finally arrived in the United States to reunite with his father, being a family did not last very long. His father left them while his mother was working full time to take care of her children. • After the leaving of the father the family ran into different situations that really impacted the family -His brother being diagnosed with Leukemia -Seeing the world crumble in front of his mother

9. Drown • Published in 1996 • First Collection of short stories • immigrant families looking for a way out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to United States

10. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao • Published in 2007 • First novel • Follows a family with three generations of women

11. This is how you lose her • Published in 2012 • Collection of short stories • Follows Yunior throughout his romance and how he “fucks up his relationships” • Yunior mostly abuses, cheats, and mistreats the girlfriends • Women are being belittled and throughout the stories the women start changing and become independent

12. Protagonist • Yunior: is the main protagonist that Díaz created during his masters in Cornell. Yunior is seen during the three works and he develops and changes during the books towards his mother and sucias • Mami: Díaz really focuses on Mami’s growth. In This is how you lose the big change happen for her and how she comes out on top with all the situations she faces • The girlfriends (Sucias): During the three books the women change. At first they are needy and being verbally and physically abused is fine with them. Throughout the stories the girlfriends were reacting to the abuse and leaving Yunior • Magda: The main girlfriend was cheated on with 50 other girls. She was engaged and left everything because she realized she is worth so much more

13. The Portrayal of women • Variety of women are being portrayed • Mami finally has left her husband and is facing different problems with her family -Rafa her son is fighting cancer but, he is still being a “sucio” • The advantage-taking-women is presented -”The Pura Principle” the man starts changing and does not see the women is playing with him -Pura is a wetback from the Dominican Republic and is looking for anyone to give her residency in the United States • The roles have changed, the women are not being portrayed sensitive and “pushovers” anymore. They are independent and do not need a man to make them happy

14. The Portrayal of women • Magda finally reacted to the mistreatment of Yunior and thinks of him as “a typical Dominican man: a sucio, an asshole” and leaves him throughout the story • ”The cheater's guide to love” the Magda finally catches Yunior and leaves him -The law student that Yunior “fucks with” and gets “pregnant” find outs it isn’t his and still lets the girl stay in his place -The women changes the man and he becomes more sensitive and understanding to the women • The hopeful believes he will leave his family and finally start a family with her -”Otravida, Otravez” we see Yessi being hopeful that Ramon will divorce his wife in Santo Domingo. Yessi gets too caught up with the sweet talk that Ramon gives her and ends up being with him anyways

15. Conclusion • After reading and analyzing Junot Díazs three literary works on how women are portrayed, I have a better understanding and interpretation of the relationships between men and women • The feminist movement is still in force, and thousands of women are still under the control of men under a machista mentality in the 21st century • I want to end with a quote from Helen Hernandez “Literature has no sex, is not male nor female.” This relates to Junot Díaz because he is a male writer and portrays the women courageous and independent. At first he belittles them but, during the story we see how she grows

16. Questions ?

17. Bibliography Anonymous, . "Guns and Roses: Junot Díaz." Publishers Weekly, 259.31 (2012): 31. Anonymous, . "Junot Díaz." New York Times Book Review, (2012): 8. Az, Junot. Drown. New York: Riverhead, 1996. Print. Az, Junot. This Is How You Lose Her. New York: Riverhead, 2012. Print. Chang-Rodriguez, Raquel. "Sor Juan Ines De La Cruz." Voces De Hispanoamerica. Third ed. Boston: Heinle Cenage Learning, 2004. 75-85. Print. Choi, Myung Nam. Woman and the Police Novel: Evolution of the Feminine Protagonist in Five Hispanic and Latin-American Authors. n.p.: ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2008. Cohen, L. (2012, September 20). Love Stories 'This is how you loose her' by Junot Diaz. Retrieved December 7, 2014. Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao. New York: Riverhead, 2007. Print. Horcas Villarreal, Jose Mario. "LA LITERATURA EPISTOLAR FEMENINA." La Imagen Y Escritura De La Mujer En La Hispanoamérica De Los Siglos Xix Y Xx. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://eumed.net/libros-gratis/ciencia/2013/20/escritura.html>. Hernandez, David. "Ila - Informationsstelle Lateinamerika E.V. - Ila-latina." Ila - Informationsstelle Lateinamerika E.V. - Ila-latina. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.ila-bonn.de/latina/32literafem.htm>. Guardia, Sara Beatriz. "Literatura Y Escritura Femenina En American Latina." Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://uesc.br/seminariomulher/anais/PDF/conferencias/SARA_ORIGINAL.pdf>.

18. Bibliography Guardia, Sara Beatriz. "Voces Y Cantos De Las Mujeres." Voces Y Cantos De Las Mujeres. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.academia.edu/1894660/Voces_y_cantos_de_las_mujeres>. Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. "Women's Rights Movement in the U.S." Infoplease. Infoplease. Web. 2 Apr. 2015. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html>. "Junot Diaz Biography | List of Works, Study Guides & Essays." Study Guides & Essay Editing. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.gradesaver.com/author/junot-diaz/>. Mayes, April J. "Why Dominican Feminism Moved to the Right: Class, Colour and Women's Activism in the Dominican Republic, 1880s1940s." Gender & History, 20.2 (2008): 349-371. Mermann-Jozwiak, Elisabeth Maria. "Beyond multiculturalism: ethnic studies, transnationalism, and Junot Diaz's Oscar Wao." ARIEL 43.2 (2012): 1+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. Nilsen, Helge Norman. "American Women's Literature in the Twentieth Centurv: A Survev of Some Feminist Rinds." University of Trondheim. Web. 14 Apr. 2015. <file:///home/chronos/u-e4a297ed01c40b0498911c7c451016039eb87e9a/Downloads/1163-3943-1-PB.pdf>. Ramirez, Sandra. "Helen Hernández Hormilla: "literature Has No Sex, Is Not Male or Female."" Cuba Contemporánea. 24 May 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cubacontemporanea.com/en/news/helen-hernandez-hormilla-literature-has-no-sex-not-male-or-female>.

19. Bibliography Ratner-Arias, Sigal. "Junot Diaz on Immigration: I'm Not Certain That Anyone Stops Being an Immigrant." 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/junot-diaz-immigration_n_3954792.html>. Rozanska, Katarzyna. "Los Araquetipos De La Mujer En La Cultura Latino Americana." Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://romdoc.amu.edu.pl/Rozanska.pdf>. The Wondrous Life of Junot Diaz." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-wondrous-life-of-junot-diaz/>.Tello, Amparo. "Asociación De Prensa Juvenil." Asociación De Prensa Juvenil. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://prensajuvenil.org/?q=content/la-voz-de-la-mujer-en-la-literatura>. VITZTHUM, Virginia. "Junot Diaz's Pro-Woman Agenda." ELLE. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://www.elle.com/culture/books/reviews/a14353/junot-diaz-interview/>. "Women in the Progressive Era." Women in the Progressive Era. The National Women's History Museum. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. <https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/suffrage.html>. Yugar, Theresa Ann. Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz: Feminist Reconstruction of Biography and Text. n.p.: ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2012. Zambrano, Sebastina. Personal interview. 2 January 2015.