Junot Diaz's Fiesta

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Analysis of Junot Diaz’s Fiesta, 1980 In Junot Diaz’s “Fiesta, 1980”, Yunior’s relationship with his father is defined by the vomiting that occurs in his Volkswagen which reveals the toxicity of Dominican machismo. The Volkswagen is Papi’s car, a representation of how he shows off his masculinity to those around him. The fact that Yunior feels like throwing up whenever he is in the Volkswagen shows how he is disgusted with his father’s volatile attempts at proving his masculinity. Nonetheless, Yunior continues to make an effort to cure himself of his vomiting issues and validate his father’s masculinity in order to maintain a relationship with him. Although Yunior may not approve of his father’s abusive nature, he still accepts it because this kind of behavior is the norm for the families he sees around him in his environment. Yunior’s father’s Volkswagen is meant to amaze those around him because it is the physical representation of his manliness. The car is introduced as “brand-new, lime-green, and bought to impress” (27). The Volkswagen is there so that other people can notice it and so that the rest of the community, and probably more so for other men, can see the physical testament to Papi’s masculinity. The Volkswagen is a flashy display that reveals a parallel between the purpose of the Volkswagen and the way Papi acts at the party in front of his family and their neighbors. At the party, he is not afraid of showing how authoritative and aggressive he acts towards Yunior, making his dominance in the family dynamics clear. Papi’s violence and authoritarianism are two main aspects of machismo, the exaggerated ideal of stereotypical masculinity in which physical strength and aggressiveness are emphasizes as male characteristics. Both the car and Papi’s attitude reveal that Papi expresses his masculinity in a forceful and hostile manner. When Yunior feels the

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