It's not uncommon for a child with an absentee father to grow up in difficult circumstances. Issues such as poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, failure to complete high school or college, health related problems and emotional disorders, are all common "side effects" of being the child of an MIA dad. In Junot Diaz's powerful book, "Drown," deal with Yunior's father, either by his presence or by his absence. In this novel, Yunior's father, Ramon, came in and out of the family's life. With his father being an antagonistic character, Yunior tries to give a different perception of Ramon by telling us his story of the struggles he went through to gain citizenship in America. The emotional abuse Yunior was subjected to influenced him negatively from his minimal memories of his father. The absence and presence of his father helped shaped him into the man he grew up to be. .
The book "Drown," by Junot Diaz is a collection of short stories that conveys to the audience the struggles that Dominican Republic immigrants face in the United States to achieve the same status as Americans. The book does not follow a normal story but describes particular moments in time. It is narrated by Yunior, generally in the 1980's, with much of the story coming from his childhood. .
At the age of 4, Yunior, his brother Rafa, and their mother are abandoned by their father because he has dreams of going to the states to succeed and provide for his family. Meanwhile, Yunior's family is forced to live in poverty with their mother working long hours at the chocolate factory and their grandfather watching them. At 9 years of age, Yunior's father resurfaces from the United States to bring them back to New Jersey with him. During his five year absence, Yunior's father Ramon, marries a U.S. citizen in order for him to gain citizenship. He lives with his new wife, who is also of Dominican decent and she bares him a child before he leaves again to return to his family in the Dominican Republic.
