A New Perspective on Papi

            “Negocios,” the last story in Drown by Junot Diaz, gives us a new perspective on a character that has been influential in stories throughout the book. This last story gives us Yunior’s view of Ramon, who he had previously always referred to as Papi, looking back from a much later time in his life. Yunior considers his father’s past and finds details of about his time in America that show him as a very different man than the glimpses we had seen in other stories. In the first story, “Ysrael,” Papi is idealized by Yunior and Rafa as they have few memories of him and expect that he still loves them and will return for them. This view is also evident in “Aguantando” when we see the different versions of his return that Yunior and Rafa imagine. In “Fiesta, 1980” we get a different view when we see Papi cheating on his wife and see the tension in the household after they are reunited. This is a very different picture of Papi, who Yunior is afraid of and who is an authoritarian figure in the family.

            “Negocios” describes a very different version of Papi than either of these two earlier images, though it still incorporates elements of both narratives. “Negocios” shows much more of an understanding of Papi himself than any of the earlier stories as it is focused directly on him as the main character and takes a more direct look at the time he was away from the rest of the family. In this narrative, we see Papi making bad decisions and there is an element of criticism in the way Yunior, who we find out is the narrator, depicts some of these scenes. However, there are also elements of idealism as Papi is depicted to be on an almost heroic journey.

            Yunior’s depiction of Papi in this story gives us a new perspective on Papi that helps us understand him better than in any of the previous stories. But at the same time, it shows us another version of Yunior. Through Yunior’s depictions of Papi from the various stages of his life we can see his own development and understanding of the situation. In previous stories, we see him as a kid, not fully understanding the situation but with a profound trust in Papi and the fact that he will return. Then we see the utter disappointment and betrayal that Yunior feels when Papi doesn’t live up to his expectations in America. Finally, in this story, we can see that Yunior has matured enough to take a step back from both of these highly emotional views and take a fairer view of Papi. While he can’t get rid of all his criticism of some of Papi’s actions or all his idealization of others, he does begin to understand Papi in a new way that is much more balanced than any of his earlier views.