Category Archives: Junot Diaz

Stenosis

Stenosis (noun) – a narrowing or constriction of the diameter of a bodily passage or orifice.

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stenosis

From: “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot Diaz

“The numbness in your arms and legs increases. You return to your doctors and they send you over to a neurologist, who sends you out for an MRI. Looks like you have stenosis all down your spine, the doctor reports, impressed.”

Here, the word stenosis is used to describe a condition that the narrator is suffering from. He is unable to lift heavy weights now. This shows that the narrator is getting older and probably won’t have the ability to actively date now. Also, due to the depression from his ex-girlfriend leaving him, the narrator is gaining weight and his spine is unable to support it.

Image result for stenosis

Erratic

Erattic (adjective) – characterized by lack of consistency, regularity, or uniformity

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/erratic

From: “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot Diaz

“You’re fine for, like, a week. Then your moods become erratic. One minute you have to stop yourself from jumping in the car and driving to see her and the next you’re calling a sucia and saying, You’re the one I always wanted. You start losing your temper with friends, with students, with colleagues. You cry every time you hear Monchy y Alexandra, her favorite.”

The author uses the word erratic here to show how the feelings of the narrator are conflicted. He is unsure of what to do, and when to do it. The narrator’s fiancĂ©e leaves him after she finds out that he is cheating on her. Now, he is going through a period of grief and he wants to try and get her back, but a part of him wants to be with other women.  So, he is unable to maintain a consistent mood.

suffice

Verb

suffice- to meet or satisfy a need : be sufficient

  • a brief note will suffice

—often used with an impersonal it

  • suffice it to say that they are dedicated, serious personalities
  •  —Cheryl Aldridge

I’ve encountered this word while reading “How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie)” by Junot Diaz. It can be found on page 3, quoted “She might kiss you and then go, or she might, if she’s reckless, give it up, but that’s rare. Kissing will suffice” this word in this quote the author is trying to say if she’s reckless, or leave you kissing will always satisfy her needs.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suffice

wensday post  “How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie)” by Junot Diaz.

For this week post I will be discussing about the short reading we did in class “How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie)” by Junot Diaz.

The narrator in this text uses a very interesting narrative style. He uses “you” which makes it seem like he’s talking to the reader. The text is about him teaching you the reader, and even giving advice on how to date different type of women. He is very opinionated and judgmental of the different women he dates. He talk about how he prefer white girl over brown girl, which is very offensive to many people.

He uses the word “you” alot in the reading which in my opinion is trying to make the reader agree with what he’s saying, another word convincing you to think like him. He even depict the types of women for exam he said he prefer local women over outside women. He’s saying all the bad thing about the brown women but never mention the good thing about them. On the first page quoted  “If the girl’s local, don’t sweat it. She’ll flow over when she’s good and ready.” showing how he categorize different women. “If the girl’s from the Terrace stack the boxes
behind the milk. If she’s from the Park or Society Hill hide the cheese in the cabinet above the oven, way up where she’ll never see. ” this is another quote showing how he judge the women base on their background and where they come from.

It felt like the whole story was basically written on this author personal experience from what we discussed in the class today. I still didn’t like how much bad thing he said about color women. If I can connect this with something else we read in class it would be “Quicksand” by Nella Larsen, the reason why is because i feel like this author Junot Diaz could be one of those people who were criticizing Helga because she is mix race. But both story has the topic about the racism during the 1990. I didn’t like the story, I don’t agree with what he’s saying about brown women, and I would not support this author.

nemesis

noun

nemesis – I came across this wa formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent

  • The team was defeated by its old nemesis.

ord while reading “How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie)”
by Junot Diaz. It is found on page 2, quoted “Hope that you don’t run into your nemesis, Howie, the Puerto Rican kid with the two killer mutts.” after knowing what this word means i think another word for nemesis can be enemy or competition even. In this quote the narrator is saying he hope “you” don’t run into Puerto Rican kid with the killer mutts, he might be saying watch out for the competition.

this word is also a meaning of a Greek goddess.

canisters

noun

canisters – an often cylindrical container for holding a usually specified object or substance

  • a filmcanister

I came across this word while reading “how to date a brown girl” by Junot Diaz. This word was found on the second page, it quoted “A local girl won’t need stories about the neighborhood but the other ones might. Supply the story about the loco who’d been storing canisters of tear gas in his basement for years, how one day the canisters cracked and the whole neighborhood got a dose of the military-strength stuff” I understand that the narrator is talking about tear gas being stored in the basement.

Image result for canisters

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canister

Reading Junot Diaz

We had the option to read one of several stories. Today we will read and discuss “How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie)” by Junot Diaz

Read the story, and write about your reactions as you read.

offensive: only cares about getting girls into bed, also stereotyping: based on who they are that will determine how he treats them.

shocking

commentary about race: not someone we’d want to spend time with

ending: silly, circles back to beginning

You: instruction manual. sterilizing. removes his personality.

“Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because , in truth, you love them more than you love your own.”: if he can’t love himself, no wonder he can’t properly love anyone else

race/racism: shared across genders, immature

local vs outsider

“easy” vs. “uptight”

Is this:

  • cautionary: you have to be careful with how you present yourself to other people
    • protagonist is very careful about he presents himself, how others read him
    • women: hey, watch out for guys like this! (or is it?)
  • social critique: about race, about class, cultural background
  • bragging: does the author want us to think this is cool? this is what we should want to be like?
    • but bragging is a way to show insecurities