In Junot Diaz’s short story “Drown,” the main character navigates an uncertain adolescence rife with questions about masculinity, freedom and authority. While he likely considers himself a good kid, the main character is a thief who engages in macho posturing, and subsequently calls his friendship with his best friend into question when the boy starts making gay advances towards him. At the beginning, he refers to his friend Beto as a “pato,” which is Latino slang for homosexual, creating a mystery that has to be resolved by the end of the short story (Diaz 91). The boy’s Continue reading...
