Complete 5 page APA formatted essay: How to Date a Brown Girl, Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie.Download file to see previous pages... Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the forms of liter

Complete 5 page APA formatted essay: How to Date a Brown Girl, Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie.

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the forms of literary works have come under the scanner in a way different from and in a greater intensity than in earlier centuries. It was then that issues came up which made writers feel that existing forms of literature were insufficient for the expression of reality as they felt and experienced it. Junot Diaz’s short story, How to date a brown girl, black girl, white girl, or halfie, possesses a unique form. It is a very short piece of fiction and this brevity aids the concerns of the theme of the story in developing to its fullest extent. The story is told with the narratorial voice addressing the protagonist of the story using the second person pronoun. As a result of this stylistic technique, the writer, Diaz can remain unnamed throughout the story without affecting the readability of the story. This technique enables the protagonist to thus remain as the symbol of the marginalized communities of a particular place. The actions of the protagonist place the stamp of truth on this mode of representation as his desire to have sexual relations with a number of women comes at the cost of the erasure of his racial identity. Racial identity in this case is constituted not merely by the color of the person’s skin or the facial features of that person but the cultural and economic attributes of that person. In this case, the poverty of the youth who is a Dominican is what defines him racially since this is the collective experience of this community. The fact that the protagonist is nameless aids this process. The relentless use of the pronoun ‘you’ produces the effect of the protagonist turning into the representative of the people who remain on the periphery of the society as a result of the poverty that racial difference from the majority or the powerful brings about. The differences in the attitudes of the speaker regarding the different races and women of these races are owing to the prejudices that prevail in society regarding them. The fact that the speaker of the narrative speaks in a manner that makes him look like an experienced person is also owing to the fact that the story keeps the protagonist out of the limelight. The story is thus, not a dialogue. This aspect of the story prevents any other perspective from informing it. At the same time, it also means that the protagonist has no means to refute the claims of the experienced member, who is presumably of his own race. One can make this assumption since the speaker is aware of the minute details of the protagonist’s life and activities. These particulars of the protagonist’s life are evoked through a chronological account of what he has to do in order to enter into sexual relations with as many women as possible. This account makes it clear as to at which points his masculinity is threatened and the reasons for it. A linear account of the visits of women enables the speaker to point out the points at which mistakes may happen on the part of the protagonist. These mistakes would lead to the protagonist having to forego sexual intercourse as he would become less attractive for the visitor.