The Theme Of Love In Happiness, By Junot Diaz

With the idea of a love that is forbidden it is looked down upon and can cause problems for the people who have fallen for its’ hidden desires. In the short story “Drown” by Junot Diaz, the main character Yunior is conflicted with his sexual preferences due to how his community would react to him being a homosexual. In the short story the “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov the main character Gurov finds love with a younger woman while still being married, despite the idea of even being with another woman at that time was strictly forbidden. Whereas Gurov and Yunior are different as Gurov handles a relationship due to having multiple affairs, while Yunior is confused about his relationship with his friend because of his homosexuality,

Gurov has had multiple affairs, but then realizes the fact that he has gotten older and that he needs to settle down. With Yunior, despite living in a masculine culture, realizes he may be a homosexual. Gurov realizes he is getting older because right before he was going to say “something affectionate and cheering, and at that moment he saw himself in the looking-glass. His hair was already beginning to turn grey. And it seemed strange to him that he had grown so much older; so much plainer during the last few years”(74-75). The sudden realization surprises Gurov because it seems that maybe throughout the affairs, he became confused as to whether he was really trying to find true love or maybe all the affairs were really to distract him from ever realizing he is getting older. Yunior unlike Gurov was confused with his sexuality after the sexual encounter he had with his friend Beto because Yunior said that he became “terrified that I would end up abnormal, a fucking pato” (432). Yunior was more afraid that he would be looked at being abnormal in his community rather than being accepting the fact that he may be a homosexual. By Yunior calling himself a homophobic slur, he tries to dismiss the fact that he is not already a homosexual. Yunior also diminishes the idea that he is not yet a homosexual because he said he only did it “Twice. That’s it” (431). When Yunior said that he only had a homosexual moment twice he tries to persuade himself that he is not a homosexual because of those two encounters. Another interesting detail is how Yunior keeps everything to himself about his relationship with Beto because when Yunior got a call from Beto he “was cool but I wouldn’t go to the mall or anywhere else. My mother sensed that something was wrong…but I told her to leave me the fuck alone” (432). When Yunior had the opportunity to let his