Fiesta, 1980

Fiesta, 1980

Introduction

Fiesta, 1980 is a short story written by Junot Diaz. Diaz has tremendously penned down all the difficulties that children face in their life and this difficulty is even more felt by the children when their family is dysfunctional and when they are unable to get the right attention by their parents, they find it difficult to lead a good and a peaceful life. This story demonstrates the difficult times and the trauma that children face while they are living in a dysfunctional family. This paper will discuss the story of young Yunior who is the sufferer in this book.

Discussion

Yunior is the young boy in the family who has been impacted by the surroundings of his family. His parents have migrated to New York from Santo Domigo. His father is a rich man and has all the luxuries of life; the only thing that he does not have is sincerity and honesty in his relationships. Yunior is a child who longs for the attention of his father, but his father is so busy in his daily chores and tasks that he does not give time to his child.

Yunior has health problems. Whenever he is out in a car, he vomits. His father has bought a Volkswagen van and while travelling Yunior cannot help vomiting. His father is so cruel that he does not let Yunior eat anything before they leave their house (Diaz, 1997). His cruelty might be unconscious, but is certainly not in favor of his son. His cruelty is to such a great extent that when the family is invited to a part, the father forbids Yunior to eat anything because he might vomit again in the car on their way back home. Yunior's mother is not strong enough to stand up for his son in front of her husband. Yunior cannot resist the food and sneaks to eat three pastelitos. As a result he vomits again in the car while going home and is then reprimanded by his father.

It is important for the readers to realize that the relationship that Yunior has with his father is not a normal father-son relationship. The Volkswagen van has caused numerous problems for Yunior and has made his life miserable. Apart from the carsickness that Yunior is suffering from, he met his father's mistress in this van (Diaz, 1997). This incident has had a huge impact on the life of Yunior and this impact has been all negative. He is disgusted of his father's behavior and does not like the fact that he has to hide the secret of his father's infidelity. He is also disgusted from the fact that he is unable to help his siblings despite of all the difficult times that his family is facing.

His family does not face financial problems and has all the resources that are required for living a luxurious life, even then they are not satisfied and are not living peacefully. Mental peace is something that the whole family is ...