Violence

Violence is a repeated motif throughout the narrative, and its multiple iterations serve as a narrative basis for the examination of the various motivations behind violence, as well as the specific insidious nuances that perpetuate the destruction it causes. The narrative introduction to violence is found in Yunior’s description of his relationship with his older brother Rafa. Rafa is a generally aggressive character with an angry demeanor, and Yunior states in narration, “If I was stupid enough to mouth off to [Rafa]…he pounded the hell out of me and then I would run as far as I could” (5). This baseline of violence in the brothers’ relationship helps to set a tone of malevolent volatility throughout the entire story, not simply with regard to Rafa’s actions, as Yunior’s matter-of-fact tone when describing this violence makes violence itself something of an ingrained part of...