In Drown by Junot Diaz there are decisive spaces for men and women within the text. Yunior and his mother demonstrate a compelling and complex dichotomy between a dependent maternal figure and an independent male figure. These two figures are each unique in their presentation of masculinity and femininity as they exist outside of traditional gender roles and expression. However, transcending gender expectations, both Yunior and his mother are controlled and ostracized because they do not adhere to normative ideologies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Yunior's mother represents the traditional roles of Latinidad as she remains loyal and supportive to her son and her husband. In contrast, Yunior's mother is presented as maintaining distance between herself and her son, as the only things that pass between them are money, silence, and protection. Undoubtedly, she is playing a role that she cannot escape, because if she did not adhere to social norms she would lose her bond with her son and her sense of security. Physically, Yunior's mother exists predominantly in the domestic sphere, wandering from room to room in silence. As Yunior describes her, “She is so quiet that most of the time I am surprised to find her in the apartment” (Diaz, 94). Metaphorically, this silence represents his inability to express his true desires or his true self. The importance of silence permeates the text as Yunior's mother becomes the embodiment of isolated fears within family relationships. Yunior struggles to understand how his mother maintains a sense of loyalty and even love for Yunior's father, especially when Yunior remains a target of fears and anxieties throughout his youth. Misery and loneliness are etched into his very being, as is evident when he treats a trip to the mall as a celebrated occasion. Like Yunior himself, Yunior's mother deviates from the norm. The phone calls to her ex-husband demonstrate a type of desire that is nonnormative and therefore regulated by Yunior, who believes that his mother's desire to remain close to her husband reflects her repressed desires toward Beto. Although Yunior does not necessarily imitate his mother's relationship with Yunior's father, he still interprets his longing and potential desperation for Beto as a flaw that connects him and his mother. The central fear for Yunior is that he will inevitably experience the world as his mother experienced it and will crave the attention and love that a man like Yunior's father can provide him. For Yunior, this means he cannot offer love and comfort; instead it must offer stability and strength. These masculine ideologies persist throughout the text and are specifically maintained by Yunior in the face of sexual awakening, potential job opportunities, and his role as a rock in the domestic sphere. Yunior's sexuality is clearly something that influences his identity as a macho man. . However, clear distinctions are made in the text between what is socially accepted and what Yunior is willing to participate in. Yunior has no problem with drug dealing because he believes that, as a product of an economically unstable environment, dealing is a choice worth the risk if it produces an actual profit. Beto and Yunior's sexual experiences, however, negatively affect Yunior's self-image and push him into self-deprecation. The two meetings take place in Beto's house, which gives the boys a sense of security in their isolation and security in the expression of desire. Although these experiences are not morally problematic, Yunior cannot handle the thought of his social deviance, and that.