I am really interested in Yunior, as a charachter, but overall, he annoys me. I think that he is a very
degrading character..
Yunior has a lot of flings and talks big, but he has a sad life. When he worked
to improve Oscar, it is not because they are friends. It is because he has
nothing better to do. On page 164 (in my ebook copy at least!), Yunior throws
his unsolicited help back in Oscar’s face. “Here I was going the f*ck out of my
f*cking way to help this idiot out,” he says when Oscar stops responding to
the help. After he buys Oscar alcohol, Yunior leaves because he is bored with
Oscar’s mopey attitude. On my page 170, Yunior says “it was our last night and
I was f*cking tired of him.” Everything he does comes across under the guise of
friendship, but he is never good to Oscar. Beyond that, he is degrading to
himself. He gets so angry when Oscar gives up on the plan to improve himself that they end up in a fight.
Many times, he seems to put stock in his plans for Oscar and not much into
himself. To me, the character read as self-serving and irritating, rather than
a good friend. His tendency to get annoyed and give up on Oscar just makes him
an easy character for me to dislike. Does anyone else just dislike Yunior?
Oppinions?
I don't like Yunior's attitude; however, I appreciate that we understand these characters from an outsiders perspective. I also appreciate how casual his tone is. I'm unsure why the casual tone is so attractive to me. I think it is because it makes the negative events seem less of a blow to the reader's and makes the book seem more real. These are real life situations that are possibilites and I feel that because they are being told to us through Yunior, it is more believable and credible.
ReplyDeleteThe question I have for Caroline after reading this post is, "Should we like Yunior?" The Yunior Caroline described is a younger one than the one who is telling us the story and as Dr. Hanrahan pointed out in class Yunior doesn't sound to like his younger self. Yunior is a complicated character and he did come from a selfish place, but is there something gained in realizing his faults? Yunior has obviously changed a bit since the events of the story and points out many of his flaws with obvious distaste. This shows that he has learned from his previous actions and is making no excuse for them. Does this mean we have to like him? No and I think he would be fine with that as a narrator, but should we learn from him and all of the other characters in the story? I think so, I think it is important to pick up on the flaws of all of the characters to truly get the impact of the story. That is what makes this story the Yunior's zafa or countercurse to the fuku/curse/ whatever is going on in the rest of the story. If not in the magical sense then in the sense people can learn from their mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI have to take Yunior's side a bit more in this situation, especially because we know that the Yunior we have read about thus far is not present day Yunior. That is to say, he has matured beyond college days. While he is not ultimately the best friend for Oscar to have, Yunior is the only person outside of the family to actually try and help Oscar out. I believe it is also important to realize that being friends with Oscar was a learning experience for Yunior. There is so much that he learned about himself, and the clues from his narration let us know that he is able to reflect back on his past treatment of Oscar and regret some of his actions. I cannot wait to finish this book so we can see what happens in the end!
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