English
Introduction and Thesis Statement
In comparing and contrasting the short story “Fiesta 1980” by Junot Diaz with the poem “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, the experiences of the protagonists are different, yet they represent internal struggle with their fathers. While in “Fiesta 1980” Yunior had the chance to improve his relationship with his father, in “Daddy,” she couldn’t do so as he died when she was a young girl of ten.
Plot Summary of Fiesta 1980:
Yunior is a small immigrant boy, who, along with his family migrates to the United States from the Dominican Republic. Living in New York, young Yunior sees his father cheating on his mother who is innocent and unsuspecting. Yunior feels that by continuing his extra-marital activities, his father is threatening the family’s happiness and shows his displeasure. The story begins with Yunior’s family going out to attend a family party in Papi’s (Yunior’s father) new van, which causes a nauseating sensation on young Yunior. When Yunior throws up in the car, an infuriated Papi punishes him. At the party, Papi refuses to let Yunior have any food and snatches his plate in front of his friends. At this stage, young Yunior hates his father so much that; “I wanted to kill him and he must have sensed it”
For Papi, the new van is more important than young Yunior. Yunior is ashamed that he is a witness to his father’s adultery, and as a child, he is unable to do anything. He feels guilty that despite being witness to his father’s adultery, he cannot get himself to tell others (Natalie J. Friedman).
Plot Summary of Daddy:
“Daddy,” (Plath) is a compact, sixteen five-line stanzas poem. The poem vituperates the harsh brutality the poet endures during her younger days with her father. There is every reason to believe that the poem is a reflection of her true life. She says she has to live in a black shoe for thirty years, frightened that she could be punished if she breathes or sneeze. Because of the harsh treatment she faces, she pledges to kill him one day, but he dies before she can even attempt it: Daddy, I have had to kill you. You died before I had time (6-7). The poetess expresses her desire to kill her father, but she can’t, as he dies when she was still a young girl of ten. In enduring the hardship of a parent-child relationship, the young girl feels that even if she hates him, she still wished that he loves her. She wants to change all that, but her father dies when she is still young.
Analysis of Fiesta 1980:
The story is about an immigrant family who migrated to New York from the Dominican Republic. The story is about how life changes people when they are exposed to different lifestyles. When Papi was in the Dominican Republic, he didn’t have a car like the one he has now. The car for Papi was a sign of prosperity and success, and he isn’t willing anything or anyone to change it. However, the car becomes the focus of the relationship between father and son, as Yunior, nostalgic to the smell of leather, vomits in the car. Their relationship sours to the extent that Papi stops Yunior form eating anything before they go out in the car. The love-hate relationship is evident when Papi tells Yunior; “If you eat anything, I'm going to beat youAnd if your brother gives you any food, I'll beat him toI wanted to kill him” The father-son relationship disintegrates because of a silly cause, and Yunior, who witnesses his father’s adultery, cannot bring himself to tell others. It is years later, as a grown up that Yunior reminiscence his time with his father, and wishes that his relationship is different. The relationship between them sours because of a silly reason, and he is willing to change that. Papi has left them.
Analysis of 2nd work In “Daddy,” Plath reveals the relationship between a father and daughter. Her father treats her so shabbily that she uses phrases such as Nazis and vampire to describe him and his attitude toward her. Authenticating her view about her father, she says; “My Polack friend
Says there are a dozen or twoI began to talk like a Jew. I think I may well be a Jew.” These lines symbolize the tyranny of their relationship. Her father is acting like one of Hitler’s Germans who killed hundreds of innocent men, women, and children in Poland because they happened to be Jews. In comparing her father to the Nazis and her as a Jew, she reflects the kind of trauma and pain she endures at the hand of her father. As a young girl, she feels that she wants her father; “I used to pray to recover you. Ach, du.” Despite all her suffering, she is still hopeful that she could get her father to love her, but “You died before I had time.” The protagonist wants to give her father another chance, even though she wanted to kill him, but he died before she could act. She wants to improve her relationship with him, but he dies before she can attempt to do so.
Fiesta 1980 seems to be more constructive, realistic and positive because Yunior’s father represents the true character of a dominant family head; “Everybody decided that we should have a party. Actually, my pops decided, but everybody - meaning Mami, tía Yrma, tío Miguel and their neighbors - thought it a dope idea.” The father dictates what the family should do and what they shouldn’t, and represents the patriarchal familial system evident in many countries around the world.
Conclusion
Diaz’s “Fiesta 1980 and Plath’s “Daddy” seek to address the social follies of society. Despite all the hype centering modernity and expressiveness, society continues to live under the shadow of oppression and authoritarianism. The characterization of ‘father’ has many meanings, not least of all of one that represents both, oppression and authoritarianism. It is difficult to discount the story and poem on face value, but there seems to be more in what the author and the poetess want their audience to know.
Works Cited
Natalie J. Friedman,. 'Adultery and The Immigrant Narrative'. MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the U.S. 34.3 (2009): 71-91. Web.
Plath, Sylvia. ‘Daddy’. Poets.org. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Scribd.com. ‘Junot Diaz Fiesta 1980’. N.p., 2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
