131 pages 4 hours read

Junot Díaz

Drown

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 1995

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

“YSRAEL”

Reading Check

1. Why does Yunior’s mother send him and his brother to the campo every summer?

2. Why does Yunior enjoy the summers more than his brother?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What happens to Yunior on the bus while Rafa collects money?

2. Who is Ysrael and why do Rafa and Yunior want to visit him? Describe their meeting with this person.

Paired Resource

Dominican Americans

  • Oxford Bibliographies provides an overview of the Dominican Republic community in the US.
  • This resource relates to the theme of The Complexity and Hypocrisy of the American Dream.
  • Based on the text as well as the above resource, what were some of the motivations for people from the Dominican Republic to leave their country and migrate to the US?

“FIESTA, 1980”

Reading Check

1. What ailment does Yunior suffer from?

2. Why does Papi not let Yunior eat dinner at the party?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Papi take Yunior on car rides? Which unusual place does he take him to on one of these rides, and how does Yunior respond?

2.