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The portrayal of Women in “Nilda”

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 The portrayal of Women in “Nilda”

The short story “Nilda” is by Junot Diaz. Nilda is the second story in the book “This is how you lose her”. The story tells of the life of a girl named Nilda.  The story is narrated by Yunior, a main character in the story, and he lives with his mother and elder brother Rafa. Yunior and Nilda are friends, but Nilda falls for Rafa. Initially, Yunior does not want Nilda to become Rafa’s boyfriend because he believes that Rafa will mistreat Nilda. However, Nilda has already fallen for Rafa, and they become a couple. Throughout the story, women are portrayed as controversially. Women are portrayed as sexist and inferior based on Yunior’s description of Nilda and other girls in the story.

Women are displayed as objects of sex in the story. As the story begins, Nilda is described as a beautiful Dominican girl. However, as the description progresses, it becomes clear that Yunior described Nilda’s beauty based on her physical attributes. Yunior says, “She was Dominican, from here, and had super- long hair, like those Pentecostal girls, and a chest you wouldn’t believe— I’m talking world-class” (Diaz 28). Right from the beginning of the story, the beauty standards of women are attributed to their physical appearance. Therefore, women are treated like sexual objects, based on the sexist attitude of the men in the story.

Women in the story are painted as cheap. Nilda has a long list of lovers who continually mistreat her. When Rafa kisses Nilda in the school bus, he tells Yunior, “Smell this, he said. This, he said, is what’s wrong with women” (Diaz 34). Seemingly, the women in the story are cheap, based on how quickly Nilda gave herself to Rafa. Before Rafa, Yunior names a list of men who have slept with Nilda in the past. One of the men includes an old man who Yunior considers too old for Nilda.

Women in the story are portrayed as materialistic. When Nilda runs away from home, she puts up with men who can provide her basic needs. When Nilda comes back from the group home, she gets scooped by an older man. Although the man is too old to be Nilda’s boyfriend, Nilda is contented because the old man provides her needs. “…and because he bought her clothes to replace the old shit she was wearing, Nilda was all lost on him” (Diaz 32). Also, Nilda falls for Rafa because he provides a roof over her head since she is homeless. Thus, the women in the story only fall for men who offer their material needs.

Women in the story are depicted as inferior. Nilda is in constant need of saving because of the hectic life she lives. Rafa always sneaks Nilda into their house because she is homeless. When Nilda tells Rafa of her plans, Rafa dismisses her because she seems incapable of living a life without a man. True to Rafa’s assumption, Nilda couples up with several men who mistreat her. “She fell in love a couple more times, really bad with this one moreno truck driver who took her to Manalapan and then abandoned her at the end of the summer” (Diaz 39). Thus, women in the story are inferior and dependent on men.

In conclusion, women are portrayed in a negative manner in “Nilda”. Men perceive women as sexual objects based on how men in the story treat Nilda. Also, women are seen as cheap and materialistic since they depend on men for their needs. The women in the story are also displayed as inferior because they depend on men and seem incapable of making independent decisions.

 

Work Cited

Díaz, Junot. This is how you lose her. Penguin, 2013.

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