This piece by Junot Diaz is a short story written as an instruction manual explaining all the possible situations when having a girl over. He covers how to get ready, how to talk to her parents, what to expect depending on her race, her parents, background, and where she lives.
This is a unique style of writing. The entire thing is written about hypothetical situations, "if she's from the park or society hill," "if the girl's local," "if she's from around the way," (Diaz). Nothing is definitive. There is, however, still a clear storyline. It explains what to do while you wait for the hypothetical girl, how to act with her, and what to do when she's gone; the piece has all the parts of a full story, without having one defined plot.
I thought it was interesting that Diaz chose to use very brief sentences. It gives his writing a tone that is reminiscent of a bullet point to-do list. The use of short sentences makes the reader picture the story in flashbulb scenes, seeing only a second before moving on. This format makes the piece a fairly quick read; I was able to fly through it because the the writing had the feeling of a checklist. It seemed easy to move on to the next instant once one was completed.
Overall, the piece is done in a very unique style, but it is effective for the story. Diaz uses structure and word choice to create a fitting tone for his purpose.
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