Ties that Bind

Alison is not sad that her father is dead: she is instead happy about the fact that her father no longer looms over her family and herself as a domineering figure of callousness.

Throughout the entire graphic novel, Bruce acts coldly towards his family and intimidates them through violence or threat of so.  When Alison receives word that her father has died she, “cried quite genuinely for about two minutes.  That was all” (46.)  His (Bruce’s) legacy died with him and that is why Alison is not sad, but relieved when she learns of his death.  She now has the opportunity to move on with her life and not live under the shadow of her father’s will and presence.

From and early age, Bruce imposed his will upon Alice and her family to do what he wants.  Most notably, he for all intents and purposes forced Alison to dress like a girl when she was growing up.  Never allowing her to express herself for who she wanted to be and always suppressing any desire or urge to be something other than what he wanted her to be: normal.  Or rather the appearance of being normal, like the façade that he wears around.  On page 15, Bruce forced Alison to change her clothes so that the “necklines match” and on page 118 after seeing the “bulldyke” Bruce condescendingly asks Alison, “ Is THAT what you want to look like?”  He simply refused the notion of allowing his daughter to be whom she chose to be and not what was demanded of her from society or from him.

The moment when Alice sees her younger brother, John, they break into uncontrollable smiles.  Not because they hated their father, but because they know that the implications of his death meant for them and for their family: the oppressive atmosphere at the house would be no more.  They didn’t smile out of malice or disrespect towards their father, it was the realization of what lay ahead of them that caused their “ghastly, uncontrollable grins” (46)

Bruce was a representation of many things, hatred towards oneself, tyrannical behavior and projecting his faults on the children--most notably Alice.  It wasn’t until Alice moved out of her parent’s house and went to college did she finally grow into her own skin and was able to fulfill her ideal self-image.  None of that could have been accomplished if she had continued living with her parents and with her father.  His death metaphorically set Alice free from the chains that bonded her to him and his will.  Though he is gone, Alice will have to live with the implications that he left behind as his legacy and come to grips with who he was and what he did.

Chasing the Dream

The one thing that as a society we don’t want to think about, and one of the pervasive themes in “Negocios”, is the truth behind the “American Dream.”  The broken lives the majority of the immigrants have and must endure in order to marginally improve their conditions in America.

When Ramon left his home on the Dominican Republic, he had a dream of making a better life for himself, the prototypical dream most, if not everyone, wants in life.  However, what he was not expecting were the conditions and the hardships that he would have to endure in order to partially realize that dream.  He has a naive notion of life in Americahaving supposedly said, “I got two hands and a heart as strong as rock.”  Because Ramon had no plan, and because Ramon had a very limited idea of what the “American Dream” entailed, thanks, in so small part, to the media who only focus on how one has, or can, increase their life to the point of being in the lower-middle-class. 

 Ramon’s optimistic point of view is slightly shattered one morning when, during his morning routine of push-ups, the cleaning lady responds to him with, “If you had a job, you wouldn’t need exercise.”  This only shows how shattered this woman is after potentially chasing after her own American Dream and failing, miserably.  Ramon is undeterred and quickly finds a job.  But it’s not enough; it’s never enough in the land of opportunity.  Ramon has to share a, from what we can assume, two bedroom apartment, with three other men and is forced to sleep on the floor then on a mat on the floor.  

The only time Ramon improves his condition is when he practically has to force himself on Nilda and moves in.  This, however, is after walking the majority of the way from Virginia to New York, “He walked in his bad shoes, froze....” and after working for 18-20 a day just to be able to pay for rent and the basic necessities for living-- anywhere.  But somehow, miraculously Ramon still holds tight to the idealized notion that America is the land of opportunity and that it’s the only place anyone can improve their condition in life.  Even after having to endure hardships that no one should ever have to bear, and being scammed our of $800, he’s still so positive about being able to attain his dream of a better life.

However, when stories like his are reported on the evening news, none of this is mentioned or brought up.  All that is focused on is how one person with a dream overcame “adversity and hardship” to reach a new standard of living; usually lower-middle class.  This is not the case with Ramon, he’s one of the few exceptions to that generalization.  He uses Nilda as a means to an end in order to rise in the socio-economic ladder, “Within a month Papi moved out of his appartment into her house in Brooklyn.  They were married in March.  ...He lived in Nilda’s house, shared her bed, paid no rent...”  

Diaz ultimately shows the story of the broken individuals that comprise the American Dream and shares with us one story, no matter how unreliable it may be or seem.