How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie) Summary
Junot Díaz

How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie) Overview

How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie) is a short story by Junot Diaz. It was originally published in The New Yorker in 1995. A slightly revised version was then published in Diaz's 1996 short story collection "Drown." This short story follows the character of Yunior, who appears in many of Diaz's short stories. Yunior live in a low-rent neighborhood in Paterson, New Jersey. Yunior is originally from the Dominican Republic, as are his mother, father, and brother. In this story, Yunior uses the second person to narrate a date he has while his family is out of the apartment. Yunior narrates the date in hypothetical terms, drawing details from various dates he has had with several different young women over time. This story explores themes of race, class, intimacy, and isolation.