In his story "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars", Junot Diaz introduces the reader to a couple going through a tumultuous period in their relationship. News of Yunior's infidelity had just been revealed via a letter his mistress had sent to his girlfriend Magdalena. Reacting to the situation, Yunior confesses and sets off on a journey to try to win Magda back. Throughout the story, Yunior, who also serves as the narrator, attempts to convince not only the reader but also himself that he is simply a good guy who made a mistake. However, even though he was sincere and showed genuine emotion in delivering his mea culpa, Yunior never fully grasped the magnitude of his actions and the repercussions that resulted from them. Instead, he decides to downplay what he did in an act of self-deception, which inadvertently results in a lack of persuasion on the part of Magda and the reader. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay From the beginning, Díaz presents the reader with an impeccable, yet self-aware narrator. Yunior, the narrator, decides to start the story by pretending to be a good person, even though he admits to cheating on his girlfriend; “I'm not a bad guy. I know what that sounds like – defensive, unscrupulous – but it’s true. I'm like everyone else: weak, full of mistakes, but fundamentally good. (Díaz 1). It's interesting that it doesn't take very long for Yunior to defend himself in what seems like a warning to the reader before continuing with the story. By saying how he is weak like everyone else, Yunior deflects the blame and essentially gives an excuse for why he did what he did. Acts like these make it seem like he was struggling to convince the reader, and perhaps even himself, that he is in fact good. On the other hand, Yunior comes off as sincere and reliable by acknowledging how defensive he seems and being honest when explaining how he managed to sabotage his relationship with Magdalena. This, however, is overshadowed by his multiple attempts to downplay his connection to the reader. As a narrator, Yunior is also very candid when it comes to sharing his opinions and intentions. An example of this would be how he doesn't hesitate to say how much he loves Magdalena or describe what a difficult time it was for him after she received the letter. But Yunior also opens up about other things that make the reader question how good a person Yunior really is. At one point, he even admits to the reader that he had no intention of telling Magda about this affair without the letter she received; “You know how it is. A stinking bone like that is best buried in the garden of your life. (Díaz 1). As mentioned before, Yunior tries his best to fix the relationship between him and Magda. However, after hearing that he wasn't going to tell her in the first place, the reader wonders if Yunior really loved Magda enough to tell her about this affair eventually or if he was just trying to do damage control. the unexpected blow that hit the relationship. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines mea culpa as a formal acknowledgment of a personal fault or error. While discussing the events that happened from the time Magda received the letter, Yunior also lets the reader know how much love he has for her and how bad he feels about it all; “When she asked me: Why don't you leave me alone? I told her the truth: it's because I love you, mom. I know it looks like a. 2016.