On the book DROWN Chapter 6, "Boyfriend," is a complex one; this chapter points to race and racism heavily.

point out moments that speak on race and racism and their significance to the narrator.

What is the narrator's dilemma with his own race?

https://www.gradesaver.com/drown/study-guide/summary-boyfriend

Summary

At the beginning of "Boyfriend," the narrator explains that when he smokes weed it causes him to sleepwalk. On one of these incidents, the narrator wakes up in his hallway. When he awakens, he hears his neighbors having a loud fight on the floor below him. The boyfriend, who the narrator refers to as "Boyfriend," tells his girlfriend, referred to as "Girlfriend," that he wants space from the relationship. The narrator reveals that he knows Boyfriend, and assumes that he actually wanted "more space to cheat" on Girlfriend (111). Every time Boyfriend heads to leave, Girlfriend starts crying again, asking him why he's doing this. The narrator thinks that their relationship reminds him of his ex, Loretta.

The narrator heads to his apartment, and he can hear Boyfriend finally leave and Girlfriend crying loudly in her apartment. The narrator can hear Girlfriend from his apartment, which is right below his. The narrator goes into his bathroom, which is right above hers, to listen to her cries. She washes her face over and over again. The narrator starts to feel bad for Girlfriend, but he also admits that he is numb to this sort of thing after breaking up with Loretta.

The next day, the narrator tells his friend Harold about Girlfriend's breakup with Boyfriend. Harold and the narrator reflect on how out of their league Girlfriend is, who "was too beautiful, too high-class for a couple of knuckleheads like us" (112). The narrator reflects that they speak Spanish to each other, which bothers him, because none of his girlfriends ever spoke Spanish.

The narrator listens over the course of the next week as Boyfriend appears a few times for his things and he and Girlfriend fight again. She tells him long arguments, but he cannot be swayed from leaving her. The narrator eavesdrops as they have sex, and he assumes that Girlfriend is sleeping with him in the hopes that Boyfriend will be convinced to stay. The narrator knows that Girlfriend's strategy will not work. The narrator compares their relationship to his relationship with Loretta. Instead of talking, they would lay in silence. Back then, the narrator never knew what Loretta was thinking, but now he guesses what she was thinking was simply "escape."

The narrator reflects that in his bathroom, he can hear the fights between Boyfriend and Girlfriend best. In the bathroom, Girlfriend talks to him about her day and Boyfriend does not say anything substantive beyond "yeah, yeah." The narrator describes seeing Boyfriend at the bars, taking note of the fact that he likes to hit on white girls. The narrator then reflects on his breakup with Loretta. She left him for an Italian guy who works on Wall Street who she met while she was still dating the narrator. She tells the narrator that he is a hard worker, which hurts him greatly.

After one shower, Boyfriend never comes back to Girlfriend's apartment. Girlfriend spends a lot of time calling her old friends and crying in the bathroom and in front of the TV. The narrator spent his time listening to her and looking for a job. One day, the narrator gets the nerve to ask Girlfriend up for a cup of coffee. She says yes, and when she arrives at his apartment he notices that she has put makeup and jewelry on. The narrator puts on music and they drink coffee together. The narrator notes that she looks sad but beautiful. They talk about weed for a little while, but Girlfriend says that it makes her break out. She recommends that he should eat honey to cure his sleepwalking. That night, he can hear her dancing alone in her apartment.

The narrator says that he never tried the honey cure and Girlfriend never returns to his apartment. Sometimes they pass each other on the stairs, but they exchange nothing more than polite hellos. By the end of the month, he notices that she has cut her hair short. He compliments her on her hair and tells her that it makes her look fierce. She smiles, saying that is exactly what she intended.