Junot Diaz's “Otravida, Otravez” postulates a life perspective in which the present and future always reflect one's past in some way. Diaz incorporates symbolic figures to convey how a person's past can be transported into the future. Diaz's use of symbolic figures includes the dirty sheets washed by Yasmin, the letters Virta sends to Ramon, and the young girl who begins working with Yasmin in the hospital. These symbolic figures and situations remind readers that the past will always play an important role in the present. Furthermore, Diaz's word choice, in which Spanish words appear in many different parts of the reading, suggests that indirectly, a person's past habits are not easily broken. Yasmin works in the laundry at St. Peter's Hospital. The dirty sheets he washes symbolize the idea that the past is inevitable. For example, Yasmin says: “I never see the sick; they visit me through the stains and marks they leave on the sheets… many times the stains are too deep and I have to throw these sheets in the appropriate basket” (55). Through this symbolic representation, the author suggests the idea that the past is imprinted in one's life in the same way that stains are imprinted on underwear. With this symbolic representation, Diaz also reveals that the past is difficult to erase even with great efforts, in this case, the special basket that “is incinerated” (55). The symbolic representation of the sheets is further emphasized when Diaz writes, “I hold the blue hospital sheets in front of me and close my eyes, but the bloodstains float in the darkness before me” (67). This phrase addresses a different perspective of the general idea that the past is inevitable. In this example, we are brought to the center of the card... of the country as we attempt to leave the past behind. “Sida” represents an inevitable disease similar to the inevitable past of these people, and therefore of all people. Junot Diaz's "Otravida, Otravez" describes a life perspective in which the present and future always somehow reflect their past. Diaz's depiction of symbolic figures conveys how a person's past can be transported into the future. Diaz's use of symbolic figures includes the dirty sheets washed by Yasmin, the letters Virta sends to Ramon, and the young girl who begins working with Yasmin in the hospital. These symbolic figures and situations remind readers that the past will always play an important role in the present. Furthermore, Diaz's word choice, in which Spanish words appear in many different parts of the reading, suggests that indirectly, one's past habits are not easily broken..