Oscar as a Parody of Masculinity Oscar De León struggles with his masculinity, in a sense that he is influenced to act a certain way, and treat others a certain way, in order to be considered a man. This coming of age crisis is shown The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diáz, through the life of this Dominican boy named Oscar de León. While Oscar struggles with his masculinity, the main narrator in the novel, Yunior, is shown as an exaggerated example of what a man should be like. This is shown numerous times in the novel when the reader comprehends these two character’s very different reactions to situations usually involving love and women. Because of this, Yunior is almost the exact opposite of Oscar, and Diáz uses this to his advantage. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diáz uses Oscar’s contrast to Yunior to depict him as a parody of masculinity that eventually gains influence on Yunior. …show more content…
From this quote one can assume right from the beginning, that in order to be considered a normal boy in Dominican cultures, you must act like a pimp. In addition, from the quote we can understand that being like a pimp is passed on through generations and is encouraged by friends. A pimp is someone who is known for controlling prostitutes for money, but in this case the reader can assume that the word pimp-liness makes us believe he should have pimp like qualities. For example, seeing women, more than one at a time, without having any feelings for them at all, and having total control over them. Yunior’s actions show that he possesses all of these qualities, while Oscar clearly does not and the reader identifies this through a scene earlier on in the