ipl-logo

Oscar Wao Themes

1790 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The brief wonderous life of oscar wao summary

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, was a very intriguing story. It incorporated numerous themes that certain individuals can relate to and spoke upon realistic cases. Author Junot Diaz wrote this interpretation from where he was raised. This fiction novel set up the themes of relationships, abuse, sexuality, parenthood and so forth. The one theme that stood out to the writer in this novel was culture. To be more specific, cultural supernaturalism. The writer will elaborate more in depth in her essay on why she views the theme supernaturalism as a strong point.
The novel took place in New Jersey but dealt with the author’s background of the Dominican Republic. The family speaks highly upon their Latin roots throughout the story. Novel revolves …show more content…

The family are descendants from the Dominican Republic. Oscar believes his family’s past brought a curse upon the family’s future. Article; “Naturalism, Naturalism by Other Means, and Alternatives to Naturalism’” by Andrew Porter, elaborates the theology of supernaturalism is a realistic phenomenon, as stated in the beginning of the writing. Porter reviews historical, religious point of views on supernaturalism versus the religious biblical text, that is found in the sacred scriptures. The author and his peer believe that the concept is true. They realized that it has become unnoticed in the precision of science, history and religion. “Phillip Johnson accepts that conception of naturalism in Reason in the Balance. Johnson defines naturalism as the thesis that nature is all there is, but for practical purposes, he admits only one interesting alternative: super naturalistic theism” (Porter 224). Porter and Diaz are trying to open their reader’s mind in only stating supernatural is real. “William P. Alston’s internet paper, “What is Naturalism, That We Should Be Mindful of It?”, touches many of the features of naturalism from an analytic perspective, and he accepts the idea that naturalism is defined by its rejection of the supernatural, but he also asks what it is about the natural that makes it …show more content…

This review is about defeating a supernatural spirit through the works of healing power. Immigrants believed that they were cursed and being mistreated but healers of the integrated community changed the situation. The studies do believe that supernaturalism is real but takes into consideration the power has of healing a community, because it would lead to alternative spiritual practices. If the curse is not real, then Oscar’s life has changed. Introducing the third source of beyond the supernatural. Getting rid of the theology of supernaturalism taking over an entire family. If Oscar sought Therapeutic help over his years, he would not have to worry about leaving in fear or dying, suddenly. “No matter what their religious healing disciplines are, or maybe, practitioners’ métiers implicitly support a holistic philosophy of life in which the natural and supernatural, the physical and the spiritual no longer represent two contradictory selves” (Viadrich 138). To be on the same page of living life out than believing a curse that is a historical myth, could affect everything one

Show More
Related
1226 Words | 5 Pages

First and foremost the Hispanic-Catholic, Indian-mestizo, Atheism and magic of a shaman . The conflict that occurs internally with Antonio is the search

Read More
486 Words | 2 Pages

There is often a time in Asian Americans’ lives when they experience a cultural disconnect: being too “White” for their Asian relatives, yet too “Asian” for their White peers. These feelings are true for Jay Reguero, the protagonist of Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. Throughout the novel, Jay, a Filipino-American, struggles with feeling like an outsider in the Philippines because he cannot speak his mother tongue and has spent his entire life in the U.S. During his time in the Philippines, he attempts to connect with his culture but he is constantly reminded of how little he knows and understands about the Philippines. Therefore, this novel is about Jay’s struggle with his cultural identity and his feelings of guilt from not connecting

Read More
1806 Words | 8 Pages

Anne Fadiman’s book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, explicitly illustrates the cultural divide between a Hmong family, the Lees, and the physicians treating their daughter, Lia Lee, at the Merced Community Medical Center. Lia first begins to experience seizures when she is about three months old. This is initially when the conflict arises between the physicians and the Lees. In contrast to Lia’s Western medicine diagnosis of epilepsy, her parents interpret epilepsy, or quag deb peg in the Hmong language, as both a serious and dangerous disease and a sign of distinction, indicating that she could potentially become a shaman (Fadiman 20-21). On the other hand, the physicians are continuously trying to prevent and treat Lia’s seizures,

Read More
1648 Words | 7 Pages

In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down, Anne Fadiman reflected on ways in which cultural dissonance can have detrimental consequences for those who are caught in the midst of two cultures. In this influential story, the cultural and language barriers between Lia Lee’s family and her doctors caused Lia’s life to be negatively impacted due to improper diagnosis and treatment. The Lees preferred traditional and spiritual treatment that clearly differed from the doctors’ Westernized treatment. Through a constant battle between proper treatment and the Lee parent’s compliance, this caused Lia to live in a persistent vegetative state for the majority of her life. The language barrier that the Lee’s faced at Merced hospital was discouraging,

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Religion deepens the reader's understanding of what the characters in the book are going through as well as the situation in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo’s 31 year regime. The role of religion in the book In the Time of the Butterflies develops Patrias character. This becomes evident when Patria says, “No one had to tell me to believe in God or to love everything that lives. I did it automatically like a shoot inching its way towards the light,” (44).

Read More
1786 Words | 8 Pages

The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is a novel that follows a family and its Fukú to and from the Dominican Republic and the United States. The stories involves a potentially non-existent curse called Fukú and its counter called Zafa. There is a loving, overweight, nontraditionally heroic protagonist named Oscar and other equally complex characters like his mother Beli. These characters seem to be continuously facing tragedy and negativity related to their appearance, particularly their skin color. In the end Fuku is left as an open-ended belief, Oscar ends up a hero in the eyes of the narrator, and Beli learns you cannot run from problems.

Read More
1546 Words | 7 Pages

Overcoming Language Barriers and Seeing Perspective The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is a novel based on the real-life story of the Lee’s, a Hmong family who move to Merced, California after escaping from their home country of Laos following World War II. When the Lee’s arrive to Merced, they speak no English and are expected to adapt to Western culture. For them, it was complete culture shock.

Read More
1243 Words | 5 Pages

The Dominican Republic during the Trujillo Regime in the 20th century was an extremely tough experience for citizens and residents in the island. There was recurring acts of torture, violence, arrests and murders that were occuring all thoughout the country while dictator Rafael Trujillo was in power. His main targets were those of Haitian descent and people who had African phenotypes which led to the development of colorist and racist roots in the upbringing of the country. During his dictatorship, approximately 20,000 people, mainly Haitians, were murdered in 1937 under his command which later became known as the Parsley Massacre. Through Junot Diaz’s work, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,we get insight into a family’s life and struggles

Read More
953 Words | 4 Pages

The novel, “There There” by Tommy Orange follows the stories of a plethora of characters, sharing many unique experiences with the readers. Themes of gender, identity, community, race, and assimilation can be seen throughout these stories, as the characters experience them firsthand. The journeys these characters experience connect these themes to the terms culture, multiracial person, and stereotype through showcasing the impact that these terms have on the characters and their stories. Culture is a term referring to the practices, arts, and achievements of a nation or group of people. Strong traces of culture can be seen throughout the novel, as the characters all have unique experiences with the same culture.

Read More
734 Words | 3 Pages

Naturalism is a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Naturalism took place from 1890-1915. Some characteristics of Naturalism include: Survival of the fittest, violence (force vs. force), animal imagery, determinism, and taboo topics. Also, Naturalism is aimed at the lower class and is about the darker side of life. Ethan Frome is a novel written by Edith Wharton in 1911.

Read More
583 Words | 3 Pages

The supernatural in the short story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” plays an important role to the main characters. This concept shows how these characters perceive the unexplainable which is true and real, because not many people would invite an angel in to their house. They would react like Pelayo and Elisenda, locking him up outside of their house so they can figure out what to do. The supernatural and human perception go hand in hand in Gabriel García Márquez short

Read More
1270 Words | 6 Pages

We will contrast the ways that the supernatural is used and presented—and later enforced or dispelled—to discern the role it has on both novels. Starting with Lewis’ The Monk we see the supernatural at first only as an inkling that grows stronger and larger as the story goes on. There are hints of prophecies with gypsies and such, but it is not only until we are introduced to it with the narrative of The Bleeding Nun—told by Raymond de las Cisternas—that it is predominant in the plot. This passage seems completely unrelated to the main story, at first, but in it we are introduced to the supernatural as a force that is prevalent in the novel’s reality and that it can in fact, impact a character’s actions. We are introduced to it in detail, as the image of the Nun is clearly seen by Raymond: “[a] figure entered, and drew near my bed. . .

Read More
1927 Words | 8 Pages

Many of Wong Kar-wai’s films read as a continual narrative, or a rewriting of the same story in a different setting or at a different level of maturity. This sameness is shown in a variety of ways such as his characters’ fetishistic obsession with everyday surroundings, their search for relationships—and his inevitable depiction of them as realistically imperfect, and a failure to connect or communicate with other characters which portrays the loneliness of the individual. Even though the same themes are being reproduced in his films, the technique of showing these themes evolves, creating new experiences for the viewer and evoking new emotional responses when being faced with the same problem. This paper will examine the search for relationships and connections through the lens of fetishism. Writer-director Wong Kar-wai has shown in many of his films an inclination toward showing the human obsession with the everyday, typically in the form of fetishism.

Read More
1468 Words | 6 Pages

In one of the most compelling pieces of Christian mysticism, St. Teresa of Avila brings the reader on a journey through the seven mansions of her soul in which she titles as the Interior Castle. Teresa wrote this mystical text in 1577 as a guide to her fellow nuns in hopes to bring them closer to God through prayer as she has. As fascinating as the journey through the mansions of St. Teresa’s soul, what is even more interesting today is how Teresa continuously balances her own authority as a writer and expert on spiritual matters with her continuously insisting on her lack of knowledge on the subject of mysticism. For instance, in one case she states, “It may even be that everything I say is confused: that, at least is what I’m afraid of”. (52)

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

During the Gilded Age of American history, the literary life was undergoing a rapid transform, creating different branches, represented by various social groups. Among these, naturalism stood out with a belief that humans are no more than highly evolved animals, nothing can relate humanity to supernatural powers. Therefore, people without the “divine protection” can easily be caught up in situations that are beyond their control. Although sometimes depressing, this new literary school, without any exaggerated romance, reveals some of the real issues faced by the progressive nation. Stephen Crane, a prominent American novelist, emerged as a pioneer of naturalism.

Read More

More about Oscar Wao Themes

Related Topics

Open Document