“At the hole where he went in, Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin. Hear what little Red-Eye saith: "Nag, come up and dance with death!" (Rikki-Tikki-Tavi). Lions. Tigers. Bears. Wolves. Is what people usually think of when they are asked what comes to mind when thinking about an animal that symbolizes bravery. The last thing people are thinking about is a mongoose. Until Rudyard Kipling created a story about a mongoose that fights on snakes and saves children. So why did Diaz use a mongoose in his story? Why not a lion or a wolf? By the end of the book, the readers of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao will know the answer of that question, and by the end of this essay you also will know why Diaz picked a mongoose to represent a brave and …show more content…
The readers of this book realize Oscar is in between a maniac and an average high school kid. When he decides to take his own life on top of a bridge, he is trying to convince himself that it’s not worth it. But guess what comes to our nerd friend Oscar, the golden eyed mongoose. “It was very placid, very beautiful. Gold-limned eyes that reached through you, not so much in judgment or reproach but for something far scarier. They stared at each other—it serene as a Buddhist, he in total disbelief—and then the whistle blew again and his eyes snapped open (or closed) and he was gone” (Diaz 153). Now someone that is saying Oscar is delusional and wanting to feel special before he dies, is just making this up. But even though personally I don’t like Oscar, he fell on the grass divider and it didn’t kill him. He could have fell splat upon the road but he doesn’t die. The mongoose saved Oscar, and it saved his mother. The mongoose is a hero, maybe even a god gifted animal. Also to the critics of this essay saying the mongoose is part of a fuku curse, you are dead wrong. Not only did you not get the point of this book, but you should probably read it again. “The Mongoose has proven itself to be an enemy of kingly chariots, chains, and hierarchies. Believed to be an ally of Man” (Diaz 38). Here clearly Diaz is stating the fact that the Mongoose is a friend of man. He rescues those that need