Published in 2007, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz is about an unconvincing protagonist named Oscar de León. Even though Oscar is supposedly the main character of the novel, Díaz made a very clear choice of giving other characters the spotlight to change how the book should be read by his audience. Rather than having a clear start to finish plot of Oscar Wao, Díaz chose to weave in the stories of other characters throughout the novel to give his audience a better picture and understanding of Oscar as a person. Oscar’s lack of presence may be daunting to some readers as they attempt to figure out his purpose within the book. The choice that Díaz makes when writing this novel, ultimately paints Oscar de León as the protagonist
2. This passage from Junot Diaz’s Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao is significant because it initiates the growing tension between Oscar and his love for comic books. Oscar is fascinated by the idea of superheroes which developed his interest to write comic books. Oscar only had a wish to have a girlfriend, but the fact that Oscar’s love for comic books and sci-fi animes was not allowing him to have a girlfriend. These comic books and animes in a way distract him from seeing that what is happening in the world which makes him ill-informed about the world.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is an extraordinary tale that takes you into the lives of Oscar Wao and his family members who are burdened with a terrible curse called fuku. The fuku spell began with Oscar’s grandfather, Abelard. Abelard angered the Dominican Republic dictator, Trujillo, after he allegedly made a joke about the dictator that turned into a crime. However, the real reason behind Abelard’s downfall was his refusal to introduce his daughter to Trujillo, who had a sexual appetite for young women.
There’s a direct relationship between the canefields and violence in the book, there had to be a reason for this. The canefields in the Dominican Republic was where the slaves worked when the Spanish colonizers came to the country, they were the cotton fields of the Dominican Republic. This is also when the fuku, or curse, was brought over the Dominican Republic from Europe as the narrator claims. ”It is believed that the arrival of Europeans on Hispaniola unleashed the fuku on the world, and we’ve all been in the shit ever since” (page 1). This must mean that canefields are part of the fuku the Europeans brought along.
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” written by Junot Daz, gifts us a profound tale of heartbreak and weakness but also persistence and resilience. It tells the story of Oscar de León, a Dominican-American boy who dreams of becoming a great writer and finding love despite being an overweight, nerdy, and socially awkward outlier from his peers. The novel interweaves Oscar’s life with the history of his family and the Dominican Republic, particularly focusing on the curse known as the fuk, which has plagued his family for generations. Daz shifts the narrative between different periods of time and perspectives to explore themes of identity, love, destiny, the supernatural, and the impact of history and tyranny. In chapters three and four, we
The book being discussed in this essay is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. The timeline in this novel was difficult to keep up with due to very frequent time jumps and different character’s perspectives. The entire story was underlined by a curse called “fuku.” Fuku was a curse believed to be brought over by Christopher Columbus and had ties to a Dominican Republic dictator named Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, who was frequently mentioned during the story.
In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, the reader follows the story of Oscar de Leon as told by his college roommate, Yunior. Although the novel is named after Oscar and depicts his life, the information given tells more about Yunior than Oscar. In many ways, however, Oscar serves as a foil to Yunior, showing the hardships of achieving masculinity in Dominican culture. While, to the public, Yunior is the typical masculine, sexually-driven posterchild of Dominican culture, so much of him is shaped by his relationship with Oscar. In some aspects, Oscar was able to mirror Yunior’s struggles, especially when it came to girls and masculinity, but he is also able to illuminate how hard Yunior struggled to fit in by being more true
In the novel The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and in the film Stranger Than Fiction the audience encounters two heros, Oscar Wao and Harold Crick. Throughout the lives of both heros I identified similarities and differences in the characteristics of each that make them their own unique hero. In Oscar’s life, he seeks for love and for someone to love him back, which he has a difficult time accomplishing. Whereas in Harold's story, he attempts to determine who is writing his story so he can prevent them from ending his life. Both heros, Oscar and Harold, proceed on journeys that determine their fate.
What a Dictator Wants vs. What a Dictator Does Not Want What silence is to a reigning dictator, corruption is to government officials. When citizens are in fear they tend to be silent and never lash out at their rulers as great or fatal consequences can result. On the other hand, silence can stir up resistance to the power of a dictator ending their rule. In the book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, the setting takes place in the Dominican Republic where the crude dictator Trujillo rules and installs fear in his people. Trujillo does as he pleases and has many personal "eye witnesses" to back him up if needed.
Written by Junot Díaz, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a novel set in both the Dominican Republic and the United States. The story relates the characters’ experience of being Dominican in both locations as well as the societal implications of living under the dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina’s regime. These implications, namely perceived societal gender expectations, have great influence over the characters and fuel the oppression and violence that they experience during Trujillo’s dictatorship. Despite the social ostracism that Oscar Wao experiences throughout his life, due to his pertinacious determination and integrity in regard to his own interest and ideals, he eventually finds happiness by the end of the novel.
In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao , Junot Díaz uses Beli’s near death experience to highlight how love and violence work together to keep the plot moving. After Beli becomes undeniably in love with the Gangster she sees a life with him and plans on being with him for years. She becomes pregnant and the Gangster’s wife finds out and sends two men to kill her and the baby. As Beli is being beaten to death the narrator says, “ Between punches she brought up her knees to comfort her stomach.
In the book of the “Brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao, the characters are outsiders who are struggling to fit into society at the time. They are often discriminated against because of their dominant culture that does not fit in as a “typical” American. They stand out because of their race and cultural background that stand out from the rest which leads them to have struggles on the way and no support from the surrounding communities. In the book, the main character is Oscar who is Dominican-American, he struggles with the sense of isolation and alienation from his surrounding peers and close family. He was bullied growing up for not fitting in because he was overweight, socially awkward and not normal to certain kids.
The role that gendered expectations plays in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao constructs detrimental limitations for males while reducing females to sexual beings. The prevalent Dominican males in the novel reinforce an absolute definition of masculinity characterized by dominance, attractiveness, manifestation of sexuality, and oppression of women. Such masculinity is constructed through every aspect that Rafael Trujillo, the ultimate Dominican male, embodies. Through the endorsement of expected Dominican hypermasculinity, females are overtly hypersexualized by means of objectification, while men are confined to fulfilling expected roles. In failing to embody Trujillo’s misogynistic, patriarchal ideal, males and females in the novel marginalize
The Curse of Oscar Daniel Plummer Charlestown High School Have you ever felt cursed in your life-like anything you do or say causes bad luck? Well, this is Oscar de León. He is the protagonist in the novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. Oscar de León is a Dominican-American man who grew up in Paterson New Jersey and is the son of Beli, the brother of Lola, and the most cursed one out of all his family members.
The title of the book “Virgins” communicates more than the first sexual act. It depicts the inability to make personal decisions without basing off other people’s opinions and beliefs. The story is an analysis of the progression of two females and their interaction with men. Though different, each girl has a different perception of sexual anatomy and hence Evans is able to communicate his message that virginity or sexuality is something that is a sole decision of someone despite whether they have had vaginal sex or not. Throughout the story, Erica is unsure with men.
