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The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

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Recommended: Spanish colonialism in the Dominican Republic

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 …show more content…

Once Oscar graduates from college, he gets a job at his previous high school, which he later decides for the first time in years to join his family by visiting La Inca back in Santo Domingo (Diaz 263). While on his trip, he meets this woman, Ybon, in which he deeply falls in love with her but he quickly learns that she has another partner (Diaz 281). Ybon reveals that she is now married and encourages Oscar to leave before her husband finds out, but he is too late. Oscar is sent out to the field and gets beaten close to death, which leads him to having déjà vu as his mother was in this exact situation as him. Time passes and Oscar returns to the states but is eager to return to the Dominican so he asks Yunior for “rent” money but then uses it to buy a flight to visit Ybon (Diaz 289). Oscar struggled with rejection very difficult all throughout his life which led him to having a hard time trying to move on from all of his crushes. While in Santo Domingo, Oscar comes across the Capitan and sees the same symbols his mother once saw, the faceless man and the golden mongoose, which foreshadows a tragic event which becomes his death (Diaz 297). The repetition of history through the mother and son portray the chokehold and influence Trujillo had over the Dominican Republic at the time. Through the countless, silent tortures and murders he would commit that would cause the country to remain silent in fear of what he was capable of doing. While the De Leon family would spend their time in the Dominican, no one had the guts and confidence to confront the constant corruption Trujillo enabled to happen and all his wrongdoings leading them all to absolutely

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