Why The Brief And Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

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.

The

Díaz states, “[Oscar] [h]ad none of the Higher Powers of your typical Dominican male, couldn't have pulled a girl if his life depended on it. Couldn't play sports for shit, or dominoes, was beyond uncoordinated, threw a ball like a girl. Had no knack for music or business or dance, no hustle, no rap, no G. And most damning of all: no looks,” (Díaz Chapter 1). Oscar was also overweight and goofy looking. He did not enjoy sports or going to parties like many of his peers. Oscar’s interests included writing sci-fi and fantasy fiction and playing Dungeons and Dragons in the isolation of his house. Throughout the novel, sex is emphasized as an important factor of being a Dominican man: characterised as being attractive and charming as well as sexual and violent. Although in reality, Oscar is unimpressive and unattractive to most girls, he falls in love with girls and imagines romances with them in his head. His inability to conform to this stereotype is central within the novel, as he desires to have a woman return his affection. Even his sister, Lola, pushes oscar to be like the stereotypical Dominican male, warning him “you're going to die a virgin unless you start changing,” (Díaz Chapter 1). It is feared that Oscar will remain a virgin which seems to be considered taboo within his

While a lack of machismo hindered Oscar from being considered a normal member of society, it is what allowed him achieve his goal of finding genuine love at the end of the novel. It becomes clear that the the expectation of “normality” at all creates a very clear societal dilemma. When it becomes a goal to be “normal,” what strays from the idealistic “norms” of society tends to be regarded with contempt. The seeking of “normalcy” inherently leads to the development of the idea of the “problem” or disability of those who fail to conform. People who stray from social “norms” are then considered disabled, but are traits such as compassion for others, the ability to love unconditionally, and the courage to maintain a sense of self in a society which aims to tear it from you really disabilities at all? In the words of Lennard Davis in the first page of Introduction: Normality, Power, and Culture, “The ‘problem’ is not the person with the disability, it is the way that normalcy is constructed to create the ‘problem’ of the disabled person,” (Davis 1). Everyone is different and to impose an idea of what is an expected or acceptable by labeling those who don’t conform as disadvantaged or handicapped, is artificial and