Why The Brief And Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

The groundbreaking novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao explores many different aspects of life. The story is told by narrator, Yunior, focusing on Oscar De Leon and his family’s Dominican experience during the Trujillo regime. Oscar isn’t the typical Dominican male and is isolated as a result of the gender roles that are so heavily relied on and seen in the Dominican culture. The idea and execution of gender roles has been around for many years. These roles are based on the values and beliefs about gender within groups or societies. They illuminate the idealistic ways men and women must comply by. This includes the way they think, dress, act and behave. These barriers create limitations for both genders. This concept created by

To illustrate, Diaz states, “Anywhere else his triple-zero batting average with the ladies might have passed without comment, but this is a Dominican kid… in a Dominican family… Everybody noticed his lack of game and because they were Dominican everybody talked about it (Diaz 24). Oscar lacked the most significant qualities a Dominican male is supposed to have, being good looking and having ‘game.’ It’s noticeable that he’s different, which leads to him getting criticized by his own family. This criticism pushes him to change himself because he does not feel comfortable being who he truly is since his culture doesn’t accept him. He has to give up parts of his identity and give into societal and familial pressure. Oscar believes that he has to conform to the role his culture has placed on him of being a playboy. As a result he begins exercising and feeling concerned about his sexual life. Similarly, his sister Lola, is also forced to follow these gender roles put in place. For instance, Lola explains, “I was the one cooking, cleaning, doing the washing, buying groceries… I stayed at home and made sure Oscar was fed and everything ran right… I raised him… You’re my hija, she said, that’s what you’re supposed to be doing” (Diaz 56). It’s evident that the women in the Dominican culture are looked at as just housewives from a very young age. This reflects how gender roles are perpetuated in their society. This distinct view of women isn’t only used by men but also by women themselves. They’ve been boxed into these standards for so long that they pass it along to their daughters and normalize it. Lola’s own mother says that this is what she’s supposed to be doing because she’s the daughter, illuminating how all of these duties are placed solely on the women. Taking care of not only the house but, the men of the house is what makes her the “perfect”