Chelsa Lauderdale
Intro to Writing and Literature
10/20/10
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Part 1
Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, has a great deal of superstition and also the main character deals with a lot of issues of self identification. Diaz uses different devices to get across his message in this story. One device that he uses is different types of language. The book is written in English but is integrated with Spanish words and phrases that add to the multicultural aspect of the story. Not only that but he uses a mixture of slang, nerd words, intellectual and lyrical language and also some casual and historical language. These are a great addition to the story because it helps the reader identify with one or more aspects of the complicated main character Oscar.
Though he seems simple externally, Oscar is actually a very complex character. Most of this comes with his inherent inability to identify with a specific culture. He doesn’t traditionally fit in with his Dominican heritage because he is not macho or a ladies’ man, two of the things that it seems, in this story, all Dominican men must be. He also does not fit in with the American portion of his background because in American society he is categorized as a nerd who does not exercise, plays a lot of video games and reads a lot. Due to this, Oscar seems constantly confused with who he’s supposed to be. He does not fit in with any of the stereotypes associated with American or Dominican society.
Another major aspect of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the ever-present fúku. It is said that the fúku came from Africa to the Americas with Christopher Columbus. Since Christopher Columbus is like the spirit of colonialism in America, it’s safe to say that the Dominican consider the fúku the curse of colonialism. The Dominican dictator Trujillo was said to be an instrument of the fúku, or perhaps the way around because anyone who would oppose him would be cursed in an awful. The fúku is an important part of the story because it sets the tone for the piece. As it is introduced in the beginning of the story, the reader can assume that it will be an underlying theme of the piece. Oscar believes himself cursed by the fúku and as we can see through the progression of the story, it is easy to understand why. It certainly would seem that Oscar would live a cursed life because throughout the first half of the story his situation seems to be going from bad to worse.
Until I read the second half of the story I won’t know if Oscar is actually cursed or he just thinks that he is, but seeing that his mother grew up in the Dominican Republic and was a rebellious youth, it was quite possible that she somehow invoked the wrath of this fúku upon her family. The curse in Oscar’s case would just be the pronunciation of the falsity of the American dream. When Oscar’s mother moved to America to chase her adventurous dreams she didn’t quite get what she bargained for, and thus that unluckiness became her curse and the curse of her family.
Lots of good stuff in here, Chelsa. Your writing is straightforward and clear. Good work.
ReplyDeleteWork on expanding on some of your claims, though. You say that Oscar is a "complex character" which stems from his inability to fit into the surrounding cultures and the fact that he doesn't fulfill the stereotypes of either the DR or the US. First off, but doesn't he fulfill the stereotype of the D&D/sci-fi nerd? Why doesn't he escape from this? Also, what does his complexity as a character do for the novel as a whole? Why is important to have complex characters, and why does THIS SPECIFIC complex character drive the novel forward?
You also say that "the fúku is an important part of the story because it sets the tone for the piece."--what tone is that? How does it create this tone? What is the purpose of having this tone?
Also be careful with interpreting the fúku as something that the actions of the characters bring upon themselves. The curse isn't a punishment for their own actions, but for the actions of history. These characters are the effect of the fuku, not its cause. So why are these characters afflicted? How does the fuku manifest itself in their lives?
As you final paragraph suggests, I'm interested to see how you tie all this stuff together by the end of the book. Make sure you're continuing your exploration of these themes for the second half.
Good work=8
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