Response 5

Jenna Wilhelmi

Junot Diaz

Oscar Wao 1

Language and ‘Idioma’

In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz uses many different languages to tell his anti-hero’s story. Initially, I only noticed the change from English to Spanish. I know no Spanish, so the transition – with no translation in sight – was jarring at first. However, most of the phrases or words were put in a context where I could figure out basically what had been said. Apart from showcasing the rich heritage of the Dominican Republic that surrounds Oscar, the use of Spanish added a certain flavor to the book. All books have a certain feeling about them which is determined by its material as well as the language used in it. The Spanish in Oscar Wao gave the text that little extra flair and culture that would leave a gapping hole in the text if it were to be taken out.

The use of Spanish also served to put me in an immigrant’s shoes. Most immigrants come to America with broken English and have to forcibly learn the language of their new home. So, like me as the reader of this book, some characters in the book don’t always understand everything that is said around them.

Apart from the Spanish of the text, there are also a couple mirco-cultural languages being used. First, there is the slang used by the people Oscar’s age. This gives me a feel of the environment Oscar is in. The dropping of the ‘g’s’ and slurring of certain words creates a casual atmosphere, but one with certain standards of masculinity in it, the ‘muchacho’ language if you will. Second, there is the ‘nerd’ language, which mostly manifests in J.R.R Tolkien and Marvel comics references. Even when describing the fuku or curse of the DR there is a reference to the aforementioned cults. “But be assured: like Darkseid’s Omega Effect, like Morgoth’s bane, no matter how many turns and digressions this shit might take, it always – and I mean always – gets its man.” The use of these references, especially in this quote, makes the fuku, the bully, or the girl into a sort of fantasy characteristic instead of a thing of reality. Diaz probably did this to show how Oscar lives in a fantasy world rather than facing the reality of his dull life.

The last notable show of language in the first half of the book is the subtle changes in sentence style. In the different sections different manners of speaking are used to show that the narrator, a currently unnamed entity, is getting his information from an outside source and that he is coping the manner of speech of his source. This is why Lola’s section is in 1^st person, because the narrator heard this section strait from Lola herself. Then in the section about Oscar and Lola’s mother, the voice shifts again to a more loving tone. This is most likely the voice of La Inca, their mother’s mom. If Lola had been the reference for this section, based on the fact that she and her mother do not get along, the tone would have been anything but loving. Tone of voice, as well as use of vocabulary, can drastically change the way something is read. It is the difference between “He realized his f***ed-up comic-book reading, role-playing-game-loving, no-sports-playing friends were embarrassed by him” versus: “Now fully, ahem, endowed, Beli returned to El Redentor from summer break to the alarm of the faculty and students alike and set out to track down Jack Pujols with the great deliberation of Ahab after you-know-who.” Obviously, apart from the swearing, these two sentences sound as though they came from two rather different people. But in this case, these two voices work together to weave the whole story of Oscar and his family’s life.

Words, tone of voice, inflection, language, and cadence all add to the feel of a story. No two books, if they could be characterized with a color and flavor, would be the same. There are similarities, but nothing is exactly the same simply because there are too many ways in which they can differ. In this way, authors are almost like chefs. They try to tantalize you with plot the same way your mother taunts you with the smell of fresh cookies. I have often heard people describe a book they didn’t care for as though it didn’t sit well in their stomach. If I were to characterize Junot Diaz’s, based on the language, I would say that it is a peanut butter and banana sandwich with chips and salsa on the side. They are two things that don’t really go together if you think about it too much, but are strangely satisfying all the same.