In 'The Final Letter', the author implies that Oscar's death is worth it, for Oscar risked his life to uncover beauty and love. The final sentence reads, “So this is what everybody's always talking about! If only I'd known. The beauty! The beauty!” (335). At first glance, it may appear as though all Oscar really accomplished was having sex. However, the implications behind sex throughout this book is so great that sex is more than fucking. It is an important element in Dominican culture as well as a mark of love and acceptance, which Oscar has sought throughout this tale and finally receives.
As the narrator states, to not have sex is to be “un-Dominican.” By 'The Final Letter', Oscar is fully in touch with his ancestry, fully Dominican. Sometimes the narrator seems to stereotype Dominicans as sex-obsessed fiends, but the author intends sex to be an act of reciprocated love in this instance. The author states, “it was the little intimacies that he'd never in his life anticipated...like listening to her tell him about being a little girl” (334). To imply Ybón wants Oscar, the narrator says “She could have had him banned him...But she didn't” (318). The author does not have Ybón outright declare that she loves Oscar because Ybón, due to her romantic relationship with a Dominican public servant, is very cautious about what she says and does not say. In this way, the secrecy of the Dominican Republic, even when it comes to love, is conveyed.
Unlike Oscar, Yunior has not found love. He states on page 326, “I have a wife I adore and who adores me...I don't run around with girls anymore. Not much anyway.” The word 'adore' is significant, as it is not quite love. Yunior is the narrator of this piece, the one who has deemed Oscar an epic hero who has lived a full, wondrous life. It is thereby fitting that Yunior is the opposite of Oscar. After Lola left him, Yunior describes how he “alternated between Fuck Lola and these hopes of reconciliation [he] did nothing to achieve” (334). He can fully appreciate what Oscar did for love because he is afraid to take the steps necessary to obtain it.
I am turned off by the rushed nature of 'The Final Letter' despite the author's best intentions. The author writes, “And guess what? Ybón actually kissed him. Guess what else? Ybón actually fucked him” (334). All this information comes at once; not in a shocking way, but in a way that excludes so much that I am apathetic. The author says that this happened, “for one whole weekend while the captain was away on 'business'” (334). The franticness, the fear, and much else is unexplained. The author sought to convey something huge with direct simplicity to emphasize the momentous occasion. The author feels the details are unnecessary. Instead, he highlights the more important concept that Oscar finally managed to find love, acceptance, and an identity as a Dominican through sexual intercourse.
You've got some really good stuff in here, and you're using quotes from the text to really back-up your claims. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteI really only have two suggestions:
1) Although I really like the way you contrast Oscar's love for Ybon with Yunior's "adoration" of his wife, you don't take this far enough. This is a really nice detail to pick up on, but why did Diaz do this? Why are we supposed to appreciate Oscar's largely unrequited--and certainly temporary--love for Ybon over Yunior's mutual, long-term, child-baring love or adoration for his wife? What is Diaz trying to explain to us?
2) In your final paragraph you state that you're turned off by the rushed quality of the final letter. And yet, only a few sentences later (which you never contradict), you say that Diaz "feels the details are unnecessary. Instead, he highlights the more important concept that Oscar finally managed to find love, acceptance, and an identity as a Dominican through sexual intercourse." How can you account for this disparity? Maybe it's just finishing your thought. Does Diaz change your mind about how rushed the end is? Or, despite these things, you still feel the end is unfulfilling? Either way, finish the thought.
Overall, nice work=9
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