Research Assignment

Jenna Wilhelmi

Research Assignment

Book Choice: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Source: From Literature Resource Center

*Interview with Junot Diaz and Juleyka Lantigua

I decided to change my research topic. After much searching I decided to change my paper topic from the superstitions used in Oscar Wao (which no one seems to even mention anywhere…) to focus on gender roles. Gender roles as in: how men and women are portrayed in the book – the hyper masculine image of the Dominican man and the saint versus slut image of the women. I would also like to talk about how strong Diaz’s female characters are.

1. Why did I choose this source? What drew my attention to it?

I choose this source from the Literature Resource Center because: it was labeled as a critical essay, it is an interview with the author himself about the book, and it talks about what the men and women in Diaz’s life were like.

2. Why/how was it useful to my research topic?

It talks about how Junot Diaz was influenced by the men and women in his life and he also talks about feminism in the Dominican Republic.

3. How did it provide me with a greater understanding of my topic?

It showed me what Diaz grew up with when it came to gender roles and shed some light on why he portrayed his characters the way he did. It talked about the strong women he had in his life as well as the pressure he faced to be a ‘macho Dominican man.’

4. How did it give me ideas about how to plan to incorporate it in my paper?

I thought about putting it in a section about how the author views gender roles and how that influenced his work. And maybe connect it to gender standards in America.

5. How did it bring new light to my paper topic while also backing up what I already thought to be true about my topic?

Well, this interview is the reason I decided to change my topic. I think no one talks about the use of the supernatural in the book because Diaz himself has stated in interviews that he is not really a believer… About this topic – it showed me that Diaz thinks that men must be macho (or at least that that was beaten into him) and that women can be strong but that that strength is often perceived the wrong why - like when their neighbors called Beli a slut.

6. Why is it an appropriate source? How do I know?

Because I got it through the Literature Resource Center and that it is an interview done by a literary review group that is well respected.

7. Did it provide me with specific quotes?

Yes, I believe it did – from the author himself no less. J

8. Pick a quote – say why it is useful – how did it help illuminate the text for me – how could I integrate this quote into my paper?

“And the concept of Oscar, the concept of this poor nerd, the concept of the real version of everything that we're performing against--at least as a Dominican man of color--suddenly came into my mind. This was the pariguayo (loser); this was the figure who shadows all of us in our attempts to live out this excessive masculinity.”

This useful because it tells me where the idea for Oscar came from – in this case, Diaz seems to think there is a silent Oscar or at least someone like him in all Dominican men. It showed me how Oscar came to be and his role in Dominican Male Sexuality – It helped me see Diaz’s point that all men of color are just playing their hyper masculine selves and may actually be a total nerd inside (everyone has a closet nerd.) I could use this quote to talk about how male gender roles are perceived in the book as well as in the real world. Maybe use it to compare Diaz’s Dominican man to the American man.