how to zafa your writing

In the prologue, the narrator wonders if this book isn’t a zafa of sorts. As if writing this story (from the point of the narrator Yunior) counters the curse itself. But, all the history and stories in The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are all from a specific perspective in which the readers can not question. It is in it’s storytelling a form of dictatorship. And since the narrators in the book are all historically Trujillo’s children, the readers are also a generation touched by the fuku. This is why Junot Diaz chose to open the book, as well as title it, with Oscar Wao: because he is the most relatable and modern character for a worldly audience. Oscar is always psychologically caught between two forces- America and Santo Domingo, sexual experience and virgin awkwardness which goes hand-in-hand with this nerdy love for reading and writing apocalyptic stories. And the only thing truly American about him is his weight. But as much focus as Oscar gets, Diaz says in an interview at the 2009 National Book Festival, that the book is more about the women- Beli, Lola, La Inca, the daughters of Abelard, Lola’s daughter. I guess he makes this point because readers forget about all the important characters in this novel. And also it is difficult to relate to strongly rebelliously over sexualized women of a specific culture during a violent time. Diaz is using the women as a vehicle to show the effects of Santo Domingo’s rough criminal history not only physically, but emotionally and sexually. Every one gives us a personal view into the history of Trujillo’s dictatorship. Can the constant state of violence effect generations after the death of Trujillo? It is a curse associated with Christopher Columbus’ representation of European colonialism, leading to emigration, and ultimately is also an effect of assimilation into America (the same country which backed Trujillo). It is more than superstitious violence contributing to the curse.
Diaz also talked about how being from a struggling race, it is expected for smart children to use their full potential to become doctors or invest in a profession in which it pays well to be smart. It is not possible to become an artist, a writer. This is an example of his own perspective of the cycle of poverty in first, second generation immigrants shows up as a possible effect of fuku. Then, in that perspective, writing about the experiences and stories of Santo Domingo can be a zafa, a counter to the fuku- exposing it. But, the narratives and personal accounts seen through the eyes of Abelard or La Inca (which may represent a time before Trujillo being that her name is intuitively native), show a glimpse into a time where poverty was not a factor to the Cabral family. It is during Beli’s story that we see the effects of the dictatorship on families in the poverty of Santo Domingo. Also, Oscar and Lola circle again in America. But since the book collects bit of personal attributes to Junot Diaz’s life and family, the book may as well end the ill-fated family. Diaz’s mother always wanted him to be a doctor, just like La Inca and Beli proudly make references to their children. It is a time for art! Reading and writing are survival techniques which have as many opportunities as a curse can. A curse is a superstitious myth which requires the listeners to suspend their realistic belief (sounds like fiction). The book can be a dictator, a history book, a chance to access personal accounts into another culture, and also a lesson in the arts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gu91htmDpM

One Way Out

Running away is something many have accomplished, but running away from your past is impossible. It’s the thing that always lingers behind you, waiting for you to be vulnerable. That hides, waiting to be remembered. Waiting for you to finally run back to them. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junat Diaz Oscar and his family try to free themselves from not only their past but also their culture and their demons. This attempt at freeing themselves from these things is something many Latin Americans have tried. I know I have attempted to escape, but there is always a little bit of me that will always be Mexican. Just like Lola and Oscar will always be Dominican, no matter how much they try to ignore it.

And because of the need to forget it they become the a sort of “anti-Dominican.” You know they attack all the clichés and make them pray for mercy. And how do they do this? Well Oscar becomes an extreme case of geek and Lola a rebel. But no matter what they do they are still Dominican. They still live around all the breathing clichés. Like the sexually active cholos that beat their girlfriends. Or those same girlfriends that let their boyfriends beat them because es Amor or the other billion clichés that surround Latin Americans.

But for Lola it was much more than clichés. For her it was the expectations, and all that was put upon her shoulders. Most of it was just the responsibility of taking care of your fat unsocial brother, and your stubborn dying mother. She does run away from them too, but they soon trick her to coming back. Though it was her who let them in, because she missed them. That is the thing about culture and family. Yes, you can totally run away, but there will be part of you that will miss something. Even if that something is your brother. And no matter what, things will follow it. In Lola’s case those things were her mother and the rest of her family. But that was not the last time she attempted to run away. Though it seems that as she lived in the Dominican Republic, she actually accepted her culture, but then the past came tumbling in. Just like it always does.

Oscar on the other hand drifts away from his culture and family subconsciously. Since it is not something he can completely control. Even when he tries to fit in, it does not work. Oscar is just Oscar. Protecting himself from the world with the fantastical. Sometimes that is the easiest way to do it, and it’s the only way Oscar knows how. Both the fantastical and his culture are what lead to Oscar’s demise. Since if he had not drifted so far from all this Dominicanness he would have never ended up visiting that one horribly beautiful time. Not only was that the time when he fell in love with his homeland and a real girl that actually cared, but also when he first encountered that faceless man. Fuku.

And that is where the demons come in. They are the reason his mother lost so much, and suffered so much more. That faceless man is why she came to America. It is the thing that will be stuck to her family until the day they forget. Since the moment they learn about it they can’t erase it. Then they will begin to dream about the “No Face Man” and won’t be able figure their way out. It’s the inevitable. Since the Fuku is both their present and their past. He always appears when the worst is to come. Let it be in dreams or just as they are going to get their ass whooped. But with this Fuku comes Zafa. The Mongoose, the one that protects them all and leads them to survival. These are the two things they are all doomed and blessed with. What cannot leave this family's mind, because to them the Fuku and Zafa were the fairy tales they learned as a kid. The stories that really stuck and bent their expectations. No matter what the “No Face Man” and that Mongoose will always be in the back of their mind, waiting.

It’s all like Lola said: “The only way out is in.” Since you either have to just stop running or realize that it’s all in your head. It’s all just a part of you.

Response 6

Jenna Wilhelmi

Oscar Wao

Response 6

Mongoose Magic

The mysterious Mongoose makes several appearances in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but what does it mean? Throughout the book, Diaz uses various characters and situations to reference back to the Dominican Republic as a whole. This leads me to believe that the Mongoose is a representation of the zafa, the counter curse of the fuku. However, it can also represent the indomitable spirit of survival in the Dominican people as well as the roots of culture that reside in the children of the Diaspora like Oscar. It is a protector, a spirit, and a symbol of a superstitious culture.

What leads me to believe that the Mongoose is the representation of the zafa is that it was the reason Beli and her son survived their near death experiences. It is what pulled Beli out of the ether and made her fight for her life. “So as Beli was flitting in and out of life, there appeared at her side a creature that would have been an amiable mongoose if not for its golden lion eyes and the absolute black of its pelt. This one was quite large for its species and placed its intelligent little paws on her chest and stared down at her. You have to rise.” If the Mongoose hadn’t appeared when it did, Beli would have let herself slip into death, thus completing her personal cycle of the fuku. I must also point out that the fuku was present for Beli’s troubles as the faceless man.

This creepy faceless figure seems to always appear before something terrible happens to a member of Oscar’s family. The entrance of the Mongoose then follows his manifestation and licks their wounds and urges them not to give into its counterpart. All wicked things must have a light counterpart. The universe loathes things being unbalanced. In the footnote about the Mongoose, Diaz hints that it is more than just a mythological figure. “The Mongoose has proven itself to be an enemy of kingly chariots, chains, and hierarchies. Believed to be an ally of Man.” So if the fuku can take physical form such as Trujillo, why not the zafa?

However, the Mongoose is more than just the zafa. It is the spirit of the Dominican people. Like its real counterpart, the Mongoose is long enduring and migrates constantly to new lands where it flourishes like a weed. Similar to its famous cartoon counterpart, Rikki Tikki Tavi, Mongooses are hardy little creatures that can take on animals far stronger than them like the King Cobra. It epitomizes the will to survive, just like the people of the DR. They may have had to flee their country, but they are doing so with a strong will to not only survive, but also thrive.

The Mongoose, like all otherworldly creatures, is never just what it appears to be. Even the gods of old never were just a god, but a god of virtue or war or love. A god-like figure of any kind is just meant to stand in for a larger concept that is important to those who worship it. For the Athenians it was Athena - Goddess of Wisdom and Justice. For Dominicans it is the Mongoose - Spirit of Resilience, Stamina, and Grit. What could be more fitting than for a tiny wily creature to signify the people of a small devious island haunted by a curse that strikes like a cobra?