The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, is about a Dominican boy named Oscar and his family, which is his sister Lola and his mother Beli. Throughout the novel, Oscar is constantly complaining about how miserable his life is and he constantly falls head over heels with many girls, even if he had only seen them once. Also, Oscar is often ridiculed because of his weight and due to the fact that he is into comic books. In order to fit in, Oscar cares strongly about having sex because he is constantly being told that is how Dominican men should be. In addition, intensely craves the the love and approval of someone, to the point to where he is willing to do anything for that person. Due to Oscar’s need to fit in, he also becomes emotionally …show more content…
When Oscar falls in love, it seems that he falls in love with every girl he sees, mainly because he does not want to be a virgin anymore and that they are his way out of feeling miserable about his life. In the book, there is passage in which Oscar describes how he felt about Ana to his sister and that he’s never felt that way before. Moreover, in the passage the words, “this was clearly on his mind,” appear inside hyphens. This reveals that one of the reasons for why he latched on to Ana was because he did not get many chances at meeting any girls. Even if Ana did not feel the same way about him, he had hope that they will end up together. That is why he In addition, when Oscar said, “I thought this is never going to happen to me,” some words are italicized and this emphasizes how much Oscar really believes that a girl is the solutions to his problems. Another instance that reveals how he much he desperately wants a girls, is when he meets La Jablesse. He even started to finally exercise for her but after it did not work out, he fell into the same depression again. Lastly, everyone around Oscar is constantly asking him to change or they question his masculinity. Chasing after girls, is Oscar’s way of trying to fit norms of the Dominican man because he is constantly judged for not having a girl …show more content…
With his family always body shaming him and also calling attention to his lack of game with the ladies, Oscar takes it to the extreme at moments when he feels like he has lost his chance at finding love. Furthermore, one of the passages that deals with Ana and Oscar’s friendship, is the one in which Oscar stands outside of Manny’s building with a gun because he believes that Manny is in the way of him having a relationship with Ana. A quote from the passage is, “Got real friendly with the aluminum siding. Come on, motherfucker, he said calmly.” This one of the occasions in which we can see how bad Oscar’s mental health is, with all the bullying he has endured from everyone. Throughout the novel, Oscar is portrayed as this sweet, harmless boy, but this quote reveals that he has another side to him. The using the word “friendly” when describing how Oscar is holding the gun, alludes to all the anger he has pent-up inside and to how explosive he can
With several astute observations in his memories, Aires gets to deceive and confuse readers. The diary covers two years in the life of a sexagenarian with his proverbial wisdom but placid, deceives and misleads the reader with small observations. The narrator reports people who lived with the narrator, reading quotes and works that read as a diplomat and reflections on past events that occurred in politics. One of the main characters depicted by Aires is Fidelia, a young girl who he was interested. Due to his old age, Ayres never revealed his love to Fidelia, but considered a daughter to the couple Dona Carmo and Aguiar, who cannot have
Sandra Cisneros “Never Marry a Mexican” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are stories that reflect on the cultures in which the characters grew up in. In Never Marry, Clemencia, the narrator, reflects on her past sexual relations as well as her childhood. She speaks of her parents’ marriage and then transitions into her relationship with college professor and his son. In Oscar Wao, Yunior, the narrator, gives a second-hand retelling of Oscar’s experiences in New Jersey growing up as well as in the Dominican Republic. A person’s identity is largely influenced by their culture, this is especially the case in Hispanic cultures. The social constraints that these cultures place on social class, sexuality, and gender norms can be very detrimental to a person’s self-esteem.
In Oscar’s voyage in search of passionate love, he continually falls under the deadly, friend zone or as it’s used in the book, “Let’s-Be-Friend Vortexes”, which in fact led him to acting violently toward others, and himself (41). While “dating” his first love, Ana, Oscar encounters love’s violence for the first time.... ... middle of paper ... ... Belicia showed us that the violence in love could kill immediately, but if acted upon quickly, the violence could be avoided.
Junot Diaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is focused on the hyper-masculine culture of the Dominican, and many argue that his portrayal of the slew of women in the novel is misogynistic because they are often silenced by the plot and kept out of the narration (Matsui). However, Diaz crafts strong women, and it is society that views them as objects. The novel recognizes the masculine lens of the culture while still examining the lives of resilient women. In this way, the novel showcases a feminist stance and critiques the misogynist culture it is set in by showcasing the strength and depth of these women that help to shape the narrative while acknowledging that it is the limits society places on them because of their sexuality
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist, Cleofilas, had an illusion that all romances are like the ones she has seen on television. However, she soon realizes that her relationship with Juan Pedro was nothing like what she had dreamed it would be. Cisneros wants to emphasize the idea that when men bring home the primary source of income in the family, they feel they have power over their wives. Cisneros uses Juan Pedro in the story to portray this idea. For instance, Cleofilas often tells herself that if she had any brains in her, she would realize that Juan Pedro wakes up before the rooster to earn his living to pay for the food in her belly and a roof over her head (Cisneros, 1991, p.249). Cisneros wants to make a point that when men feel that they have power over their wives, women begin to feel a sense of low self-worth.
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist, Cleofilas, had an illusion that all romance is like the ones she had seen on television. However, she soon realizes that her relationship with Juan Pedro was nothing like what she had dreamed of. Cisneros wanted to emphasize the idea that when men bring home the primary source of income in the family, they feel they have power over their wives. Therefore, Cisneros used Juan Pedro in the story to portray this idea. For instance, Cleofilas often tells herself that if she had any brains in her, she would realize that Juan Pedro wakes up before the rooster to earn his living to pay for the food in her belly and a roof over her head (Cisneros, 1991, p.249). Cisneros wanted to make a point that when men feel that they have power over their wives, the woman begins to feel a sense of low self-worth.
?If you remain imprisoned in self denial then days, weeks, months, and years, will continue to be wasted.? In the play, 7 stories, Morris Panych exhibits this denial through each character differently. Man, is the only character who understands how meaningless life really is. All of the characters have lives devoid of real meaning or purpose, although they each have developed an absurd point or notion or focus to validate their own existence. In this play, the characters of Charlotte and Rodney, are avoiding the meaninglessness of their lives by having affairs, drinking, and pretending to kill each other to enhance excitement into their life.
The relationships between mothers and daughters is a topic that authors often call upon to tell a story. It is an important part of every culture, which makes the topic relatable to any reader who picks the book up. Junot Diaz understood the universality of mother/daughter relationships and incorporated it in his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Although the book is mainly about Oscar, an overweight Dominican boy from New Jersey and his quest for love, the book also spends a lot of time exploring the relationships between Oscar’s sister Lola and their mother Beli and Beli’s relationship with her mother figure La Inca. Junot Diaz does not write mother/daughter relationships in an honest way and focuses on the conflict in the relationships
Prolific Dominican American author Junot Diaz is a recognizable author for many familiar with contemporary American literature. Currently a creative writing professor at MIT, Diaz is renown for his expert use of voice when crafting a story. Taken from his collection of short stories titled This is How You Lose Her, Miss Lora uses solely the second person to tell the story and it is almost intimidating just how well Diaz accomplishes this writing taboo. Diaz won the pulitzer in 2007 for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Diaz’s writings are immensely personal and seem to draw from his experiences as an immigrant youth growing up in Parlin, New Jersey. Shortly after graduating from Rutgers University Diaz created the character
Junot Diaz is a Dominican-American writer whose collection of short stories Drown tells the story of immigrant families in the urban community of New Jersey. His short story “Fiesta, 1980” focuses on Yunior, an adolescent boy from Dominican Republic and his relationship with his father. On the other hand, Piri Thomas was a great Latino writer from Puerto-Rico whose memoir Down These Mean Streets tells his life story as an adolescent residing in Harlem and the challenges he faces outside in the neighborhood and at home with his father. Both Diaz and Thomas in different ways explore the dynamics of father-son relationships in their work. Furthermore, both expose masculinity as a social construct.
In Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, he tells the story of a Dominican family but mainly about the son, Oscar de Leon. The book opens with the story of Oscar as a child and him having two girlfriends at the same time. The older people in town see him as a ladies man and encourage him. The boy and the two girls all broke up and his life seemed to be on a steady decline since then.
Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, set in the late 1900’s, tells a story of Oscar Wao, an overweight Dominican “ghetto nerd”, his mother and rebellious sister who live together in Paterson, New Jersey. Throughout the novel, Diaz incorporates many different stories about each character that show acts of resistance. One of the most prominent stories of resistance in the novel is through Oscar’s mom; Beli, who is prompted by great tragedy, known as the Trujillo curse, to love atomically and thus follow a dangerous path. Beli’s family history plays a large role in her choices that eventually compel her into a different life than what her adopted mother, La Inca, had wanted
A baby’s life helps to form and shape the future for that child; this goes the same for me. My birth, my sign, and my name, all relate to the way I live and act today. Many people may not see this connection for themselves, but it takes a little bit of research and thinking to come to realize why people are the way they are. Every day and every action that a child experiences can influence their actions as an adult.
Today was the worst day of my life. My mom gave me good and bad news. The bad news was so horrible. The good news was very surprising. The bad news was so bad, that I started crying. My mom told me that I was MOVING!!!
One of them was that I was on my journey with someone. I was on the journey with my boyfriend Dusty whom I have been with for four years. I am more like myself when I am with someone, especially Dusty, than when I am by myself. I do think that spending time with just yourself is a waste of time. You should just be out talking to people because who knows when that dreaded day of death will come. I think that you should just seize the moment and spend time with people. When I am by myself, I am quiet and withdrawn, but when I am with people, I talk up a storm and have a fun time just being me. I donÕt hold things back or try to act like someone IÕm not.