“O it’s against the laws of nature for a Dominicano to die without fucking at least once,” (174) said Yunior, during a night in his college dorm room with Oscar Woa. These two characters are from a book titled “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Woa” a story about Oscar trying to find real love for the first and the journey his friends and his family go through during this time. In this book there is a reappearing theme that continues to show itself, that theme is Dominican masculinity. Dominican masculinity is described as a manly man who can pull women and that also has this certain type of mojo that defines their personality. The only things is that this certain masculinity rather than representing a healthy self-esteem and sense of power, Dominican masculinity represents a cocky kind of self-destructive personality that seems to emotionally stunt the men characters. Most of the male characters seem to have this certain masculinity, except our protagonist Oscar.
Each character in this novel all seem to have at least one chapter in the story told from their point of view. One of these characters is named Yunior. Yunior could have been a poster child of Dominican masculinity. He was a very good-looking masculine man due to the fact he lifts weights often, he had a lot of friends, and was very popular. He also had a very large ego due to the fact that he is a womanizer, but because he was a womanizer he could never seem to hold onto a girlfriend, because each time they always found out he was cheating. Which caused Yunior to be a little emotional damaged since some of these women he grew strong feelings for. But secretly Yunior is a slight nerd, yet that’s all it ever is, a secret. Even though Yunior is a perfect example of Dominic...
... middle of paper ...
...rom the world. But all he wanted to do was try and fit in and fall in love. He thought that all Dominican males had this type of mojo that made them stand out among others; all Oscar wanted to do was be a masculine Dominican male and in his search for this type of masculinity his life was ended short. Dominican masculinity instead of representing a sense of power and masculinity, it represents a self-destructive personality that backfires. All Oscar wanted was to have this masculinity but he nearly kills himself once he gives up his search for it. Yet Yunior can’t have a healthy relationship and it affects him. I think Dominican masculinity in the book “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” represents something that can never really be achieved, and if achieved will not make you happy. But instead be happy for what you are and for what you have to offer the world.
Junot Diaz is Dominican American, and he came from a very poor family with five other siblings. Since they were not that wealthy, they lived in a simple way. Even though his mother was basically the bread winner of the family since his father could not keep a job, she still manages to send money back home every six months or so. When they got home from their vacation, they had found out that someone has broken into their house and stole most of his mother’s money. It was easy for them to be a target because they were recent immigrant, and in their neighborhood cars and apartment were always getting jacked. His mother was very upset; she blamed her children, because she thought it was their friends who had done such a thing. “We kids knew where
Junot Díaz’s Drown, a collection of short stories, chronicles the events of Yunior and his family. Each story focuses Yunior and his struggle growing up as a Dominican immigrant and finding a place for himself within American society. Throughout the progression of the novel, Yunior realizes the stereotypes placed on him and recognizes that being white is advantageous. Yunior’s experience growing up both in the Dominican Republic and the States has shaped his perspective on life and life choices.
Belonging to the Dominican Republic, Salcedo is one of the smallest provinces in all of its country. It is also the province that has been recently dedicated to the Mirabal sisters. Four Dominican women who fought for the freedom of the Dominican republic from the Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. Patia Mercedes, born on February 27, 1924, was the eldest sister. Bélgica Adela Mirabal, the second sister, was born on February 29, 1925. Minerva Argentina, the third sister, was born on March 12, 1926. And lastly, Maria Teresa, the youngest sister was born on October 15, 1936. The four sisters were daughters of Enrique Mirabal Fernández and Mercedes "Chea" Reyes Camilo. The Mirabal family lived in a part of Salcedo named “Ojo De Agua” (Eye Of Water). They were
Upon returning to the Dominican Republic after many years, Yolanda decides to take a trip across the island––something her family views as ridiculous. “‘This is not the states’ . . . ‘A woman just doesn’t travel alone in this country.” (9) This quote highlights the sexism inherent in Dominican society. Yolanda’s family is asserting that women are not individuals capable of taking care of themselves. On another hand, Yolanda’s close friendship with Mundín causes tensions as their mothers confront them about crossing gender lines. “My mother disapproved. The outfit would only encourage my playing with Mundín and the boy cousins. It was high time I got over my tomboy phase and started acting like a young lady señorita. ‘But it is for girls,’ . . . ‘boys don’t wear skirts.’” (228) This is an example of how Dominican societal norms and gender roles have impacted the sisters. Yolanda and Mundín were the only boy-girl playmates out of all the García children, yet this was frowned upon by both of their parents as to not impede the seemingly inevitable growth of Yolanda’s femininity, and conversely, Mundín’s masculinity. Moreover, this shows how societally-prescribed gender roles were instilled in Yolanda at a young age. However, this is not the only way in which women’s freedoms are
Yunior struggles with his exposure to male privilege in a Dominican family, as he is very sensitive. Yunior can not fully comprehend why men took actions that women didn’t attempt to do. For example, Papi made all the decisions in the family. “She and tío Miguel got themselves an apartment in the Bronx, off Grand Concourse and everybody decided that we should have a party. Actually, my pops decided...” (306). Papi decided that a party was obligatory to be thrown for their arrival, but not as his expense or home; Tia and Tío hosted it, despite it being Papi’s decision. Male privilege is shown in the way “the women laid out the food and like always nobody but the kids thanked them. It must be some Dominican tradition or something” (312). Instead of having both men and women lay the food, it is only the women’s job. Helping with the preparations is not their responsibility, nor is showing appreciation with a genuine thank you. Junot Diaz gives a personal example on his family in his
In Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, he is telling 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 break up and his life seemed to be on a steady decline since then. He grows up to become a nerdy, fat, and awkward adolescence with few friends and even less interest from girls. This phase persists throughout his life and he never develops out of the nerdy boy he was as a child. The Dominican Republic was a hostile and poor place during the time of the novel. The dictator Trujillo controls the lives of the people in the country. This influenced the de Leon family’s present and future. Diaz develops the story by using the superstition, the cane field, and male dominance of the Dominican men
Diaz uses the characterization of Yunior to show that he may not he's isolated himself from loyalty and having good relationships with people as well. Yunior is a character portrayed as a true dominican male because he is good with women. In chapter 6 on page 269 Yunior got lola
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
Junot Diaz's short story “Fiesta, 1980” gives an insight into the everyday life of a lower class family, a family with a troubled young boy, Yunior and a strong, abusive father, Papi. The conflict, man vs. man is one of the central themes of this story. This theme is portrayed through the conflicts between Papi and his son. Papi asserts his dominance in what can be considered unfashionable ways. Unconsciously, every action Papi makes yields negative reactions for his family. Yunior simply yearns for a tighter bond with his father, but knows-just like many other members of his family-Papi’s outlandish ways hurts him. As the story unfolds it becomes obvious that the conflicts between Papi and himself-along with conflicts between Yunior and himself-affect not only them as individuals, but their family as a whole.
to disconnect from each other and their cultural values. Yunior, the narrator, explains how he and his family were immigrants from the Dominican Republic. The lived in New Jersey and were invited to a party in the Bronx in New York City. The father creates disconnection in the family because of his strong connection to his cultural values. His culture taught him to be patriarchal, promiscuous, and authoritative. These qualities, in excessive use, destroyed his family furthermore Yuniors childhood.
The short story “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, and Halfie” by Junot Diaz is the main character, Yunior’s, guide to dating girls of different races and the ways to act in order to get what you want from them. The only thing Yunior seems to want for these girls is sexual acts. This short story argues that a person’s heritage, economic class, and race affect how a person identifies themselves, and how their identity affects how they act towards other people. The pressures a person may feel from society also has an effect on how a person treats themselves and others. The pressure and expectations from society are also what makes Yunior think he needs to have sex with these girls. There are many different occasions of the main character talking and acting differently to other people within the story, such as: to himself, his friends, and the different girls he tries to date.
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 reoccurring them in the novel of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is sex which is viewed as a rite of passage. Sex is extremely apparent in the book which shows the importance it has within the Dominican culture. According to the narrator Yunior, sex is tremendously engrained in the Dominican culture so much that accordingly to legend “No Dominican has died a virgin” (??). Since sex is culturally embedded into their lives, Oscar is considered an outcast compared to the more
To say that many countries in Latin-American and in Europe are machistas is not a surprise for anyone. People who have born in Spain or in Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela grew in a society with fewer rights for women than men. The word machismo means "arrogant attitude of men towards women". This occurs in every single moment in our lives from our born to our death. But, at this moment I want to analyze the machismo in three areas: family, school and work.
...s important both symbolically and literally within the novel. Since manhood and masculine features are so heavily valued within this society, the challenge of one’s personality or actions can completely change them and push them to drastic measures.