Theme Of Resistance In The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

Resistance Throughout The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

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

Beli resisting La Inca portrays her downfall because Beli makes choices against La Inca’s desires that will harm her. She is unaware of her history and background of the Abelard family, other than the fact that La Inca continuously tells Beli that her father was a doctor and her mother was a nurse. Abelard Luis Cabral was Oscar and Lola’s grandfather, the man who said something bad about Trujillo, thus eventually sending the fukú curse down to Beli. Diaz writes “In those long days-before delincuencia and bank failures, before Diaspora- the Cabrals were numbered among the High of the Land “(211). The Cabral’s held a high place in society, but it was not until Abelard Cabral upset Trujillo that he was sentenced to the curse of Trujillo’s reign. The power of Trujillo is so strong that it ruined not only Abelard Cabral’s life, but also his wife and three daughters’ lives as well. His two daughters died abruptly and Beli suffered later in life with her love. Trujillo’s power is able to especially affect Beli because she knew nothing about her history. Diaz describes Trujillo by writing, “You might roll your eyes at the comparison, but, friends: it would be hard to exaggerate the shadow of fear he cast over the Dominican people and the shadow of fear he cast throughout the region” (224).

Beli’s impulses allow her to ignore the fact that falling atomically in love with the Gangster, a man she meets in a luxurious nightclub, is wrong. In a world where no one gives her such feeling, the Gangster makes Beli feel beautiful. But, the Gangster is a pimp and exploits women, which shows the degradation of women such as Beli. The Trujillo system in the Dominican Republic, under which the Cabaral’s are associated with, exploits women and the Gangster, just like Trujillo did exactly that. This path of life that Beli embarks on is the wrong choice because it is plagued with the fukú. She sees the Gangster as an escape out of her current life because he is extremely rich. The Gangster promises her a house in Miami with as many bedrooms as she wants. Beli is naïve and does not realize that the Gangster cannot help her escape her life that she is unhappy with. Instead all the Gangster can bring to Beli is bad luck. The Gangster ends up being married to Trujillo’s sister, who is extremely cruel and lives up to the name of Trujillo. The Gangster’s wife has Beli beaten until she almost dies. Beli is vulnerable because the Gangster has power over her; she truly believes that he is an escape from her Dominican world. All along La Inca sees otherwise and tells Beli that she is crazy. La Inca also implies that a man cannot save her, but Beli continues to make