Oscar Wao

Words: 681
Pages: 3
Open Document
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz, is a novel that discusses the history of the Dominican Republic, traumatic high school experiences, obesity, and the “expectations” of a Dominican man. Díaz’s choice of voice for Yunior de Las Casas, one of the main narrators is both distinct and relatable making it very easy for readers to connect and feel empathy towards the protagonist, Oscar Wao. Yunior recounts Oscar’s life story in a very biased and opinionated manner, especially when describing what it means to be a Dominican man. On the first page, Yunior, introduces Oscar Wao as, “not a playboy with a million hots on his jock”.... “ [No] luck with the females (how very un-Dominican of him)” (11). The reader is quickly able to recognize that the expectations of a Dominican man is based on both sex appeal and masculinity. Yunior repeatedly talks about Oscar’s lack of sex appeal or “Dominicaness” and his inability to obtain the identity of being a true “Dominican man.” Junot Díaz uses the character, Yunior de Las Casas, as the human embodiment of the …show more content…
All of Yunior’s decisions are based on the effects that it will have on his masculinity and how it will perceived. Yunior overcompensates through his choice of words to appear to be masculine “pulling in the bitches with both hands”(24). Throughout the book, Yunior refers to women as bitches, pieces of ass, and slutties to dehumanize them and justify cheating on them. In viewing women as only a source of sex, Yunior feels that he is in control of the relationship and the woman that he is with is dependent upon him. In an essay entitled Dueling Masculinities: Oscar’s and Yunior’s Journey to Manhood, by Mackenzie VanBeest, she examines the gender roles of men and women in the Latin American culture, “This distinction relies on the acknowledgement that in Dominican and other Latin American cultures women are of a
Show More

Related Documents: Oscar Wao

Oscar Wao Identity

In the coming of age novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, written by Junto Diaz, the author uses a collection of narratives from characters of the past and present to address the struggles and adversities of growing up as a Dominican and the hardships of living during Trujillo’s regime. The story focuses on a Dominican male named Oscar, who, due to his nerdy interest and naive love for woman, gets himself in trouble and faces many issues throughout the story. His main issue in the novel is…

Words 1457 - Pages 6

Oscar Wao Stereotypes

When I started reading “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” I was shocked at how vulgar the language was. The way females were talked about and how much emphasis was put on sexuality was a little disturbing to me. In chapters 2 and 3 the emphasis on sex and physical apperance was even more evident than in the first section that we read. Beli discovered that in order to have power or to get what she wants she had to use her body or physical appearance. Her body and looks gave her control over…

Words 165 - Pages 1

Oscar Wao Symbols

motifs are used to imply a deeper meaning. Identify some key points and their meaning to the overall novel. In The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao, the symbols and motifs used help identify some of Oscars hardships and obstacles, most commonly from his Dominican ancestry, which aid in developing his timid character. A prime example of this was when Oscar was at the New brunswick train station, after departing from his encounter with Yunior. Stimulates off the Cisco or as they call it “liquid crack”…

Words 396 - Pages 2

Oscar Wao Death

Junot Diaz’s novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao overall theme is love but with the death of a character it allows the reader to understand the character a lot easier. In most novels the reader is rooting for the protagonist to finally get what they deserve and this novel is no different. The death of the main character, Oscar De Leon, comes to a shock and with that it changes the entire meaning of the book. Love is something someone should get to experience even fictional characters but when…

Words 866 - Pages 4

Oscar Wao Analysis

Historical Context of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: During the ‘70s the United States of America was going through a staggering economic crisis, which in many aspects had to do with the sequence of unscrupulous politicians (Nixon, Spiro T. Agnew, Gerald R. Ford) in power. This crisis reached further out the American borders. Misery was just everywhere you looked. For instance, in 1973 when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo affecting every nation…

Words 251 - Pages 2

Oscar Wao Analysis

In Junot Diaz’s book The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the author shows the synergistic bond between love and sex to be fractured in Dominican culture. The effect of Rafael Trujillo’s 31-year dictatorship discouraged softer emotions such as love and pressured the public to behave animalistic in his image. This was accomplished through extended violent and harassing treatment of the Dominican people by Trujillo, and scars Dominican culture to this day. In understanding the impact of such a…

Words 453 - Pages 2

Oscar Wao Tragedy Essay

Brian Nguyen Mrs. Lisa Pak Cuevas CP English 12 GHI (2) 11 April 2014 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: Tragedy Almost inevitably we always find ourselves entangled with misfortune or facing a series of unfortunate events. Accommodated with these events we’re often reminded of the doings of “karma”. In our current culture, “karma” represents a cause-and-effect relationship in which we may do something considered “bad” or “evil” and nature itself takes its course in punishing us for our actions…

Words 809 - Pages 4

Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao Analysis

femininity, or ideas of gender roles. Two novels that deal with heteronormativity immensely are The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and The Intuitionist. In Junot Díaz novel about Oscar Wao, it brings life to the meaning of being a masculine Dominican man. In Oscar’s case it deals with gender and his sexual orientation. Yunior describes the idea heteronormativity in comparison to Oscar and states, “Had none of the Higher Powers of your typical Dominican male, couldn’t have pulled a girl if his life depended…

Words 298 - Pages 2

Summary Of The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

is a question at the center of many readers’ (or at the very least, one Judah’s) mind while reading The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao: despite his status as title character, is Oscar really the main character of this story? Ostensibly, he is, considering the bulk of the novel consists of Yunior chronicling his former roommate’s odd and abbreviated existence. Yet Oscar often feels absent from his own story, too caught up in his hobbies and hopeless romantic ways to make his own destiny. For much…

Words 1666 - Pages 7

The Brief And Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao Summary

In Junot Díaz’s novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, a very critical and pivotal aspect of the novel itself is Díaz’s continual inclusion of Dominican history. Díaz uses them as points of reference to relate the fictional story back to the nonfiction culture it is built around. His use of paramount people and events tied back to the Dominican Republic connect his characters back to their ancestral roots. Therefore, the concept of history is vital to the development of the novel because…

Words 489 - Pages 2