Summary of the brief wondrous life of oscar wao 1525 words 7 pages. We want to point out that oscar does have special brainiac powers because of his nerdiness. Oscar tells yunior that he will be returning to don bosco soon. Although a work of fiction, the novel is set in new jersey in the united states, where diaz was raised, and it deals with the dominican republic experience under dictator rafael trujillo. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao questions and answers. The book also addresses this type of dominican denial by describing it as common throughout the islands, five parts denial, five parts negative hallucination oscar wao 259. Junot diazs the brief wondrous life of oscar wao has been the biggest critical success of the year, but if youre into reading books for the sheer fun of it, that. He becomes oscars best friendwhile yuniors got a lot of other friends, presumably, oscar does notand he dates lola for a good chunk of the book. Reading guide for the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by. The book centers on the story of oscar and his familyand yet the majority of the book is narrated by yunior, who is not part of the family, and only plays a. But we do want to point out that yunior also brags a lot about his good looks and charm throughout the book. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis.
In the end, yunior has a similar dream of oscar holding a blank book, and it is this dream that eventually prompts him to write down oscar s story. In the novel, yunior points out that the arrival of fuku into the dominican republic is due to rafael trujillo, who is the dictator in the novel. The first edition of the novel was published in september 6th 2007, and was written by junot diaz. Oscar comes to see yunior, still recovering but doing much better. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao is not about oscars life and it definitely wasnt wondrous. He says, i know ive thrown a lot of fantasy and scifi in the mix but this is supposed to be a true account of the brief wondrous life of oscar wao. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao korean edition. Free download or read online the brief wondrous life of oscar wao pdf epub book. How yunior s narrative in the brief wondrous life of oscar wao acts as an archival history 09182012 01. Yunior has preserved all of oscar s manuscripts, papers, books, games, and photos in four refrigerators in his basement so that isis will be able to take this past and put an end to the curse for good. Yunior initially tries to help oscar as a way to impress lola, whom he would like to date. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao was also a new york times notable book of 2007 and time magazines book of the year. In reading the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz, you can obviously notice yunior the narrator is portrayed as a true dominican male.
Oscar talks about his writing, and his attempts to pare down. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao kindle edition by. Yunior explains that this version of abelards fall was oscar s personal favorite, as it is closest to the fantasy books that oscar loved. The books chapters alternatively tell the story of oscar and his immediate family members. Yet while oscar writes the type of book he loves fantasy, yunior writes what he thinks a dominican man is supposed to write.
How junot diaz wrote a sexist character, but not a sexist book. Oscar moves back home after he graduates and gets a job as a teacher at his old high school, don bosco tech. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao themes gradesaver. Oscar and yunior have been thrown together by the rutgers university housing gods and the imagination of junot diaz, whose novel the brief wondrous life of oscar wao inspired this. Yunior the narrator quotes in the brief wondrous life of oscar wao. So even though yunior harasses oscar pretty relentlessly, we think that oscar is the hero of wao. When not the narrator, yunior is the sexobsessed rutgers roommate. The question and answer section for the brief wondrous life of oscar wao is a great resource to. We can practically hear oscar saying, look, mom, i made it into the title of the book. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao glencoe public library. The book, then, is the story of lateblooming empathy, a long path towards gender enlightenment. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao section ii, chapter 6.
Although the manuscript never reaches her, his love for her is apparent here in his desire to give lola everything she needs. Through these critical parts found all through this book, it. In oscar wao, yunior, the novels playboyslashscifinerd narrator, describes rafael trujillo, the rapacious dictator of the dominican republic, as. Oscar and the narrator of the novel, yunior, are rooming together at rutgers university. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 335 pages and is available in hardcover format. Masculinity in the brief wondrous life of oscar wao. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao summary shmoop. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao summary and analysis of section ii, chapter 6. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao may channel lethem and chabons use of geekpop to explore an outsiders mindset, but its really the.
A ghetto nerd living with his dominican family in new jersey. Yunior notices that oscar seems at peace, finally, and that he is nearly thin. The voice belongs, for the most part, to yunior, who only gradually. It becomes evident that a large focus is put on both male and female roles and situations. Pdf the brief wondrous life of oscar wao book by junot.
While there, oscar falls for another girl who rejects him. To yunior, and maybe even to lola and other characters in the book, a relationship doesnt really count unless it includes sex. Yunior, the narrator of junot diazs the brief wondrous life of oscar wao. Yunior was also the narrator in diaz first novel the brief wondrous life of oscar wao in 2007. Yunior even calls himself the watcher, underscoring his outsider status in the story. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz reading. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the brief wondrous life of oscar wao. Most of the stories in both books are narrated by yunior, but we dont get to know any of the women in them as well as we do oscar wao s lola and belicia. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao, which won the 2008 pulitzer prize and the national book critics circle award. Yunior in the brief wondrous life of oscar wao shmoop. Yunior also thinks it is strange that trujillo never went after jacquelyn, even when abelard was in prison, and that not a single example of abelards handwriting remains.
We only see yuniors dawning awareness of his subjectivity on the final pages of the book, in an epic called the cheaters guide to love. Oscar and yunior are obviously opposites when it comes to dominican masculinity and for this reason they are used in comparison to one another. You know that one girl you grew up with who doesnt take anything from anyone. The narration of the book also shifts away from yunior to another character at several key moments in the story. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao literature tv tropes. The story is told through his former roommate at rutgers, yunior, who comes off as a bit dickish when he is first introduced into. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao is a novel written by dominican american author junot diaz and published in 2007. Narrated by yunior, lolas onagain, offagain boyfriend, we learn of the. The character of yunior the narrator in the brief wondrous life of. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao characters gradesaver.
Towards the end of the novel, yunior, the narrator, is describing oscars last great love, a semiretired prostitute named ybon. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao characters shmoop. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao quotes shmoop. Oscar wao in the brief wondrous life of oscar wao shmoop.
So we think that sex becomes an obsession of the book because its an obsession of yuniors. Summary of the brief wondrous life of oscar wao 1479. Yunior s narration melds ghetto patois with smart cultural dissembling and oscar s constant references to geek lore. Summary of the brief wondrous life of oscar wao 1088. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao korean edition junot diaz on. In the brief wondrous life of oscar wao, diaz, the author of a book of. He is the author of the critically acclaimed drown. When yunior tells the stories of oscars relationships, he often pauses to remind us that oscar isnt having sex. Oscar and yunior always bond over writing, one of the few things that yunior will admit they have in common. Yunior the narrator character analysis the novels narrator as well as a character in its plot, yunior starts as oscar s college roommate and reluctantly becomes his best friend. Allow us to detail the evidence of oscar s herodom for you. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao 2007 read online. Its written, mostly, in a brilliant english, but with large quantities of spanish, dominican spanish slang, and i dont know whatall else.
The brief wondrous life of oscar wao, junot diaz boeken. Fast forward to a few years later, when oscar returns back to the dominican republic, he comes across ybon, an older prostitute who he falls completely in love with. How yuniors narrative acts as an archival history huffpost. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao 2007 about book.
The brief wondrous life of oscar wao analysis 995 words. When oscar tries to take this detective story seriously, yunior becomes defensive. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao literature essay. Oscar talks about his writing, and his attempts to pare down his book collection so that he can move out of paterson. The book centers on the story of oscar and his familyand yet the majority of the book is narrated by yunior, who is not part of the family, and only plays a relatively minor role in the events of the story. Love and violence in oscar wao, love often has a direct connection to violence. It is a saga of dominicana family starting in the republic during the horrendous period of trujillos reign, one of the a to z around the world personal challenge d is dominican republic. The brief wondrous life of oscar wao quotes and analysis. This is how you lose her, a new york times bestseller and national book award finalist.