Throughout Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, a fuku cast by Trujillo prevents the de Leon family from acquiring freedom. All the characters search for a source of power and control over their own lives, wishing to find independence. The women search for their own identities, getting trapped by the men in their lives, and Oscar is trapped within himself, unable to find freedom because of inner conflict and a need to please others.
Belicia Cabral, the "bad omen" baby, the "negrita", suffers an unfortunate fate that is predestined for her. The family curse is cast before she is even born, leaving her life to be a miserable consequence of her father Abelard's actions. She seeks out men in her youth to give her the luxurious life she desires and the freedom she craves. Her relationship with the gangster leaves her almost dead and forces Beli into exile. Her next relationship with the father of her children does not last long either. These failures in her love life force her to work for herself, never fully free in the world. She suffers from breast cancer and eventually does from it, slowly killed by the curse of unfortunate relationships.
Lola, Oscar's sister, struggles to establish her own identity and find individuality, especially since her mother oppresses her and leaves her voiceless. She too turns to men to find a freedom from her controlling mother, never truly getting anywhere. Although Lola survives at the end of the novel, Yunior prophesies the curse to continue on in her daughter, never leaving her truly free.
Lastly, Oscar's journey to overcome his internal struggle and establish his independence is long and seemingly without progress. Many try to shape Oscar into who they think he should be, unsuccessful in their attempts because he can only change if he wants to change. Yunior's mission to get him fit and find him women is self- centered and since Oscar doesn't want to do it for himself, he is physically unable to go on. Later on in the novel he is able to lose weight because of his choice to do so. Also, his desire to not be a virgin anymore is representative of him wishing to establish his manhood, breaking free from the control of others. Oscar finally does this at the end of the novel when he defies his entire family to go back to Ybon. Although this rash act does lead to him fullfilling his wishes and losing his virginity and therefore gaining independence in his life, it kills him.
There can never be too much of a good thing, and Junot Diaz demonstrates this in each of the character's search for freedom in a time period where oppression was the norm. Trujillo's reign influences every aspect of the family's lives, demonstrating how a curse is not always resolved. Zafa is not always achieved, good does not always win, and people don't always get the opportunity to go to their dream school. So I guess life's not a fairytale.
No comments:
Post a Comment