Oscar Wao Summary

In the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz introduces terms and beliefs that come from Dominican culture before delving into these experiences of Oscar, Lola, Belli, Yunior, and others. One of the more essential terms introduced by Diaz is this idea of fukú. Simply, fukú is this bad luck that exists not only for one individual, but it is bad luck that is passed down through generations. Diaz initially introduces this term in-text through our narrator, Yunior, as “a curse or doom of some kind; specifically the Curse and the Doom of the New World…. No matter what its name or provenance, it is believed that the arrival of Europeans on Hispaniola unleashed the fukú on the world, and we’ve all be in the shit ever since” (1.) However, as Yunior explains shortly later, the …show more content…
If you even thought a bad thing about Trujillo, fuá, a boulder would fall out of a clear sky…”(3.) One can consider that these expressions of this phenomenon of fukú is really just a self-imposed expression of excessive masculinity and control. While we are given examples by Yunior of the what Trujillo’s curse can do to you, we later find out how this effects Oscar De Leon.
Oscar is mocked by this hyper-masculinity, or machismo, that he lacks and is surrounded by within his community. As presented by Diaz, machismo is male pride which is expressed through chauvinism, testosterone, virility, and bravado. Which is best explained through the suave womanizing abilities that Oscar naturally had when he was young and juggled two girlfriends however when he is in a position to choose between his two girlfriends he chooses the prettier of the two (Maritza). However, soon after that he is dumped by her for one of his peers. This was the turn in fate of the Oscar’s machismo, as it was the end of his luck with the ladies (16.) Which, Yunior notes, “how very un-Dominican of him” (11.) It is after this moment as well as Oscar’s various interactions with others