Oscar Zeta Acosta

In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz describes the coming of age story of Oscar, the struggle of Oscar’s family that has gone on for generations, and the Dominican diaspora. In doing so, Diaz argues that the Dominican Diaspora and other Diasporas face immense struggles in the United States. Such struggle can be described by transnationalism, which “considers the processes by which immigrants forge and sustain multistranded social relations that link together their societies of…

The Inspiration for Denzel Washington’s Role on Training Day Photo Credit: Plot and Theme Denzel Washington’s role in the 2001 crime drama Training Day, won him an Oscar Award for Best Actor. Both fans and critics praised his performance as a decorated and corrupt police officer. However, not many know that one of his best roles was actually inspired by a real person. Rafael Perez, who was born in Puerto Rico, was an officer in the LAPD during the 1980’s to 1990’s. He joined the Rampart…

Throughout The Brief Life of Oscar Wao sexuality is a poignant element of Oscar’s identity. Not only does he consistently try to pursue women as romantic partners, but he also acknowledges that his lack of sexual experience governs the way people view him in this society. For example, Yunior articulates the significance of sex in this Dominican culture when he says, “it’s against the laws of nature for a dominicano to die without fucking at least once” (Diaz 174). Ultimately, sex parallels power…

Both Oscar Zetas Autobiography of the Brown Buffalo and Ana Castillo’s Novel So Far From God are examples of the use of magic realism and mythology in Chicano/a literature. However, both pieces of Chicano/a literature display their own unique interpretation of self-identity. Beginning with the plot of the Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, Oscar is a lawyer at the East Oakland Legal Aid society. He drives to his office in downtown San Francisco only to discover that his secretary, who usually…

In 1971, author Hunter S. Thompson published his book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” Not only was Thompson the author of this book, it was actually based on a real-life experience he took with his attorney, Oscar Zeta Acosta. Even though it was originally an assignment by Sports Illustrated to write a 250-word photograph caption on the Mint 400 motorcycle race held in Las Vegas, he ended up turning in 2,500 words, which eventually turned into the 1972 book, which first appeared in the 1971…