Sunday, April 22, 2012
I love you guys!!!!
And of course Dr. H! Even though I only took my first class with you last semester, I can safely say you, along with Dr. Messenger, are my favorite professors. I feel so comfortable expressing my opinions, as I know you will always respect them even if you don't agree with them. As Angela posted earlier, this is in no way an attempt to butter you up :) I truly want you to know that your teaching habits have made me eager to come to your class. I have to wake up every M/W/F at 5:45 am to go to work, but I didn't dread those days since I got to partake in the class discussions in this class. Please don't change anything, you are the bomb!
I know I have made jokes that I feel like everyone hates me in the class, but I knew I could play devil's advocate with you guys because everyone was passionate about certain topics. It's been a fun semester, good luck to my fellow graduates!! Hopefully I will see some of around campus next year :)
Give Me Something To Blog About :)
- Oscar Wao will stick with me for a while. It was one of the saddest texts I've read, but I could definitely identify with his loneliness. The scene I keep coming back to--besides his death scene--was when he created the after school Sci-Fi club to get students involved with his interests...and no one showed up. It was heart-breaking to me that even the "nerdy" kids didn't want to engage with him. But on a deeper level, Oscar Wao was a great novel about cultural diversity and heritage that gives a different perspective into someone else's world and the struggles they face.
- The Awakening is something I will definitely read again. I liked Edna because she was trying to fight back against the norms of society, a world where women were shadows of their husbands and were identified by his last name. No, I don't agree with all of the decisions that she made about herself and her children, but I don't think she was a terrible mother--I've seen much worse. Having the privilege and prestige of a nanny, she simply didn't know how to fit them into her life because perhaps she never felt like a mother. However, I do recognize that her abilities as a mother could have been exercised more along with her ambitions of becoming independent.
All of the shorter works we've read in class, I have really enjoyed as well. I had never read Mary Wilkins Freeman before, nor Charlotte Perkins Gilman, two authors I have now added to my favorites list. Overall, I am able to easily distinguish masculine characteristics from feminine characteristics, and how they compell each other. Any time I think of such a debate, my mind automatically goes back to the old sporting event commercials that were popular in the 90's (Women athletes to male athletes: "Anything you can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than you.") Now imagine that saying applied to feminist writers back in the day against their masculinist critics--for any feminist, that should put a smile on your face :)
Last time, with Finality!
Last Thoughts…Last Blog…Last Semester
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Is gender on its way out?
I feel like society is in a place right now that is very feminine focused, for better or for worse. I think that the issues of men get ignored and discounted. No one talks about how damaging things like promiscuity and gender roles are onto the men of our society. There aren't countless magaznes dedicated to how men can learn to like themselves more and break societal norms. Many women are lashing out against the stereotype of the male sex addict by trying to make it mean less to them. We've all heard the old "have sex like a man" or "do business like a man" or for God's sake "THINK like a man". These are so harmful to both genders, and I believe that like many problems in our society (race, class, sexual orientation) the only way to make things better is to stop insisting that there are inherent differences. There is no weaker, smarter, more sensitive, talented or sexually active sex. I believe that our genders and all of the things that they represent are being edged out slowly. Does anyone believe that our society needs gender roles to function?
Last (Belated) Thought on the Yellow Wallpaper
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Because we just haven't talked about Beli enough
There has been a lot of discussion in class about Beli and I thought I would throw in my two cents. I am actually in defense of Beli. Most of the class has held a negative opinion of her, but I see her as a good mother; maybe not the nicest or most compassionate, but good in her intentions.
As far as her lass then kind attitude with her children, I think it all is her method of “tough love.” It’s been suggested by others in the class that Beli’s surly approach to parenting is her attempt at doing the complete opposite of what La Inca did. Because La Inca was not very strict and allowed Beli to get away with inappropriate behavior, Beli ended up getting pregnant, beaten up, and abandoned. Though it was not all La Inca’s fault Beli could have seen it that way, so her controlling manner is just an attempt to save her children, especially Lola, from her own mistakes.
Beli’s relationship with Lola is probably the most controlling between her two children. When Lola runs away to be with Aldo, it would be natural for Beli to connect that to her past when she left to be with the gangster. She wanted to save her from that future in any way possible. Also, when Beli sees Lola for the first time in fourteen months she says “Cono, pero tú sí eres fea.” (Díaz 208). This is a very harsh and disheartening statement from mother to daughter. However, was Beli’s beauty not the thing that got her in so much trouble? Possibly, she was trying to keep Lola’s self confidence low so she would not use her sexuality like Beli did.
Also, I think Beli was ultimately trying to help them deal with the fukú in their future. She knew they would have to face the curse of their family, so she tried to prepare them. Beli was not the best mother, but she was just trying the best she knew how. Did she not do a pretty good job in the end? She did put both of her children through college on a single mother’s wages. I never questioned her love as a mother, just her capability of kindness.
The Final Blog Post! Short Stories this Semester
In "Wallpaper," we discussed the issues of a woman's isolation and mental health. Jane's husband, a doctor, does not feel she is really sick and his negligence actually causes her mental break. Jane states that her husband does "not believe i am sick!." This story is important to me because i feel that it criticizes not just her husband, but the society in which she lives in that does not understand her as a woman.
In "Spring Fragrance," we saw a healthy relationship between a husband and wife, something which is rarer than i would have guessed when discussing gender roles. Although the couple has their difficulties, i rooted for this couple, especially in the passage when Mr. asks Mrs. to continue talking of her matchmaking: "It is not important to me now,' returned Mr. Spring Fragrance, 'I prefer to hear again about...'" (514). I loved this couple and was glad to see the man-bashing discarded for this story.
In "Foundations," we talked about one woman's struggle with the news of her grandson's homosexuality. I loved this story and thought that it was touching and did not feature her complete acceptance of the news she is given, but rather details her journey to acceptance. This is a more realistic, deeper story, and is one that is extremely relevant for anyone trying to tell his/her family about him/herself.
I feel that many of the stories we've read this semester are extremely similar and give the same man-bashing message i was worried about when taking this class. However, i do feel that the three stories i've picked out are some of the stories which are different and have deeper themes about gender and sex. I enjoyed these stories greatly and am glad i was exposed to them.
Last Blog Post :(
If anyone has found any articles I would greatly appreciate knowing about them. Also, if anyone needs a book on Gilman and feminism, I have a great one that I borrowed from the library about it. It's been very helpful for my paper and I would not mind sharing it with anyone.
I have very much enjoyed this class and reading everyone's posts and hearing what everyone has had to say in class. I'm going to miss my Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning class. Good luck on exams, everyone! See you tomorrow :)
Will the family curse ever end?
Last Thoughts I Wanted to Share
Fern manipulated societal rules in order to accommodate her own comfort and health and to help fight social injustice. She was a cross-dresser. She wore men's clothes not only for her own comfort, but also to challenge the laws stating that women could not wear pants. Her article "A Law More Nice than Just" chronicles a time when she stepped out in her husband's clothes rather than sitting at home or catching "a consumption dragging round wet petticoats" (Fern 2106). She went against social norms to protect and comfort her own body.
Clifton's poems reveal a powerful exploration of the female body. Her poems were progressive even for readers in the late twentieth century. The poems “to my last period” and “poem to my uterus” establish the female body as the core of the female identity while managing a distinction between that core and the woman as a whole. She wrote these in response to her upcoming hysterectomy which was being performed to induce menopause. She was coming to terms with her impending loss of "womanhood."
Hatin on Abelard
Abelard, as we know, is a genial man. He has friends, he's intellectual, he's well off, and he is Dominican. He has a mistress in whom he confides and (apparently) loves. We keep saying that with each evidence of the fuku the person brought it on themselves, Beli with messing around with a married man, Oscar with returning to the DR, Abelard had escaped out notice. It seems like he just had the bad luck to have Trujillo's eye fall on his daughter, but he did bring it on himself. He dithered. He wasted his time when he could have acted boldly and saved both himself and his family from the fuku that befell them. In short, he Hamlet-ed in a grand way. He did it twice; once initially when Trujillo notices the absence of his wife and daughter and a second time when he knows the doom is coming. Diaz says "For the next three months, Abelard waited for the End." (223) Instead of acting, even when he knows the doom is coming, he simply waits. It's not for lack of options, his mistress suggests they flee to Cuba, they could have left for the States, gone back to Mexico, any number of things. He worried about it before his first real contact with Trujillo and he simply waited for the end after.
Rather contemptible, don't you think?
Final Thoughts on Oscar Wao
Oscar had been chasing girls since he was in preschool. He was described as a "preschool loverboy who was always trying to kiss the girls" and give them "...the pelvic pump" (Diaz 11). As he grew older, his weight became the obstacle between him and the girls. He still remained intrigued by them and in continual pursuit of them. He ultimately sacrificed his life for one, Ybon. Was it an act of true love or his one opportunity to get laid that he couldn't pass on (even though it would bring death)? I believe that Oscar's choice to return to Ybon was a conscious suicide. He knew he would be murdered, but didn't care. I believe he wanted to die but could not die a virgin so he went to the place where he could accomplish both objectives: get laid and die. I felt sorry for Oscar but would have liked it if he had been strong enough to resist the hyper-masculine views of his culture and embrace himself as an individual. It's idealistic, I know, because we all suffer the same dilemma but I would have liked to see Oscar's character mature and emerge from the stereotypes and Diaz didn't give that to me.
Beli is the character I attached with the most. Maybe it is because she is a mother and I am a mother, maybe it is because we both suffered traumas as a young person. Whatever the case, I admired her ability to break away from her country and start a new life. It wasn't an easy life and she wasn't always the best mother (I would NEVER say those horrible things to my children), but I understand the motivation behind it. As I said in class, I believe that when you become a parent you strive to bring your children to the finish line in the best possible position for life. Sometimes, you look back on your own life for guidance. In witnessing the choices Beli makes in parenting her children, I believe that Beli feels that if La Inca had been harder on her the outcome would have been different. It may not have been different, and I certainly don't advocate abusing children, but both of her children went to college and had a brighter financial futures then Beli ever did. Does that make her a success as a mother? I don't know, but somehow I respect her for her strength and overwhelming love for her children. She didn't always show it, but I never questioned whether it was the fuel to her fire.
My Final Post (One Last Look at the Identity Crisis Present in Modern Texts)
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Oscar also Rises
Lola and Lydia
Lola’s and Lydia’s trips both have to do with their mothers. Lola runs away to Wildwood get away from – and possibly spite – Belí: “All my life I’d been swearing that one day I would just disappear. And one day I did” (Díaz 61). Lydia, on the other hand, goes to Brighton to obtain “every possibility of earthly happiness” (Austen 153) and knows that the trip is “the delight of Mrs. Bennet” (150). Indeed, Mrs. Bennet sees Lydia’s vacation as an opportunity to live vicariously through her daughter: “Lydia's going to Brighton was all that consoled her for the melancholy conviction of her husband's never intending to go there himself” (152). Thus Mrs. Bennet and Belí see their daughters’ journeys in totally different lights. Mrs. Bennet is thrilled for Lydia, but Belí probably wants to keep Lola from going through the same abuses that she herself has experienced.
Both families end up going after their wayward daughters. Mr. Bennet and Lydia’s uncle Mr. Gardiner try to track down Lydia and Wickham. Oscar comes to meet Lola and ends up bringing Belí, an aunt, and an uncle with him – much to Lola’s chagrin. The Bennets want to protect their reputation. In addition to wanting to protect Lola in her own inimitable way, Belí is probably motivated by the desire to control her daughter: “Ya te tengo [I have you], she said, jumping triumphantly to her feet. Te tengo” (Díaz 70).
And both girls are in need of money from their families. Lola asks Oscar for it (“Just bring me the money, Oscar” [Díaz 68]); she probably doesn’t earn enough money from her job at the boardwalk. Lydia is entitled to a tiny inheritance from her father, but she doesn’t have nearly enough money to pay for a wedding and to pay off her careless lover’s debts. Neither Mr. Bennet nor Mr. Gardiner can afford to pay off Wickham, but Mr. Darcy - Lydia's future brother-in-law - steps in. Although Lydia and Lola have tried to make breaks for independence, ultimately both girls are still dependent on their families for protection and financial support.
Yunior: The Complex Character
This adds a new level of complex thinking and character developement to the mix. The stereotypical guy is trying to, pardon the cliche, find himself and to have hobbies that wont give him herpes. Not that there is anything wrong with sex (there isn't), it's just interesting to see the slow one sided switch; considering that Oscar himself never actually turned into a hypermasculine Dominican male. Which was probably for the better, considering that it allowed him to live longer than he would have if he started having sex at fourteen or something.
While Oscar is trying to essentially fufill his lifes mission of getting laid (without any success), Yunior is slowly trying out new activities in life, such as: reading, writing, gaming and all the nerdy things that some misguided people tease others about. I wonder if Yunior ever played Dungeons and Dragons? That would be awesome, I'd totally play in his campaign. But I digress, now I also believe it was interesting that Yunior tried to help Oscar get some tail.
He did not have to do that (I know it was for Lola, but look what happened to that relationship) and one of my favorite lines was when Yunior talked about how he was stuck with Oscar for life. Perhaps it was for selfish reasons, such as trying to make Yunior feel better, or perhaps there was more than that. Maybe instead of Yunior just wanting to get into Lola's pants, he actually wanted (deep down) to help out poor old Oscar. That, my friends, is when I believe that the conversion started. Slowly, Yunior began to pick up more Oscar-isms than Oscar was Yunior-isms. This showed the differences in emotional maturity between the two, and perhaps just shows why Yunior had more success as a nerd than Oscar as a masculine playboy.
Maybe that is what it comes down to, they both did help each other out; but Yunior, I believe, benefited the most from knowing Oscar.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Abelard's Infidelity
In class and some of the blog posts I've been hearing a lot of scorn towards Abelard for having an affair. To be honest, I never really thought much of it, so I was kind of surprised that some people held it against him. To me, infidelity is an excusable flaw in a person's character, depending on what the person is like and the circumstances of the affair. A perfect example would be the movie Henry & June, which Dr. Cantrell's class watched on Tuesday.
Anais Nin, the protagonist, had affairs with several men while maintaining affection for her husband, and he was none the wiser. She seemed to fall in love with someone, then tire of them and fall for someone else, then feel love towards her husband again, and so on. Honestly, it didn't much bother me that she did so, because she seemed like a decent, kind-hearted person otherwise, and strove to keep her husband's feelings undamaged by it all.
June Miller, on the other hand, had a similar situation of multiple affairs, and I completely hated her. She was cruel, cold, manipulative, and emotionally damaging towards her husband. I didn't excuse her affairs because they didn't have the same qualities as Anais', nor did she have other redeeming qualities.
To me, Abelard falls into the Anais category of infidelity. I excuse his affair because he otherwise seems like a good man, and I suppose--if I'm going to be perfectly honest--because his wife doesn't find out. If she had, and had been hurt by it, I might have felt differently about him. As it stands, I consider it an excusable transgression.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Oscar the Teacher??
I think that the subbing Oscar did at Don Bosco was just to earn some extra money. However, Yunior reveals that when Oscar was offered a full-time position, "He could have refused, could have made a 'saving throw' against Torture, but instead he went with the flow" (263). Oscar obvioulsy knew he was stepping back into the place that caused him so much pain in the past. So why did he do it? Why would he sit back and watch "his horizons collapse" (263)? Yunior also reveals that nothing has changed in the high school from the time Oscar left, so I have a hard time understanding what brought Oscar back to Don Bosco.
Sadly, his time at Don Bosco as a teacher is just as unpleasant as it was as a student. Yunior paints scenes of Oscar being ridiculed by the students, making fun of his nerdom and unluckiness with the ladies. Even the other teachers look at Oscar as an outcast (264-6). Oscar clearly does not fit in at Don Bosco, as exemplified by the excruiatingly sad scene in which no one came to his science fiction and fantasy club (265). I just have a hard time understanding why Oscar would go back, unless he truly believed that the only way out is back in.
This may be somewhat insignificant, but I'm curious on what others think of Oscar's choice of profession. Is this just another instance in which Oscar has to go back in to get out? Or is Oscar simply in it for the the money? Or, is it possible that something is drawing Oscar back into Don Bosco even though it is a place in which he clearly does not fit in?
Any opinion/comments would be much appreciated.
questions that I forgot to bring to class
2) Why does el capitán view Oscar as such a threat? Ybón is, after all, a prostitute, and Oscar is not exactly a Casanova.
3) Why does the American Embassy do nothing to help Oscar, nor make investigations after his death? Or the US Government? (bureaucrats, that's why)
4) What's the significance of the lost novel of Oscar?
Discussion Questions for April 11, 2012
2. What do you think the importance of the golden mongoose was throughout the story? Explain.
questions for 4/11/12
2) Both Trujillo and El Capitan are shown as complete monsters, unforgiving and with a complete lack of remorse. Is the Captain more than a Trujillo stand-in? If so, in what way?
4-11 questions
How do you think Oscar's life would have turned out had he lived?
Was there a significance in the thugs asking Oscar the English word for fuego before the killed him?
Discussion questions 4/11/12
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Discussion Questions for 4/11
Monday, April 9, 2012
Discussion Questions for 4.11.2012
2. In my blog post last week I mentioned the importance of the Faceless Man, and how he could potentially represent the loss of identity present in the novel. Do you believe that this apparition represents more than that? If so, then what? Could he potentially be a manifestation of "fuku"?
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Parallelism between Oscar and Beli
fuku vs zafa
Love & Fate
Also, I keep thinking to myself that the title of this novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, is almost visciously sarcastic. Oscar "Wao" was a nickname, not all that endearing, he was given to mock his love of writing and to mock his hobbies. Wondrous is definitely not the word I would have chosen to use to describe this man's life, I mean, he died a horrible death! Oscar also seems to have spent his whole life having a tremendous amount of love waiting to give to someone, that didn't really come until the end; granted, Oscar should carry some of that blame though because he could have chosen to change different aspects of his personality that he didn't like. When he finally stood up for himself and became more courageous, he was killed. That doesn't sound like a very wondrous life to me.
Body Issues
When trying to figure out which is a better fate, I re-read some of the scenes with Beli and the Gangster. One line in particular from the novel really stood out to me. When young Beli is talking to the Gangster, he tells her that she is "mi negrita, una tormenta en la madrugada" (Diaz 127). Roughly, this line means that Beli is a bold storm in the morning. This beautiful sentiment is placed before he compliments her body in the text. If Beli is anything, she is a survivor. Whether she learned it herself or someone taught her, that shallow beauty she believed in gave her the hope to not give up and even look for a better future. I believe that in class, we used the term blessing and a curse. While this one line isn't a complete answer for beauty and it's role in the world, it does give a deeper meaning to the relationship between Beli and the Gangster and makes Beli herself seem to be deeper and stronger.
Nothing More Exhilarating
I decided that I liked Junot Diaz as an author when I read the quote, "Nothing more exhilarating ... than saving yourself by the simple act of waking.” I wasn't a huge fan of the book or the author's style of writing until I read this simple quote. Sometimes for me all it takes for me to change my mind is a simple quote.
This quote is so true. I fully believe in it. We can take this quote literally or figuratively. When someone is sleeping and having a terrible nightmare, all we have to do to save ourselves is wake up; and how exhilarating does it feel when we realize it was only a dream? Or like in the novel when Oscar is falling asleep at the wheel and he realizes how exhilarating it was that he saved himself by waking up?
I love this quote in the novel and when taken out of context. I can safely say that this is now one of my favorite quotes that I have read in any novel.
Does anyone else feel this way or am I just crazy? Do you think we can save ourselves by 'waking up' and is it exhilarating?
Importance of Appearance
Throughout The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, there is specific attention paid to physical appearance, especially in regards to women. So what are the reasons for the importance of appearance in this novel? The first and obvious reason is the hyper masculinity of the Dominican culture. In such a masculine culture, the appearance and sexuality of women is always emphasized. Another possibility is that Diaz is using his talent for creating different narrative voices to make Yunior’s voice authentic as a Dominicano. To make Yunior fit in with this masculine culture, it would be logical to have him pay special attention to the attractive qualities of the female characters. Finally, another possibility is that the beautiful appearance of the Cabral-de León is tied back in with their ancestor, the beautiful Jackie Cabral. After all, it was her famous beauty that caught the attention of Trujillo and started the Fall in the first place.
It is obvious throughout the book that there is a lot of emphasis on beauty and appearance so I wanted to throw out some thoughts on the reasoning behind it.
*Sorry about the lack of citations. I’m at home this weekend and I left my book at school. Ooops…
Who's to blame?
The Only Way Out...
In this novel, there are no perfect characters, which i think makes the novel realistic. It portrays what anyone's family is like. The reader does, however, get to look at what makes each character imperfect, something that most people don't get from their own family. This gives the reader a huge advantage to what most people know about their own families.
I think that it's interesting that Yunior is the one compiling all of this information, not Oscar. This shows that the De Leon family is going to continue to fall unless someone in that family can read what Yunior has written and understand completely everyone's past to help avoid future downfalls. I think that this novel is trying to get every reader to understand what their family has gone through in order to escape any fuku of their own.
Poor Abelard
Abelard's arrest and torture just turned my stomach. It is hard sometimes for me to understand why people would choose to follow an evil man like Trujillo and participate in the torture of fellow human beings. I also feel the same way when I think of Hitler and every other person who seeks to torture and destroy human life. There was an interesting point made in class that people follow because they are afraid not to. That leads me to think that human rationale is always to preserve oneself even if it is at the cost of another. The only reason Abelard was willing to sacrifice himself was for the safety of his daughter. I guess children are the exception to the human rationale for self preservation.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Oscar, Abelard, and the Fuku Friend Zone
The fall is the immediate aftermath of these experiences. And in light of these connections, could it be that Fuku has less to do with a lack of luck, or with the inherent darkness of the world, than with the De Leons’ inability to be courageous in the face of that darkness? It’s a fact that people in the friend zone don’t make particularly good friends to the people who “put them there.” On both sides there is the expectation that the connection is simply a means to an end.
inheritance of problems
Oscar Wao as Lord of the Rings?
We’ve said that the phrase “The only way out is in”(209) refers to Yunior’s and Lola’s attempts to understand how fukú has functioned in the de Leon family by going back and tracing its origins and effects. But the phrase also reminds me of Frodo’s journey to destroy the Ring. He must do this to destroy Sauron and his forces of evil, who will otherwise overrun Middle Earth and basically obliterate everything. In order to destroy the Ring, Frodo must return to where the Ring was created –back into Mordor to Mount Doom. Thus for Yunior, Lola, and Frodo, “The only way out is in.”
After reading Bennett’s post about Beli, I realized that most people’s feelings toward Beli parallel my own toward Smeagol. Throughout “The Two Towers” movie, I felt awful for Smeagol – tortured by Sauron’s henchmen and tormented every moment by Gollum, the evil half of his personality from whom he seems to want to be free. However, by “The Return of the King,” I despised him for what he was doing to Frodo, leading him into the gigantic spider’s lair to be eaten alive, and especially for what he was doing to Sam (because nobody messes with Sam), trying to turn Frodo against him. But even though I hated what Gollum had become, I never wanted him to die the way that he did. I still felt terrible for him because of what he experienced – much the way most of us feel toward Beli because of her own unspeakably awful life of abuse.
Beli and Smeagol have alike endings with similar causes. Yunior says, “Beli [had] been waiting for something like her body her whole life….Like the accidental discovery of the One Ring” (94). Technically, Bilbo Baggins stumbles across the Ring, but Smeagol has found it first. And in a way, both of these discoveries destroy these characters. Beli’s beauty (in the Dominican sense) leads to her abuse, and her body (SPOILERS!) basically destroys her and kills her. And Smeagol’s discovery leads to the twisting of his mind, the corruption of his soul, and his awful death – all for the sake of “his precious.”
Maybe the world of Oscar Wao resembles Middle Earth more than Yunior thinks.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thoughts Concerning the Issue of the Loss of Identity
Similarities between Jay-Z and Oscar Wao
First, both seem to be obsessed with letting it be known that they do not have any problem with the ladies, but that pretty much everything else in their life is screwed up. Where the Dominican's are oppressed by the tyrannical rule of Trulijo, Jay-Z feels like the blacks are the targets of racial profiling (2nd verse) and unfair judicial practices (3rd verse). However, with all of the oppression, they still vehemently let it be known that their hyper-masculinity should never be questioned.
Second, both seem to have a sense of pride for where they grew up. Even though Jay was born and raised in the ghetto of Brooklyn, he exudes that Brooklyn swagger. Meanwhile, the Dominican's, even though Oscar's generation has been transplanted to Jersey, are proud of their Dominican home. Again, this goes back to being proud of one's culture (black and Dominican), and the areas that they have so much pride in exemplify these cultures.
Lastly, and this may be somewhat of a stretch, but Jay is gunned down at the end of this video in a very Trulijo-esque way. While Jay is obviously not a dictator, he is one of the titans in hip hop, and is thus the one who is being "gunned" after. Just as Trulijo is at the top of the political system, Jay is at the top of the hip hop culture. I made the argument today that Trulijo actually feels immense pressure from his underlings, and he is eventually taken down, as all dictators have in the past. Jay must also feel this pressure from up-and-coming rappers, and thus uses the shooting scene to metaphorically express this fear.
You can take it as you will, but I definitely think there are strong connections between the hyper-masculinity of the urban black culture and the Dominican culture. I will provide a link to the music video here. Please be aware that there is explicit content, so be aware of that before viewing. (And I'm not even going to comment on the video hunnies in the background, as that would be a separate, very long blog post).
If you get some time, watch the video and see if you can come up with any other connections between the two pieces of art.
Rebounding Fukú
The same night that La Inca summoned up a prayer to end all prayers, a prayer so stunning in scope that it broke lesser beings who lent their spirits to it. The prayer that may or may not have been the sole reason that Beli survived the vicious beatings.
Yunior doesn't outright make the connection, which is unusual because he usually points out connections in his narration, but it seems that La Inca's prayer was so powerful that it not only saved the life of a girl who should have died, it turned the fukú back on Trujillo, stripped his life of its charm and ended it in a most violent fashion.
Irrelevant but it made me chuckle
You know who else is immune to Jedi mind tricks? Jabba the Hutt. And Yunior's asshole friend Melvin started comparing Oscar to Jabba back in their college days (177). Make of that what you will.
[insert catchy title here]
99 problems...
Trujillo seems unaffected by this pressure and did whatever he pleased, but he is absorbed in and drunk with his own power. His pulling whatever women he wants lead to no resistance because of the Dominican hyper-masculinity that is present throughout the book. The populace is used to the hyper-masculinity and, because Trujillo is El Jefe, they process it as his balls are the biggest for him to be ruling.
Traditionally action is associated with manliness and masculinity, so it's odd that in a society where an exaggerated masculinity is the norm that no action is taken. In the face of El Jefe's masculinity the entire country is, like Abelard, reduced to "alternat[ing] between impotent rage and pathetic self-pity" (229). The entire hyper-masculine country is emasculated by the huevos of one man and his goons.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Oscar and suicide
Oscar's suicide attempt does not seem to be spontaneous (or even brought on by the copious amount of alcohol Yunior provides for him), as Yunior clearly states that he knew he "should have stayed with him" that night (189). Needless to say, Yunior was right, as Oscar attempts suicide by jumping off a bridge. However, the key piece of the puzzle is that Oscar actually left suicide notes, proving that Oscar planned to commit suicide. This is a sad realization, brought on by numerous factors. Oscar seems to be directly reacting to his walk-in on the goth Jenny doing the dirty with someone other than him. However, his whole existence kind of culminates in that scene. Oscar, of macho Dominican blood, is, by everyone's standards, a big fat loser.
Yunior later reveals that "The fall after the Fall was dark" for Oscar (200). Oscar wanted to commit suicide again, but "he was afraid" (200). Yunior lists quite a few reasons why Oscar doesn't commit suicide, from his sister to the "possibility of a miracle" (200), but I see it differently. I think that Oscar starts to appreciate life, and how lucky he actually is to be alive. I have never really talked to anyone that has attempted suicide, but it seems to me that a failed attempt at suicide would "wake" an individual up to the glory of living. In fact, Oscar even says that "Nothing is more exhilarating ... than saving yourself by the simple act of waking" (201). Oscar indeed saved himself (for the time being-have yet to finish the book) by awaking from the nasty fall. Even though I know the outcome, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Oscar sees the miracle of life!