Analyzing the Different "Worlds" as Depicted in Diaz’s "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"

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Analyzing the Different “Worlds” as Depicted in Diaz’s “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”.
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz depicts several different “worlds” based on the different characters of the novel which present different ideas and perspectives and explain the self-discovery journey that the characters have gone through to create their current identities. At the beginning of the novel, the first world that we are introduced to is the Dominican world as the narrator recounts the history of the fuku curse. The narrator describes the curse as “the curse and doom of the New World” (Diaz, 5). The Dominican dictator, Trujillo, is thought to have an understanding of the curse and anyone that goes against him will suffer the curse with their entire generation. This world is characterized by a dictator who misuses power, corruption, and inequality. Those who attempt to change the status quo are believed to be "cursed" and the misfortunes they face are attributed to the curse.
Another "world" that is depicted is that of immigrants living in America. Even though Oscar and his family are in New Jersey, the U.S., they struggle to create an identity for themselves as both the internal and external forces have an impact on them showing the plight faced by many immigrants. For example, Oscar is affected by his Dominican history and heritage since he is not fully accepted into the identity despite his efforts to meet the expectations. The narrator says, “Our hero was not one of those Dominican cats everybody’s always going on about” (Diaz, 8). This shows that Oscar was rejected by the Dominicans who did not believe he fitted into the identity and culture. Similarly, he failed to fit into the American identity and was forced to grow up lonely and in the constant search for love which ends up costing him his life in the end.
I feel that the author depicts different “worlds” to be able to engage the readers further on the issue of identity as it relates to immigrants. By showing the different worlds we get to see the different perspectives of different characters and how there is no single way of defining identity as the different characters have to overcome internal and external factors to create their identities. We get to understand the past, the present, and what the future looks like for the different characters. This illustrates an important aspect of post-modern literature of taking a look at the past and using irony to question it. Also, as all the characters are seen to be in a quest to find a place they belong it raises the question of where does an immigrant belong.
Work Cited.
Diaz, Junot, 1968-author. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. New York: Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2007.