The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is about a coming of age Dominican boy who often struggles with his own identity. Throughout the novel, he begins to realize what he needs in order to be happy with himself. This also goes with his sister who manages to escape the traditions and learn to live on her own. Yunior being the narrator of the novel, shows how much can be interpreted by knowing each and everyone's story, including his. His daily struggles increase more as he gets older and moves away from home. Culture hybridity and gender roles are shown within the characters of Oscar, Yunior, and Lola. This novel bounces back and forth from the Dominican Republic and New Jersey which establishes a Dominican American culture. It is shown within each character how being in a Dominican American culture affects them both mentally and physically. Oscar, an overweight nerd does not have the option to feel as Dominican as he wants, when he is at school, he constantly gets bullied for not fitting the stereotypical Dominican man, “The white kids looked at his black skin and his afro and treated him with inhuman cheeriness. The kids of color, upon hearing him speak and seeing him move his body, shook their heads. You’re not Dominican. And he said, over and over again, But I am. Soy dominicano. Dominicano soy.”(p. 49) When his …show more content…
Even when having those differences, Diaz was able to show how different being a minority is when in a different country and how many issues they have to deal with. Diaz showed how cultural hybridity could become a great tool if people would pay more attention to this. Each character had their own perspectives being part of the Dominican American culture. They either had to continue along with the current traditions or find a way to make themselves happier incorporating both American and Dominican cultures into