Masculinity revolves around the view that men must dominate and control women—in all aspects—and is filled to the brim with double-standards. In his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007) argues on the validity of masculinity. Diaz writes from the point of view of Yunior de Las Casas, a college roommate of our protagonist, Oscar De León (nicknamed Oscar Wao). Through Yunior, Díaz is able to show us Oscar’s struggle between succumbing to masculinity or being true to himself. Through the dichotomy of Oscar and Yunior, Diaz shows that no matter if you abide to the Dominican masculine mold or not, you cannot get out unharmed. Oscar Wao’s plight throughout the story showcases what happens when you do not abide to the Dominican …show more content…
Throughout the book, Oscar expresses more than enough times that dying a virgin is a big concern for him. He even shares his fear with Yunior. “He coughed. I heard from a reliable source that no Dominican male has ever died a virgin. You who have experience in these matters—do you think this is true? […] O, it’s against the laws of nature for a dominicano to die without fucking at least once” (Díaz, 168). Although Oscar’s sole ambition is to find a woman who returns his love, it does not settle in until the very end of the novel. For the majority of the story, he is trying to have sex but he does not have the masculine qualities to achieve his goal. Oscar is torn because he fails at the expectations set out for …show more content…
His hyper-masculinity is the downfall to all this romantic relationships, especially with Lola, Oscar’s sister. When reflecting on their most intimate moment, Yunior realizes his problem. “She looked at me until I couldn’t stand it anymore and then she said: Just don’t lie to me, Yunior. I won’t, I promised. Don’t laugh. My intentions were pure” (Díaz, 199). Because he fits the Dominican masculine mold perfectly, Yunior is by default a cheater and, in a way, just as emotionally unstable as Oscar. Along with his charm comes Yunior unavoidable talk of how many girls he has sex with. For instance, he recalls, “That fall a miracle happened: Suriyan showed up at my door. Looking more beautiful than I ever saw her. I want us to try again. Of course I said yes, and went out and put a cuerno in her that very night. Dios mio! Some niggers couldn’t have gotten ass on Judgment Day; me I couldn’t not get ass” (Díaz, 195-196). Yunior has the masculine qualities to achieve all his sexual pleasures, but he is still torn like Oscar. Because he meets the expectations set out for him, Yunior loses out on enjoying real