The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (pg. 205-267)

Summary

   Part two of the book starts out with Lola, back when she is still a teenager and in Dominican Republic living with La Inca. La Inca makes Lola go back to Paterson, New Jersey, this means that Lola has to go back to her abusive mother and has to leave her happiness behind in DR. Before she leaves, Lola breaks up with her boyfriend, and then prostitutes herself to her friend’s father, who gives her two thousand dollars in return. Lola's mom arrives in Banilejos to pick her up after seven months of not seeing her and treats her the same bad way. Lola's older narrator voice jumps in and explains to the reader that she later realized that, that was just the way her mom is. The reason why she sold herself was to get money in order to escape to another country but instead her old boyfriend Max dies and she gives his family that money. She then sadly goes back to Paterson. In the Next Chapter, Oscar’s Grandfather called Abelard Luis Cabral, a doctor life story, and the starter of the family curse called fuku by talking badly about Trujillo. Trujillo is Dominican Republic's evil dictator according to the details given. Abelard was a wealthy man and was extremely intelligent, he had a wife named a Socorro and two daughters named Jackylene and Astrid. Also, he attended Trujillo's events but wasn't really close to him, he always tried to avoid him because he knew Trujillo would be interested in his good looking daughter. The countries decorum at the time was that a man had to offer his daughter to Trujillo no matter what and Cabral was against that. Trujillo even had spies that worked on just finding girls for him and if a man didn't give up his daughter or wife they were charged for treason. Cabral had taken a huge risk to not take his daughters and wife to these events.  He only told three people about his insecurity such as his wife, his mistress, and his bestfriend. At a presidential gathering, Trujillo asks Cabral if he has a wife, and humiliates him by admitting that he thought Abelard was gay. Trujillo then tells Abelard that he heard that he has a pretty daughter and Cabral responds by telling him that if he likes mustaches then that is a yes. The next presidential event, the invitation states clearly to him and his whole family. This makes him become depressive and too attentive with his daughters and ends up not taking them. Four weeks later, Cabral gets arrested for slander and gross calumny against the president. He had gotten drunk and said a joke about the president’s secret assassinations and claiming these murders as natural catastrophes. His mistress Lydia almost gets pregnant and Abelard Considers marrying her, but he loves his family too much. When he gets arrested he was put in a jail cell were he was stripped of his clothes and made to sleep in the bathroom because the guard lies to his jail mates and says that Abelard is a gay communist. He soon finds out that Socorro became pregnant with there last daughter and gets sentences for 18 years, he starts to believe that Trujillo put a curse on there family. He supposable didn’t get arrested for a joke or because of his daughter but he started writing a book about Trujillo’s supernatural state and powers. No evidence of his had written work or books remained. His last daughter, named Belicia had a dark skin complexion, which was at the time a family omen. The reader is left to decide whether he believes in the curse or not. Next, Socorro kills herself, Lydia's body was never found, his bestfriend who was a spy and ratted Abelard out became a millionaire, Jacky kills herself, and Astrid gets shot in church. Abelard dies 14 years after on an electrical chair. Belicia was taken care of Toila a servant, nobody wanted her because she was dark Socorro’s distant family took her and they didn’t get a reward for it so they gave her to another distant family who went on vacation and they came back without a baby. La Inca hears about Belicia years later and adopts her. Belicia had been abused severely. Growing up Belicia doesn’t talk about her horrible situation, she stays quite for 40 years. In the next chapter, Oscar graduates still without being in love and moves back home. Seven Months later Oscar becomes an English teacher. His students all make fun of him and he is just laughed at. Everybody in his life has moved on and he is just lonely.

Quote

"So which was it? you ask. An accident, a conspiracy, or a fuku? The only answer I can give you is the least satisfying: you'll have to decide for yourself. What's certain is that nothing's certain. We are trawling in silences here" ( Diaz 243)

Reaction

   This quotation is an excellent example of the author’s style of writing. The speaker jumps out of the story and actually speaks to the reader, he makes him think about the stories dilemma and doesn't give him an answer. In this quote, the speaker is asking the reader to decide weather the whole book is based on an accident or a curse. In my personal opinion, I truly think it was a curse. The speaker is able to make the reader decide on there own conclusion of the story and at the same time informs them about DR's history.