BEWARE FUKU! Consider this assignment a mini-research paper.Dissect, discuss, research and write (minimum of 3 pages) an essay that focuses on a central theme of the novel. Focus on providing meaningful insights. Be engaging and interesting. I want some level of research conducted for this. Make sure the facts or credible opinions you find can be judged based on the criteria established in the course. Cite each source you use. Follow Hacker for a guide to MLA format. Each paper should contain a "Works Cited" page. Consider using multi-media clips or articles. There are many interesting clips and audio with Diaz (he's kind of a big deal right now). The topics are just a starting point, a focus for your analysis of the novel. Overall, use the smaller questions within the topic to guide you, just be sure you are focusing around one theme.
1. Discuss the main narrator (Yunior). Why is the narrator's voice so fresh and unique? How does Díaz accomplish this? How does the narrator alter perception of the story? Next discuss footnotes. Why does he employ footnotes to explain the history or context of a certain passage or sentence in the main text? Why do this? How would the novel have read differently if the content of the footnotes had been integrated into the main text? What if the footnotes (and the information in them) had been eliminated altogether? (NOTE: Diaz himself is often asked about this and his answers are pretty succinct.)
2. The narrator says “Dominicans are Caribbean and therefore have an extraordinary tolerance for extreme phenomena. How else could we have survived what we survived?” (p. 149). What does he mean by that? Could Oscar’s obsession with science fiction and the “speculative genres” be seen as a kind of extension of his ancestors’ belief in “extreme phenomena?" Was that his method of coping? For Oscar, his obsession with fantasy and science fiction becomes isolating, separating him from his peers so much so that he almost cannot communicate with them—as if he speaks a different language (and at one point he actually speaks in Elvish). Consider how the other characters in the book—for instance, Belicia growing up in the Dominican Republic, similarly isolated? And how are their forms of isolation different?
3. The author, the primary narrator, and the protagonist of the book are all male, but some of the strongest characters and voices in the book (La Inca, Belicia, Lola) are female. Who do you think makes the strongest, boldest decisions in Part One? Given the machismo and swagger of the narrative voice, how does the author express the strength of the female characters? Do you think there is an intentional comment in the contrast between that masculine voice and the strong female characters? Why or why not? How do these characters exist especially in contrast to the great objectification of women we see through Yunior's narration and the other references in the novel?
4. We know from the start that Oscar is destined to die in the course of the book—the title suggests as much, and there are references to his death throughout the book [“Mister. Later [Lola would] want to put that on his gravestone but no one would let her, not even me.” (p. 36)]. Why do you think Díaz chose to reveal this from the start? How does Díaz manage to create
suspense and hold the reader’s attention even though we already know the final outcome for Oscar? Did it actually make the book more suspenseful, knowing that Oscar was going to die?
suspense and hold the reader’s attention even though we already know the final outcome for Oscar? Did it actually make the book more suspenseful, knowing that Oscar was going to die?5. Is Oscar a hero? Why or why not? How is his death a fitting end to the story of his life? Pick out specific ironies about how his death coordinates to the intricate details of the story itself. Other characters in the book are more traditionally heroic, making bold decisions on behalf of others to protect them—for instance, La Inca rescuing young Belicia, or Abelard trying to protect his daughters. In the end, do you think Oscar is heroic or foolish? And are those other characters—La Inca, Abelard—more or less heroic than Oscar?
6. Popular culture references really drive this novel. So much so, that we can easily see the Diaz himself is as guilty of indulging in "geek chic" as his protagonist. Choose any one or several of the popular culture allusions (such as Tolkien or Doctor Who or The Twilight Zone) and compare/contrast the importance of each on the novel itself. Explain how Oscar himself evinces the themes or importance of the works themselves (in other words, how is Oscar a Tolkien hero)?
7. Throughout the novel, Spanish words and phrases appear unaccompanied by their English translations. What is the effect of this seamless blending of Spanish and English? How would the novel have been different if Díaz had stopped to provide English translations at every turn? Why does Díaz not italicize the Spanish words (the way foreign words are usually italicized in English-language text)?
8. In many ways, Yunior and Oscar are polar opposites. While Yunior can get as many women as he wants, he seems to have little capacity for fidelity or true love. Oscar, by contrast, holds love above all else—and yet cannot find a girlfriend no matter how hard he tries. Is it fair to say that Yunior is Oscar’s foil—underscoring everything Oscar is not—and vice versa? Or are they actually more alike than they seem on the surface?
9. For Oscar, his obsession with fantasy and science fiction becomes isolating, separating him from his peers so much so that he almost cannot communicate with them—as if he speaks a different language (and at one point he actually speaks in Elvish). How are other characters in the book—for instance, Belicia growing up in the Dominican Republic, or Abelard under the dictatorship of Trujillo, similarly isolated? And how are their forms of isolation different?
10. The image of a mongoose with golden eyes and the a man without a face appear at critical moments and to various characters throughout the book. What do these images represent? Why do you think Díaz chose these images in particular? When they do appear, do you think you are supposed to take them literally? For instance, did you believe that a mongoose appeared to Belicia and spoke to her? Did she believe it?
FAMILIES WILL CHOOSE THESE TOPICS, so please do not begin to work on this until we discuss in class.
6. Popular culture references really drive this novel. So much so, that we can easily see the Diaz himself is as guilty of indulging in "geek chic" as his protagonist. Choose any one or several of the popular culture allusions (such as Tolkien or Doctor Who or The Twilight Zone) and compare/contrast the importance of each on the novel itself. Explain how Oscar himself evinces the themes or importance of the works themselves (in other words, how is Oscar a Tolkien hero)?
7. Throughout the novel, Spanish words and phrases appear unaccompanied by their English translations. What is the effect of this seamless blending of Spanish and English? How would the novel have been different if Díaz had stopped to provide English translations at every turn? Why does Díaz not italicize the Spanish words (the way foreign words are usually italicized in English-language text)?
8. In many ways, Yunior and Oscar are polar opposites. While Yunior can get as many women as he wants, he seems to have little capacity for fidelity or true love. Oscar, by contrast, holds love above all else—and yet cannot find a girlfriend no matter how hard he tries. Is it fair to say that Yunior is Oscar’s foil—underscoring everything Oscar is not—and vice versa? Or are they actually more alike than they seem on the surface?
9. For Oscar, his obsession with fantasy and science fiction becomes isolating, separating him from his peers so much so that he almost cannot communicate with them—as if he speaks a different language (and at one point he actually speaks in Elvish). How are other characters in the book—for instance, Belicia growing up in the Dominican Republic, or Abelard under the dictatorship of Trujillo, similarly isolated? And how are their forms of isolation different?
10. The image of a mongoose with golden eyes and the a man without a face appear at critical moments and to various characters throughout the book. What do these images represent? Why do you think Díaz chose these images in particular? When they do appear, do you think you are supposed to take them literally? For instance, did you believe that a mongoose appeared to Belicia and spoke to her? Did she believe it?
FAMILIES WILL CHOOSE THESE TOPICS, so please do not begin to work on this until we discuss in class.
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