The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Chapter 1 Quotes
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Chapter 1 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Act.Chapter.Section.Paragraph), (Act.Special Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 4
Oscar, Lola warned repeatedly, you're going to die a virgin unless you start changing. (1.1.2.12)
Even Lola expects Oscar to be a stereotypical Dominican male. She wants to know (in so many words): Why aren't you having sex, Oscar? Aren't you a Dominican man? Everyone's great fear—at this point—is that Oscar is will die a virgin. Apparently, this has never happened to a Dominican man. Ever. In history. Ever.
Quote 5
In September he headed to Rutgers New Brunswick, his mother gave him a hundred dollars and his first kiss in five years, his tío [uncle] a box of condoms: Use them all, he said, and then added: On girls. (1.1.6.51)
As in most super-masculine cultures, it's definitely not okay to be Dominican and gay. While homophobia probably isn't a major theme of the book, it is at least an undercurrent.
Quote 6
Ana Obregón, unlike every other girl in his secret cosmology, he actually fell for as they were getting to know each other. [...]. Incredibly enough, instead of making an idiot out of himself as one might have expected, given the hard fact that this was the first girl he'd ever had a conversation with, he actually took it a day at a time. He spoke to her plainly and without effort and discovered that his constant self-deprecation pleased her immensely. It was amazing how it was between them; he would say something really obvious and uninspired, and she'd say, Oscar, you're really f***ing smart. (1.1.5.1)
One of young Oscar's oddities is that he falls for a girl before he ever gets to know her. He usually imagines a whole romance with said girl in his head. So when he actually goes up to talk to her, he sounds obsessed. This doesn't happen with Ana. As our narrator notes, things with Ana happened so quickly that Oscar didn't have to time to let his imagination run wild. We don't normally recommend rushing into things, but it might actually be good for our boy Oscar.