The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Chapter 2 Quotes
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Chapter 2 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Act.Chapter.Section.Paragraph), (Act.Special Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
But that's not what I wanted to tell you. It's about that crazy feeling that started this whole mess, the bruja [witch] feeling that comes singing out of my bones, that takes hold of me the way blood seizes cotton. The feeling that tells me that everything in my life is about to change. (1.2.1.91
One way to interpret this paragraph is to say that Lola is restless simply because she's an adolescent. It's a turbulent time for her. She's going through a lot of changes. Or you could point to the supernatural and say, "No. This isn't your everyday pubescent anxiety." It's a "bruja [witch] feeling" that comes over Lola (1.2.1.91). Right. Why call it puberty when you can call it witchcraft?
Quote 2
And then Aldo decided to be cute. I knew he was getting unhappy with us but I didn't know exactly how bad it was until one night he had his friends over. His father had gone to Atlantic City and they were all drinking and smoking and telling dumb jokes and suddenly Aldo says: do you know what Pontiac stands for? Poor Old N***** Thinks It's A Cadillac. But who was he looking at when he told his punch line? He was looking straight at me. (1.2.1.56)
Aldo is sitting with a group of (presumably) white friends, and he tells a racist joke while looking right at Lola. It's odd. Even though Lola is Aldo's girlfriend, Aldo reminds Lola that she's different. That she doesn't quite fit into his life. This is a good example of how racial differences and prejudices lurk beneath the surface in this novel—they can appear at any time, between anyone.
Quote 3
A punk chick. That's what I became. A Siouxsie and the Banshees-loving punk chick. The puertorican kids on the block couldn't stop laughing when they saw my hair, they called me Blacula, and the morenos, they didn't know what to say: they just called me devil-b****. Yo, devil-b****, yo, yo! (1.2.1.13)
Just like Oscar, Lola has a complicated identity. She's a punk chick who listens to Siouxsie and the Banshees. But she's also Dominican. What's a Dominican kid doing listening to British punk rock? The Puerto Rican kids don't know what to do with her; neither do the morenos—the dark-skinned Dominicans.