Power, power, power: everybody wants it, but not everybody can have it. And who's got the lion's share of this stuff in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao? Who owns (or pwns) the other characters? Trujillo, of course. You can practically picture Trujillo sitting on his dictator's throne smack-dab in the center of the novel, lording over nearly every character we meet. Just like how the real-life Trujillo messed with the lives of nearly every real-life Dominican. Trujillo is so powerful that the narrator of the novel (and various other characters) even say he's got supernatural powers. This is not to say that the powers of good hold no sway in Wao. They do. They're just not as dominant as "the Dictatingest Dictator who ever Dictated" (1.3.2.10).
Questions About Power
- Wao describes a few dictator-types: Trujillo, Papa Doc, and Balaguer. Are there any other "dictators" in the novel? What about the narrator? Does Yunior exert total control over the novel? What about Beli? Is she the dictatorial type, do you think?
- How much power do the women of the novel have? Is their power limited to attracting men?
- Do the Dominicans in Wao seem more empowered in Paterson, NJ or in Santo Domingo, DR? Where do they have the best chance of making a good life for themselves? Why?
- What power does love have over the characters in the novel? Would you consider love a force to be reckoned with in this novel?