For some kids (maybe kids on the Disney channel?) puberty is an easy transition. But for the characters in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, puberty couldn't hit any harder.These guys and gals go through some major changes. It's as if they all take a magic potion at age thirteen, and suddenly, nothing is the same. Their bodies change beyond recognition. They're restless and confused. It's no surprise that Díaz would make adolescence tough for his characters, though. His novel deals with all sorts of identity issues—this shift in identity is just another issue to add to the list. Plus, who doesn't love a good old-fashioned coming-of-age novel?
Questions About Youth
- Would it be fair to call adolescence the real curse of the novel?
- Certainly puberty has its downsides for Oscar, Lola, and Beli. But what positive changes does puberty have in store for them?
- Lola calls the restlessness of her adolescence her "bruja" [witch] feeling. Do you believe that Lola really has witchy feelings? Does she somehow sense the family's fukú? Or is this all superstition?
- How does Trujillo's rule affect the adolescent characters in the novel? How do politics affect characters like the young Beli and Jacquelyn?
- How do the young Beli's experiences in the Dominican Republic help us to better understand what dictatorial oppression is actually like?