Throughout The Brief Wondrous
Life of Oscar Wao, Oscar lived for love. Here, we have to distinguish
between sex and love. His entire life Oscar had sought the real thing, as well
as intimacy and sex, and in the end he may have found it, but the reader cannot
know with certainty. Is that not what all of us are seeking: to love someone
and to be loved in return? Was this not also Junior and Lola’s quest? Was it
not also Beli’s?
There are rarely
definitive answers in life: only questions. Oscar was seeking “A Stronger
Loving World” (331). Did he find it? Perhaps such a world existed for him only
on the other side. You decide. Referencing a chapter in Watchmen, Junior, quoting from the text, tells us about the end: “In the end? Nothing ends,
Adrian. Nothing ever ends” (331).
Prior to his demise in the cane field, Oscar warned his
assailants that at the moment of their own death they would “sense him waiting
for them on the other side and over there he wouldn’t be no fatboy or dork or
kid no girl had ever loved; over there he’d be a hero, an avenger” (331-332).
This passage suggests the possibility of divine justice, if not in this world,
then in the next. We reap what we sow. Cause and effect. Not even Fuku, Trujillo
or the Dominican cop, could kill love. Perhaps not even death.
I love, love, love your closing statement Charlie! "Not even Fuku, Trujillo or the Dominican cop, could kill love. Perhaps not even death;" this statement is profound and beautiful. Who knows whether Oscar truly found the type of love he was looking for in Ybon, I do believe, however, that he eventually found it in himself. I saw a huge change occur in Oscar's character in the last chapters of the book. He seemed more motivated and ultimately happy with who he was. I'd suggest that this love he found for himself is what finally enabled him to grasp love outside of himself (with Ybon) and no one could take that away from him.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Morgan. I appreciate the additional insight you have provided through your commentary. I think in the end, as you have intimated, that Oscar finally became comfortable in his own skin. That, more so than getting laid, prepared him for death and permitted him to depart this life without regret. In essence, Oscar was born at the very moment of his death.
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