Farewell.

I really enjoyed this course.  It was nice to get away from the traditional lectures, and even the traditional seminars that we English students are accustomed to.  I felt that the leniency and lax environment made this class all the more exciting.  I was super enthused to attend each and every class that I did.  It of course, would not have been the same without all of my awesome colleagues that were in the course as well.  I felt that you all had wonderful contributions to the readings.

One aspect of this course that I am still weighing on is the fact or fiction of Fuku and Zafa within Oscar Wao.  Like Morgan has said before, these characters could believe in the curse simply because they are utilizing it as a scapegoat for their personal laziness of making a better life for themselves.  I would also argue, though, that the curse and its characteristics only seem to pop up within the text whenever the Dominican Republic political system (Trujillo and Captian, years later) are tampered with.  It seems as though, that Junot Diaz is trying to expose the stereotype of Dominican Republic people and illustrate how this stereotype is often a misconception.  I also feel that Diaz is trying to show that Trujillo was a real person, like Hitler, and did a great deal of damage to this culture.  Many of us were never exposed to Trujillo and his torturous ways until this novel.  I, personally, had never heard of him.  I never knew that the Dominican Republic was bound by such a monarchist environment.  I feel that in a way, Diaz is trying to let other cultures read about this isolated culture and understand that the Dominican Republic has went through much of the same turmoil that other nations have experienced.

Again, I really enjoyed this class with each and every one of you, and I wish you all the best in you finishing semesters.

-Brittany