I have come to the conclusion that in this novel,
fuku is a very real presence in the lives of Oscar and his family, and that is
clear at the end. Throughout A Brief
Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, we see how each person has been greatly affected
by this curse, beginning with the family that Beli never had the chance to
know. Although not impossible, it seems statistically improbable that each
Cabral would encounter such hardships beyond that of normal human beings. Fuku
is at work in this novel, and the narrator certainly supports that idea
convincingly. At the end of the story, we learn that Oscar intended to send a final
package to Lola containing “the cure to what ails us” (333). The fact that the
package was never received seems to be even further evidence of supernatural powers
working against the family. In our classroom discussions, it seems that many of
us are hesitant to accept that this family’s misfortune is due to a curse
beyond anyone’s control. However, considering that this is a fictional story, I
think all signs point to fuku!
It does seem unlikely that so many horrible things would happen to one family over three generations. Since it is a fictional story, fuku does seem to be the root cause of their misfortunes. There is a lot of supernatural things in this text and fuku fits right alongside them.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Keegan that fuku does seem to slip right in and that it is unlikely that this many bad things would happen. I would like to write it off on their decisions and expectations for themselves as well as a result of the regime in which they live. I am leery about identifying it as fuku, but I do think there is a strong possibility that it is.
ReplyDeleteReading this story as a fiction definitely supports fuku. After all, this story emerges from the traditions of science fictions and fantasies that have their own universes -- why shouldn't Oscar's world be its own universe? While I think the takeaway from this book is that fuku may not reign over us in the "real world," we could totally accept that fuku is a facet of Diaz's magical realism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the comments above, especially the one relating to the story being fiction. Although we have struggled with believing if fuku is a real curse or if it is something in the minds of Oscar and the rest of the characters, there is definitely some type of bad luck circling amongst these people.
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