Pantheism in Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I now see that it is possible to link two apparently disparate writers: Henry David Thoreau and Junot Diaz. One can define Thoreau’s transcendentalism as a form Pantheism. Wikipedia defines Pantheism as “the belief that nature is identical with divinity, or that everything composes an all-encompassing God.” In other words, everything that exists is an expression of God or the life force, including a forest, a river, the Pope, a dung beetle, those of you who read this page, Dr. Hanrahan, and Oscar Wao. 

Pantheism emerges as a prominent theme in Diaz’s novel. Even the title expresses mysticism, which has something in common with Pantheism. Thoreau described himself as “a mystic and a natural philosopher to boot.” We saw a manifestation of Pantheism when Beli was dying in the cane field, when a strange animal appears and keeps her alive. And we saw a similar apparition in Oscar’s unsuccessful suicide attempt: 

Later, when he would describe it, he would call it the Golden Mongoose, but even he knew that wasn’t what it was. It was very placid, very beautiful. Gold-limned eyes that reached through you, not so much in judgment or reproach but for something far scarier” (190) 

The “Golden Mongoose” is the life force that moves through all things. Or, if you like, it is The Great Spirit.

Later in the novel we read: “It’s like Abuela says: Every snake always thinks it’s biting into a rat until the day it bites into a Mongoose” (206). The Mongoose is notorious for attacking and killing venomous snakes. I interpret this to mean that when a snake bites a Mongoose, it is biting itself. We are all one. The venom of the snake, which is a metaphor for hate, is no match for the divinity of life (love). Life is sacred. It needs to be preserved and lived with purpose. Love, family, and unity are life (God). (Think, too, of the Garden of Eden).