The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz Essay

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - Essay Example In this novel, Oscar is a character that can not maintain a physical relationship with a girl because of his obesity. (Diaz) has emphasized that sex is the fundamental element that an individual must exhibit in order to be a Dominican male. Dominican male in the novel has been described as an individual that has charm, physical attraction, and virility. All of these qualities have been replaced in Oscar’s persona by his obesity. Other characters in the play like Yunior and Rudolfo are able to make girlfriends and maintain a physical relationship with them because they are smart, and have captivating looks. Thus, Diaz has placed a lot of emphasis upon the significance of looks of men. When Oscar’s mother, Belicia reaches puberty and develops large breasts that appeal to all the boys around her, she chooses to date nobody but the most handsome boy in the school named Jack Pujols. The fact that this happens between the year 1955 and 1962 reinforces the concept that menâ₠¬â„¢s beauty has not just recently gained importance, but has been of significance for a long time in the past. Clare Spurrell has expressed the consequences of obesity on the physical relationship in her article Obesity and relationships. Spurrell supports the notion that people have been weight conscious for long. â€Å"Since the 1960s the population as a whole has become more sedentary with greater hours spent in front of the television, and an increasingly automated lifestyle† (Spurrell 1). ... The idea compares well with the issue of obesity in the present age. Proponents of obesity control programs are of the view that obesity lowers an individual’s confidence level and may put the individual into social exclusion. In a society that stereotypes obesity as a symptom of sloth, overindulgence and a lack of self-control, sufferers are often left with feelings of social exclusion and isolation. Even more so in a relationship, the psychological implications of the 'fat stereotype' can be equally disruptive. (Spurrell 1). Diaz and Spurrell have both maintained that obesity has negative effect on people’s physical relationships, though Diaz has gone a step further by not letting Oscar make love with anyone because of his obesity whereas Sara and her boyfriend, do make love with one another, but their relationship is complicated by the obesity that both suffer from and eventually, they part ways. Oscar develops several affairs in the novel by Diaz, though the intimac y never grows up to the physical level. First, Oscar finds Ana Obregon in the SAT preparation class. He finds her attractive and the two make friends with each other. However, Ana is taken over by Manny because he is physically intimate with Ana unlike Oscar, who is only good in conversing with her. Later, Oscar finds Jenni Munoz, a Puerto Rican girl. He does the same to her what he did to Ana i.e. kill the time speaking to her and never making love. Because of that, the end of their relationship is also like before. Jenni finds a boyfriend and breaks all ties with Oscar. Once again, Oscar is left alone. Break up of Ana and then Jenni with Oscar as well as the breakup of Sara with Jonathon essentially tells that sex is fundamental to the survival and sustainability of a relationship.