In many cultures, including the Dominican, rigid, binary gender roles have shaped and reinforced the development of a predominantly patriarchal society. Indeed, Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao presents traditional gender expectations of men and women in the Dominican Republic. But the novel also offers insightful commentary on the ways in which the main characters, the members of the De León family, subvert these roles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A major element of Diaz's novel is the Fukú americanus, also known simply as "fukú" or "curse or blight of some kind" that afflicts the title character Oscar and his family, as well as their entire culture (Diaz 1). Although the fukú remains a mystery to the characters in the novel, its effects on the De León family indicate that the “curse” can be considered patriarchal oppression that is rooted in both the nation's political system and its historical and historical context. cultural atmosphere. By undermining the gender norms of their male-dominated society, Oscar and his family members act as a “zafa” or “counterspell” to the fukú curse that is the central influence on the family's history (Diaz 7). Throughout the novel, Diaz uses historical information alongside the narrative, as well as the inclusion of some important minor characters, to demonstrate the deeply rooted patriarchal structure evident in Dominican culture. In the preface, the narrator introduces the concept of fukú as “the curse and bane of the New World” and the “Admiral's fukú,” which establishes the idea that “the arrival of Europeans on Hispaniola unleashed fukú upon the world ” (Diaz 1) Diaz attributes this curse, in part, to the colonization of the Dominican Republic, thus introducing the concept of patriarchy and its institution to the nation. Colonialism and patriarchy are linked by the idea that “women and the land are both means of reproduction,” meaning that without the ability to dominate the land and women, men find it impossible to sustain “the existence of a people” (McAlpine 1 of patriarchy, where the central goal is both “conquest and control,” just as patriarchal systems in society dominate and therefore oppress women (Loomba 1101), Diaz ties together his fictional narratives with historical details and royalty of the Dominican experience under dictator Rafael Trujillo, whose reign is a continuation of the same type of domination and control that originated with the colonization of the Dominican Republic. Many of the footnotes tell the story of the Trujillo regime; Oscar's grandfather, Abelard, is tortured after refusing to allow El Jefe to have his “delightful” daughter (Diaz 218). Trujillo is described by the narrator as "five thousand times worse" than the "average Dominican", due to his objectification of women, especially as communicated to the men he hired to "scour the provinces for his next piece of ass" (Diaz 217). Following Abelard's refusal to give up his daughter, he is tortured and imprisoned, a process the narrator calls an “outstanding karmic debt, or something else.” (Fukú?)” (Diaz 248). The oppression and misfortune of the nation and more specifically of the De León family under the male-led society led by Trujillo supports the idea that the fukú is a manifestation of the culture's patriarchal ideology. Trujillo's position as a cruel and ruthless dictator, as well as his exploits with women, help him serve asarchetype for many of the other Dominican men in the novel and also introduces standards of masculinity for males in Dominican society. Both Beli, Oscar's mother, and Oscar himself encounter Dominican men who take advantage of women and exert a power and control, similar to that of Trujillo, that aligns directly with the traditional male gender role. Based on the national history of colonization and dictatorship, the Dominican ideal of “machismo” or hyper-masculinity coincides with the “contention that sex, gender, and heterosexuality are historical products” ( Caamaño 1, Butler 905). The narrator of the novel, Yunior, also describes himself as “a guy who can weigh 140 pounds” and who has multiple women in his life at the same time (Diaz 170). Similarly, Beli's first love, Jack Pujols, is described as having “physical bravado” but has no respect for her and only uses her for her body (Diaz 89). Her next love, The Gangster, has a "pimpdaddy style" and allows a pregnant Beli to be beaten by his wife (Diaz 121). The men in the novel are physically attractive and powerful, but they are also cowardly, disrespectful, and abusive to the women around them. Oscar encounters this traditional gender norm in the boyfriends of the women he falls in love with, particularly Ana and Ybón. Both Ana and Ybón suffer physical abuse and mistreatment from their boyfriends, but still choose to stay with them. This choice only further exposes and affirms the success that comes from adhering to existing gender roles established for Dominican men. Throughout adolescence, Oscar is constantly reminded of the gender expectations he is expected to meet, but his lack of conformity to traditional ideals of masculinity establishes him as a sort of “zafa” for the curse of fukú. From a young age, Oscar knows that he is not what a Dominican male should be, as he has "none of the superior powers of the typical Dominican male, he couldn't attract a girl if his life depended on it... he doesn't know playing sports for shit” and is “beyond uncoordinated” (Diaz 19) The other males in his life, who live up to these ideals, his uncle and Yunior, reinforce the importance of “gender essentialism” and the danger of “playing one's gender wrong,” through their efforts to get Oscar to change his ways by losing weight and abandoning his passion for science fiction (Butler 909). masculine is through his interactions with women, rather than being dominant or violent, he instead spends his time talking and gaining “a certain knowledge of himself and women,” rather than seeking the purely sexual gratification that typical Dominican men seek. (Diaz 41). Going against society's gender norms, Oscar keenly feels the disastrous effects of the fukú curse throughout much of the novel, especially in his failed attempts at relationships. However, in his relationship with Ybón, he is finally able to enjoy the “small intimacies” of requited love, thus becoming a zafa while remaining faithful to the honest and respectful love he values ​​most (Diaz 334). Similarly, Lola De León, Oscar's sister also subverts her expected female gender role in several ways throughout the narrative. Soon, the reader learns that Lola is very athletic and powerful, and begins wearing all black and even "shaving her head to the bone, Sinéad style" and convinces everyone that she has "turned into a lesbian." (Diaz 37). By dramatically departing from the type of physical femininity that Dominican culture and particularly her mother prize, Lola reinforces the idea that "sexuality and gender...do not align with simple polarities".