“And from this disillusionment and turmoil was born Beli's first adult vow, the one that would follow her to the United States and beyond. I won't serve. He would never again follow a guide other than his own. Not the rector, not the nuns, not the Inca, not his poor dead parents. Just me, he whispered. I” (Diaz 103). We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Caught in the middle of a romantic encounter in the school closet, young Hypatia Belícia "Belí" Cabral is expelled. Because of her partner's high rank, and partly because of her low social class and poorly regarded skin tone, Belí is placed solely at fault for the accident and leaves El Redentor ashamed. Heartbroken and uncertain about the future, Belí is at a metaphorical crossroads. Will he continue to do the will of his guardian, La Inca, and return to study? Or will she use the new agency afforded by her emerging femininity and take control of her own life? In the previous passage, the reader will see that he chooses the latter. Belí makes what the narrator calls an oath, and the technique employed in his narration contributes to this idea. The alliteration of “Not of the rector, not of the nuns, not of the Inca, not of his poor dead parents” supports the narrator denoting this passage as an oath; as a sacred vow. The repetition of “not” and then “me” in “Only me,” whispered. Me." once again evokes a sacred song-like quality. However, the most significant and illuminating device of this passage comes in the form of an intertextual reference: the phrase “I will not serve.” This quote corresponds to the letter to a phrase uttered by an equally disillusioned Stephen Daedalus in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It is through the lens of Joyce and this Stephen Daedalus that a reader can best understand this section - this oath - as it highlights Belí's growing dissatisfaction with his life towards La Inca, it highlights his emerging independence and foreshadows the violent tragedy that requires a departure from his homeland textual and allusions in Oscar Wao ranges from those to Homer and Ovid to King and Kirby, this The Joycean parallel can only be read as intentional. At the end of his university days, Stephen Daedalus, embittered by a youth characterized by the lack of love, poverty and an oppressive religious culture, makes exactly this observation. During a conversation with a friend, Stephen takes his oath, clearly stating “I will not serve” (Joyce 239). He later elaborates on this statement: “I will not serve that which I no longer believe in, whether it be called my home, my country, or my church” (Joyce 247). Stephen rejects the demands of his home in Ireland, his poor family, and the Catholic Church. Belí's determination embodies a similar refusal. The young Dominican rejects pressure from her family; of the domineering La Inca and the respected legacy of his parents. Rejects the pressures of religion; of the rectors and nuns who ran her school and then saw her expelled. Ultimately, determined to serve only herself, Belí begins a journey that will see her torn from her homeland. Belí, like Stephen, aims to create a future with an outcome determined only by his choices. After leaving school, she begins to seek her fortune as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant, where her good looks and fiery personality earn her a popular place among the staff and customers. This prosperity, however, is not destined to last, and while.