Perhaps a very linguistically unique approach that Junot Diaz
employs throughout his novel, The Brief Wondrous
Life of Oscar Wao, is the use of humor to enrich his portrayals of the lives
of characters. While using humor is a technique used by many authors after
moments of high emotion to create a sense of comic relief, Diaz uses humor
during the event, which allows the readers to have a deeper connection between
the actions used by differing characters. This is present when Beli is beaten
by the men sent by Soy Trujillo. The beatings were brutal, involving “about 167
points of damage in total” and possibly including “time for a rape or two”
(Diaz 147). Throughout this entire event, Diaz uses obscene language to attempt
to make the happening seem to almost be a report, and allows the narrator to
evolve into a more multi-dimensional character.
Another way Diaz uses humor is through the use of extensive
footnotes throughout the novel, highlighting key terms or specific areas that
may need more coverage than what was expected. This is contrary to the
traditional use of footnotes, and provided some much-needed emotional release
throughout the novel. The tone of these marginal notes is set very early on, as
in the second page of the novel, Diaz uses them to provide a “mandatory two seconds
on Dominican history.” This is another way that the narrator entertains the
reader’s interest while also introducing political concerns and real-world
examples. Many of these footnotes include accurate cultural references and
historical accounts.
The use of humor by Diaz is also used to highlight
recognizable physical traits possessed by certain characters. For example, Diaz’s
peculiar sense of humor is highlighted when describing Oscar, who experienced
his “early adolescence [hitting] him especially hard, scrambling his face into
nothing you could call cute, splotching his skin with zits, making him
self-conscious; and his interest-in Genres!… suddenly became synonymous with being
a loser with a capital L” (Diaz 16-7). The particular voice employed represents
the informal tone of the novel and also makes Oscar more personable, even if
the rest of the novel proves this to be incorrect.
By introducing a unique voice to the characters and narrator
of the novel, Diaz allows the reader to develop more personable connections within
the novel, and allows for a mildly suggestive political stance to be made
without creating an accusatory stand between author and reader.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I first started reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, I was surprised by the major role humor played in the novel. Diaz described events such as JFK’s assassination and the Trujillo’s ruthless dictatorship with a mix of levity and seriousness, which made reading about otherwise tragic events an enjoyable experience. By alternating between comments such as “At first glance, he was just your prototypical Latin American caudillo, but his power was terminal in ways that few historians or writers have ever truly captured…”, to a comment that still describes the atrocities but framing it with humor such as “Outstanding achievements include: the 1937 genocide against the Haitian and Haitian-Dominican community…”(Diaz 2-3). For me, this helped to engross me further in the novel. Rather than reading something that would fit in a history textbook, I was able to laugh and connect with the narrator. As you also mentioned, Diaz used his strange, if not brutal, sense of humor to aid in describing the physical traits of characters. For instance, when describing Olga (one of Oscars childhood girlfriends) “By seventh grade Olga had grown huge and scary, a troll gene in her somewhere…”(Diaz 17). By making fun of her, and other characters in the novel, Diaz helps to humanize them and inspire pity in the readers.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your post about Diaz’s language in the novel. I too really enjoyed the tone that Diaz set in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Diaz writes an unbelievably dark story about a family who, through each generation, cannot escape being overshadowed by one big curse. On the other hand, this novel is so enjoyable and easy to read because it is so funny. I like how you mentioned that the humor in the book is not used as comic relief, but is intertwined into the story as a whole. During the overwhelming sad sections of the novel I felt really bad for Oscar and his family, yet I was laughing due to the language used by Diaz. In a scene where Yunior is trying to help Oscar find a woman, and is unsuccessful, he exclaims, “[the] Dude weighed 307 pounds, for fuck’s sake” (Diaz 173). Although I felt bad for Oscar, I found myself laughing at this scene. I also like how you mentioned the style of the footnotes throughout the novel. When I saw the first footnote section I was skeptical, but as I continued to read I found them just as interesting and funny as the rest of the story. I really enjoyed how the footnotes complimented the story by introducing interesting facts of history in an entertaining manner. Overall, I agree with your view on the book and I really enjoyed The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
ReplyDeleteKati, I love the way you highlighted the way humor is depicted throughout the novel because I viewed it in the same way. My favorite way Diaz used humor was to explain the history of the Trujillo, when he acts as Trujillo's acts aren't as severe as they were just to emphasize the fact that Trujillo was that horrible. He casually thrown in footnotes about the many people Trujillo has tortured throughout his reign, as if it is something that casually occurs all the time. Also, the way Diaz sarcastically uses footnotes to fill in his readers about the Dominican Republic history almost makes fun of his American's readers lack of knowledge on the Dominican Republic's history. Basically, he points fun at the readers for not knowing about the Trujillo's reign when it was such a major part of history. The first footnote even begins, "If you missed your mandatory two seconds of Dominican History.." which emphasized how this information should be common knowledge to everyone. I do not think Diaz uses his humor in a spiteful way, though, but just to make the history more interesting to read and to stray away from solely focusing on reciting historical facts. He truly intrigues his readers with his sarcastic, humorous comments.
ReplyDeleteWhile I definitely agree with all three of the ways Diaz uses humor in the novel, I think you perhaps missed one of the most important uses of humor. Many of the events described in the novel are incredibly tragic, from beginning to end. None of the characters escape personal tragedy. Yet, much like Oscar using his nerd interests as escapism, I believe the humor in the novel as a whole is also used as an “escape” from the tragedy of the events within. For example, consider Oscar’s death. Right before he is shot, the two body guards ask him “what fuego means in English,” prompting Oscar to blurt out the answer, “unable to help himself” (322). The reader is left to draw the conclusion that Oscar calls the order for his own fatal shooting. Oscar’s tendency to always use correct language is a trait that is humorous, so it would seem like an odd choice to bring up right before his death – an incredibly tragic event. Yet, Diaz chooses to make it the last we see of Oscar. Perhaps this is to highlight the way many of the characters in the novel choose to make these tragic events bearable – through humor.
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