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Faulkner Relaxing after his AP Lang & Comp Exam
Faulkner Relaxing after his AP Lang & Comp Exam
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So my ideas are going to seem like kind of a brain dump, but I have a lot of questions as I'm rereading the introductory part of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI noticed the connection to the Admiral on page 1. Fuku is called "the fuku of the Admiral because the Admiral was both its midwife and one of its great European victims; despite "discovering" the New World the Admiral died miserable and syphilitic, hearing divine voices" (1). First, who is the Admiral? Is he similar to Trujillo, as Yunior says, "To say [the Admiral's] name aloud or even to hear it is to invite calamity on the heads of you and yours" (1)? On page 3, Yunior says, "If you even thought a bad thing about Trujillo, fua, a hurricane would sweep your family out to sea, fua, a boulder would fall out of a clear sky and squash you, fua, the shrimp you ate today was the cramp that killed you tomorrow" (3). Trujillo seems to be the physical embodiment of fuku, like we said today in class. But how does the Admiral relate to this?
Secondly, the line about the Admiral also relates to Beli and Oscar in the cane fields. I think it's interesting that Oscar refers to Santo Domingo the "Ground Zero of the New World" (1). Both he and Beli discover peace in the New World of Santo Domingo, Oscar finally feeling at home and Beli literally finding a home in La Inca's care. However, they both are beaten and left in the cane fields and both see the Mongoose as they suffer; this is the divine voice that the Admiral hears before his death. On a different note, what is the significance that Beli survives after her beating, while Oscar dies? Does it parallel the difference between Beli's determination to live and Oscar's inability to live any longer?
I think its interesting Emma how you bring up the part in the beginning of the novel about the Admiral because when I was rereading that section, I too was curious about the significance of such a character. After thinking about it for some time,I have come to the conclusion that the Admiral, whoever he may be, represents the same cycle that the fuku exhibits in the novel.
ReplyDeleteThe author describes the fuku as also being referred to as "the fuku of the Admiral because the Admiral was both its midwife and one of its great European victims; despite "discovering" the New World the Admiral died miserable and syphilitic, hearing divine voices"(1). It is evident that there is some sort of circular pattern in the life of Admiral in that he discovered this new world, however, died due in part to his discovery. This relates to how fuku in the novel is a never-ending cycle. It attacks a member of one family and then goes on through th generations of that family and does the same thing. We see this same cycle with the description of Beli's life and her struggle in her early years and then her life with La Inca and the Gangster and with the father to her children, and we also see it through the life of Oscar Wao--a boy who's life is consumed by the fuku at the end of the novel. It is interesting, however, when Yunior is discussing how Lola's daughter, or the next generation to that family, would have the same desire to know about the fuku when she gets older. He states, "And for the first time she will hear the word fuku. And she will have a dream of the No Face Man. Not now, but soon. If she's her family's daughter--as I suspect she is--one day she will stop being afraid and she will come looking for answers"(330). Yunior acknowledges at the end of the novel the existence of such a cycle of patterns, and alludes to the fact that the fuku will someday consume the life of Lola's daughter, and the generation after that and so on.
Ahh I just wrote a whole response and it all got deleted! So I'm sorry for not having quotes, but I can't go type them all again, but I have them all marked in my book.
ReplyDeleteToday in class we discussed many different topics. I think we just talked about our impressions of the book and the main ideas. We decided to re-read the introduction which talked mainly of the fuku. One thing that we noticed was the fuku was a main driving force throughout the novel. It supposedly affected almost every single character throughout Oscar's family. It is a curse that travels through a family's generations. Everytime the curse was mentioned it was either referenced with the Trujillo, or darkness, so obviously it was bad. But interestingly, the Mongoose was also mentioned in a lot of the fuku scenes. The mongoose, was a symbol of good and was usually referenced with Zafa. In one of the footnotes, it mentions that the mongoose came over from Africa and has been an ally of man, and has defied power and hierarchy. The fuku also came over from Africa. This interesting because it shows that good and evil can come from the same thing. Throughout the novel, both of these things had a great influence on everything, so in later discussions this will be a main issue or topic.
I think that for this post we decided as a group to talk about the form in the novel. I thought that the way in which this novel was set up was very unique because there were many aspects that made up the fragmentation of the novel. For example, the novel starts out with somewhat of an informational section in which the author discusses the the historical significance of the fuku discussed in the story itself. The plotline of the story itself starts after this small three page section, and it is separated by three different units. These units consist of chapters, and there are even further sublevels in the chapters themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that the author set up the novel this way because there are also multiple levels to the story that Yunior is telling, which relates directly to how the novel itself is broken up into multiple sections. It is also interesting how each section of the novel has a specific name--the author is extremely specific with the titles of his chapters and subchapters in that they reflect what part of the story he will discuss in that chapter. I think that the author splits up the novel into so many sections to parallel the division of the story he is telling. Furthermore, Yunior, the narrator, retells the lives of Beli, her father, Oscar, and Lola, and even reflects on his own experience with that family, all within the boundaries of the novel. The story-telling goes from past to present and then past again, effortlessly intertwining stories of different times. (Beli's childhoood, her adulthood, Oscar's childhood, Lola's teens etc.)
He discusses events that occurred at multiple different times, yet it seems as if time is irrelevant to the central themes of the stories themselves. The driving force of the novel is evidently the belief in fuku(it was what the first chapter revolved around) and how it affected each member of the De Leon family. The timing of such a thing, the years, the minutes, the months, did not seem to matter in this novel. It is interesting how the author leaves this aspect of the story he is telling out from the novel. I think it is perhaps because he is trying to portray the message that the fuku is a timeless, universal belief; that it does not matter when the fuku strikes, but that it will inevitably strike. It goes along with what I said on my previous post in that I believe the fuku itself is a recurring concept. The fuku gets passed on from generation to generation, proving the fact that it is almost immortal,that it is never-ending. I think Diaz's exclusion of the time in the story he is telling is purposeful in that it is used to emphasize the concept of fuku and how fuku is timeless.
I'd like to apologize if this makes no sense, I was just thinking about multiple different things at once and this post is kind of like a brain dump, so if you would like me to clarify anything then just let me know!
I agree with what you say about the timelessness of fuku, and how time becomes irrelevant to the story because fuku itself has existed for so long. In the introduction, Yunior says, "They say it came first from Africa, carried in the screams of the enslaved; that it was the death bane of the Tainos, uttered just as one world perished and another began" (1). Even when fuku is first introduced, Yunior brushes over the exact time at which fuku was originated. We see where it came from, but do not get a sense of what year fuku originated.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of fuku as a universal, timeless force also relates the break up of the novel. While Diaz fragments each character's life into different parts of the novel, fuku is the factor that each story has in common. No matter what time period, each character knows of and believes in fuku as the reason for their struggles. Again, fuku is proven to be timeless; Beli and Oscar and even Yunior all see the "Man Without a Face" (321) and are saved by the light of the mongoose.
On a different note, I'd like to address the capitalization of certain words, especially when fuku is mentioned. Fuku is never capitalized in itself; however, the words describing fuku are often capitalized. On page 1, fuku is referred to as the "Curse and Doom of the New World" (1). Santo Domingo, where Oscar ultimately dies and Beli is beaten, is called the "Land [Oscar] Loved Best" (1), and is also referred to as fuku's "Kilometer Zero" (2). At the end of the novel, when Yunior reflects on Lola's daughter, he says, "One day, though, the Circle will fail. As Circles always do" (330). The disruption in the circle is the day when Lola's daughter finds out about fuku. Yunior comments that once she finds out about fuku, she "will have a dream of the No Face Man" (330). As I stated before, fuku is never capitalized. However, the words that describe different elements of fuku are always capitalized. Furthermore, the physical embodiments of fuku are always capitalized. Does this reflect Trujillo, if he truly is the personal representation of fuku? Because his name is capitalized, all other elements of fuku in real life must be capitalized as well?
I agree with both of you about the absence of time, and I think it symbolizes the immortality of the fuku, but my question is, "what is the author actually saying about fuku?" I don't think he wrote a whole novel in order to describe something so depressing and hopeless; I thought that there was the sense of hope at the end of the novel, but these people are driven by a fear that needs to be stopped.
ReplyDeleteThe sectioning of the story was very interesting as Celi and Emma have both said. One thing I noticed most clearly was the fact that the time or year was never truly known. First it started with Oscar in present day, still not positive about the year. At this point he is in high school and then he goes to college and it jumps to Lola's story. She is also in college, but her section recounts the time she spent in Santo DOmingo and how she went to school there and also how she ran away from home for months. These things were never mentioned in Oscar's part, so I wonder whether this was intentional or not? After Lola's section, Yunior talks about Beli and how she was growing up. After that is Beli's father. So the story goes from past to present to past and then to the past before that and then back to the present. It may seem confusing, but by his writing it wasn't at all. HIs reasoning for this was to show the fuku affecting their lives, but I also think it was to show how they ultimately defeated it. Oscar did not die because of fuku, he died because of love. He was strong enough to fight the fuku along with his sister.
I also noticed the random capitalization. Yunior, or Junot included capitals in some of the most random words in the middle of sentences. I'm still not positive what this effect may have, but I will look at it more. Also, the random bursts of Spanish really gave the book character because it showed the history /culture that was involved. I didn't understand any of it, but that's okay.
The footnotes are another interesting part. We talked about them in class. We weren't sure if Yunior or Junot were writing the footnotes. It seemed as if Yunior was just by the way they written, but we were not positive. I think though that all of this lends to the idea that Junot is writing a book through Yunior who is also writing this story. He is using Yunior as his in-between.
A couple days ago we talked about the significance of Yunior as the narrator. Yunior seems to be the most personal of the characters, because we hear his voice throughout the novel. His use of metafiction in the novel extends the relatability to the narrator. In the introduction, he discusses fuku and says "we are all of us its children, whether we know it or not" (2). In this way, fuku is not just a mythical force we read about, but something that affects us as well. Because Yunior refers to the reader as part of the story, the connection between reader and text is intensified. We become a part of the de Leon family and understand the characters more because we embed their stories into our own life. Yunior also refers to himself as the narrator, constantly calling himself "your humble Watcher" (92). One of my favorite lines is near the end of the novel: "Would it be better if I had Oscar meet Ybon at the World Famous Lavacarro, where Jahyra works six days a week ... Would this be better? Yes? But then I'd be lying. I know I've thrown a lot of fantasy and sci-fi in the mix but this is supposed to be a true account of the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Can't we believe that an Ybon can exist and that a brother like Oscar might be due a little luck after 23 years? This is your chance. If red pill, continue. If blue pill, return to the Matrix" (285). At this part, Yunior refers to his power as the narrator; he could theoretically change any aspect of the story because he is the writer. Given this, how much of this story is true? He says that this is "supposed" to be a true account - but is it actually? I'm also interested in the title reference in this passage. Is Yunior Junot Diaz? He is writing the novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao", therefore it seems as though he must be.
ReplyDeleteSomething I just noticed was the fact that Lola's narration is in first person! This is the first instance that Yunior is removed from the story and Lola becomes our connection to the novel. She says, "I probably would haev run. I would have waited until we got back to the states ... and then one morning I would have disappeared" (209). At this point, Yunior's narration and the metafiction has ended. This relates to Yunior's character - Lola is the only person that is intangible to him. He cares about her, but cheats on her and prevents them from ever truly being togeher. At the end, she marries someone else, and he does as well; Lola is the only person that Yunior cannot understand. Therefore, he cannot narrate her story, but she must narrate it herself.
"He wrote that he couldn't believe he'd had to wait for this so goddamn long. (Ybon was the one who suggested calling the wait something else. Yeah, like what? Maybe, she said, you could call it life.) He wrote: So this is what everybody's always talking about! Diablo! If only I'd known. The beauty! The Beauty!" (Diaz 335).
ReplyDeleteOscar spent his whole life never really knowing what life was, he never knew the value of it. "He wasn't safe in his own house" (26). He was never comfortable in his own body or his own family. He loved his siter, but he never was really a real person. He drifted through life never knowing the true meaning of it. That is why he tried commiting suicide many times. There was no value for him. But at this moment when he is with Ybon after accomplishing everything that he has ever wanted (you know what I'm talking about), he finally realizes that his life is beauty. That there was value. It's not that he never had any beauty in his life, but it's this moment that makes him realize it. That is why I think that when he dies there is hope at the end because he dies out of love and he is finally complete. He actually realizes that sex is not what life is all about, but it is true love. That is really cliche, but it's what allowed Oscar to see his life and to find the bauty in it. Oscar finally becomes a true person.
GREAT POST EMMA!
ReplyDeleteFunny that we posted at the same time!
ReplyDeleteWe're not together or anything...
ReplyDeleteI wanted to comment a little about about what you were talking about Emma in your post. We discussed in class how Yunior is the narrator of this novel and how he acknowledges the fact that he is the narrator, and that he is telling a story, which further emphasizes the fact that the story could in fact be flawed. The point you bring up Emma with the quote, "Would it be better if I had Oscar meet Ybon at the World Famous Lavacarro, where Jahyra works six days a week ... Would this be better? Yes? But then I'd be lying. I know I've thrown a lot of fantasy and sci-fi in the mix but this is supposed to be a true account of the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"(285) is really interesting in that the author's use of metafiction reveals the tendency of the narrator to embellish on his account of the story. Yunior states that he knows he had "thrown a lot of fantasy and sci-fi in the mix" but that the novel is "supposed to be a true account of the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," which is a bit contradictory. He is acknowledging the fact that he did add other aspects to the novel that were not central to the story he was telling. Then, in his use of the words "supposed to" to describe his account of Oscar Wao, Yunior is alluding to the fact that that was what he intended to do before he told the story, but not that he successfully managed to do so. It is evident that he is lacking confidence in that statement in that he does not assert the fact that the story was a true recall of the life of Oscar Wao, but instead that it was intended to be so. This lack of assertion makes me question Yunior as a narrator and his position to tell the story of the intimate lives of three other people. My only question from here on is why do you think the author chose to write this novel from Yunior's perspective? And why did he leave out that information until the second half/end of the novel?
ReplyDelete