Old Age Curse in the New Age

            The curse is a prominent theme throughout The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao but the way in which the characters interpret such curse varies their life’s path. Oscar appears to believe the curse often lamenting “I am ill-fated, I am going to perish a virgin, I’m lacking in pulchritude.“(177) However, his actions throughout the course of the novel show he uses the curse as an excuse rather than a personal belief. When Oscar is young, he is said to “have girlfriends galore.” (12). When this is the favorable life Oscar is living, there is no mention of curse and instead his later issues are the blame of his cold-hearted breakup with Olga. However, when Oscar becomes a fat and ugly outcast, he blames the presence of the curse. He doesn’t accept Yunior’s help and ends up quitting. In Oscar’s case, he takes the backseat in his own life, allowing whatever his life to depend on the actions of others rather than his own. He excuses himself from action by using his “curse” as a crutch.

            Lola, on the other hand, doesn’t believe in the curse and uses the idea of its existence for motivation. Lola’s own life is not free of misfortune, as she is often beat by her boyfriends and is constantly belittled by her mother. When she is shipped off to the Dominican Republic, she uses this “misfortune” to build a relationship with her grandmother, keep a boyfriend, and excels at track. No matter how hard she tries to separate herself from the curse, she is still affected. Upon seeing her mother after 14 months in the Dominican Republic, her mother insults her appearance and Lola thinks, “Those fourteen months, gone like they never happened.” (208).  Though she is emotionally affected, Lola reasons that the existence of these misfortunes is just the course of life. Upon the death of her boyfriend Max, Lola says, “The curse some of you will say. Life, is what I say. Life.” (210), but continues her attempts at life improvement and separation from the curse.

Unlike Oscar, Lola refuses to let the curse cripple her expectations for the life she deserves and instead takes the blows she is dealt in life as another reason to change, while Oscar seems to act as though the blows are a reason to stay the same. Oscar represents the “old caste” of the Dominican Republic, as his life is a product of the curse just as the people of the Dominican Republic are the product of Trujillo’s reign.  He doesn’t take action because it could get worse, just as many Dominicans didn’t take action for fear of Trujillo’s wrath. Lola’s approach is proactive like those of the political dissidents who opposed AND took action against Trujillo’s reign. The difference in how the siblings handles their oppressive curse show the contrast in those who take a leading role in their lives and those who accept being supporting characters.