Stereotypes in Oscar Wao

                The expected stereotypes of the way Dominican Republicans are supposed to act are heavily engrained in their society, and Oscar defies these norms. By having Oscar be less than the “typical” Dominican Republican through his obsession with all things nerdy; sci-fi, comics, and anime. Oscar is fond of creating and writing on his own, and is able to write up to twenty pages a day in his own world. Yunior sees this behavior in Oscar, and tries to give him advice on how to get a girl. He believes that there is something wrong with Oscar, and that he needs to change Oscar in order for Oscar to become a true man in their Dominican Republican society. In addition to his nerdiness, Oscar is overweight. Yunior also condemns this, and tries to change Oscar once again. Despite the fact that Oscar accepts himself and does not want to change, the typical norms of their society, represented as Yunior, push to change him to fit in. Yunior tries to get Oscar to start running, and Oscar eventually quits. This angers Yunior, and it causes him to push more, and Yunior eventually reveals that his friends continually taunt Oscar for being “not a bit Dominican”. This shows just how prideful the Dominicans are for their “heritage” and ways of life, and being different is just not accepted. The Dominican male is expected to be a man’s man, able to hook up with as many women as they could possibly want and never expose a side of weakness. This is represented through Yunior, who presents himself as a playboy, athletic, and able to charm any woman; he is Oscar’s foil character. Oscar is none of this; he loves poetry and literature, science fiction films and T.V. shows, and as a result, is shunned by his peers. By having Oscar be shunned and mocked so frequently, it characterizes the ways of the Dominican Republicans. They place such high standards of cheating and disrespecting women, as well as turning their noses to anything related to literature. These behaviors are expected, and those who are different are not welcomed to this culture.