What's So Wondrous About Oscar Wao?

As I read the book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, it struck me that, despite the title, Oscar probably never felt that his life was particularly wondrous. For the majority of his short life, Oscar was a fat, bullied, and depressed young man who never felt that he could get anything right, yet Yunior goes on in the end to describe his friend as "the incredible Oscar Wao" (Diaz 324). So what was it that made this young man so very special to those around him?

In many ways, it was Oscar's oddity that made him outstanding. Instead of fitting into the macho, Dominican male stereotype, Oscar was outspokenly geeky. He "wore his nerdiness like a Jedi wore his light saber", never afraid to talk about the topics he loved or use big words that no one else understood (Diaz 21). Oscar's geeky personality set him apart and helped to display his intelligence, but it also served to ostracize him. Most of the young, Dominican boys' main interests were sports, dancing, and getting girls, enterprises that Oscar utterly failed at and could not relate to. As a result, he buried himself deeper into his comic books, his geeky nature "vaporizing any iota of a chance he had for young love", or even real friendship (Diaz 23).  Though his love for all things nerdy made it nearly impossible for Oscar to relate with others his age, the fact that he was not afraid to be himself makes him stand out as unique. Unlike Yunior, who hid his true nature in order to fit it, Oscar was true to himself to the very end, showing how incredibly strong of an individual he was.

Though he may not have seemed it at the start, the end of the novel proves that Oscar truly was a brave, noble hero. Not heeding the advice of all those around him, Oscar went back to Santo Domingo and chased after Ybon, the woman he loved. Despite her self-deprecating notions, Oscar did his best to prove to her that she deserved a love better than that of the abusive Policeman, and as we learn later, he eventually won her over, if only for a weekend. Though in the end he was captured and murdered by his enemy, he faced death with a courage most people wish for, but never attain. He faced his captors bravely and told them about his and Ybon's love, how what they were doing was wrong, and how he would wait "for them on the other side and over there he wouldn't be no fatboy or dork or kid no girl had ever loved; over there he'd be a hero, an avenger. Because anything you can dream... you can be" (Diaz 321-322). This bravery of spirit is what truly makes Oscar wondrous. He is able to change from the soft, weak boy of his youth into a hardened, courageous man who faced death with a bravery that I cannot fathom ever feeling. In the end, Oscar truly was wondrous because of his strength of mind and bravery of spirit.