The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (89-119)

Summary:

The story continues with more background of Beli, the mother of Lola and Oscar. In this part of the book we learn about Beli’s first boyfriend, Jack Pujols. Pujols is a member of one of the richest families in the Dominican Republic. However, Pujols was not interested in Beli no matter what she did to get his attention, until one day Beli suddenly developed and her breast became the new talk at school. Soon afterwards Beli and Pujols were going out and all was going good until they got caught having sex in the janitors closet. Pujols promised to marry Beli after high school which is the reason that Beli did not get angry at him, when he said that she seduced him. After the incident Pujols was sent to military school and that was the last Beli ever saw of him. The rest of my reading is just more talk about Beli’s life in Bani and how she made a living, and eventually her telling her children on how it was that she met their father.

Quote:

“Hey, Dionisio, isn’t that the girl que te dio una pela last week?” (Díaz, 118).

Reaction:

I think this quote is important because it might foreshadow the reason why Beli was not able to maintain a healthy relationship with her kids’ father.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (1-89)

Summary:

I am really enjoying the fact that I chose this book to read for ROAR. It reconnects me with Spanish when I have to research what a particular word means. But perhaps one of the biggest reasons that I love this book is because the protagonist Oscar Wao, and how he is described in the first chapter, makes me think of myself, and in a book that is the first time that has happened to me as a reader. The story at the moment has no real pattern and I think it is because of the point of view utilized by Junot Diaz. Diaz uses third person omniscient and so the reader knows what every character is thinking, and also what they have experienced. The first chapter was some background information on Oscar, the second was some background on Oscar’s sister Lola, and the third which I am currently on is some background on his mother Belicia aka Beli. Each chapter has a small timeline of when the events of the chapter took place. The timeline is really helpful to me so that I may be able to follow what is going on in the story. The novel is full of foreshadowing because of the way that the story is told, the chapter about Beli has not spoken about her having Lola and Oscar, but on the previous chapters I already know that eventually Beli will have her two children, I also know based on previous chapters that Beli is going to move to New Jersey, I just don’t know why and for what. The narration is difficult, but it makes me feel like I have all the answers to any questions the book may have, all I have to do is find them.

Quote:

“No amount of wishful thinking was changing the cold hard fact that she was a teenage girl living in the Dominican Republic of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, the Dictatingest Dictator who ever Dictated.”

Reaction:

This quote has some alliteration with the words Dictatingest (fake word) Dictator, and Dictated. I believe that he capitalized those words to grab the reader’s attention to them. I also think this is an important quote because as many Dominicans know, Trujillo is an infamous dictator for all the cruel things that he has done in the Dominican Republic. This is one of many lines where Diaz refers to Trujillo, and I think it is important because he may be the reason why Beli moved to New Jersey and did not stay in the Island.

When I Was Puerto Rican (190-270)

Summary:

The last section of the book is very interesting, and feelings are coming out. After Hector got injured in the bike accident, Mami had to come back home and quit her job to take care of Hector. Also after the Hector accident Papi and Mami started arguing and resulted in Mami's move back to Santurce. Mami did not only plan on going back to Santurce, but she also planned to go New York. Negri did not know that her mother was going to go to New York, but Mami believed that the only way to help Hector would be to take him to the doctors in New York. After several years Negri also went to New York to experience for herself what her mother had to go through. When Negri returned back to Macun to visit her old house she was almost not able to recognize it.

Quote:

“after all that, I had failed he audition”

Reaction:

this quote is important because it shows that no matter how old Negri gets, she will always be her mothers daughter.

When I Was Puerto Rican (105-190)

Summary:

In these three chapters Negri's mother finally gets a job in which she sews. The mother is enjoying herself because she is doing something that she finds to be exciting. Mami's job requires alot of time, and so she is not home as often as she used to. As a result, Negri being the oldest sister has to take care of her younger brothers and sisters. Negri becomes a little to bossy and her sisters start to dislike her because they believe that she is not letting them have fun. Also Negri became a little more mature as she and a neighbor Tato showed each other their private parts.

Quote:

"Delsa yelled. "you're not mami." (Santiago 127).

Reaction:

This quote is important to the story because it shows how Negri is trying to take her moms position as the female authority in the house, but unfortunately her sisters think that she is starting to become to annoying trying to be something that she is not.

When I Was Puerto Rican (84-105)

Summary:

The story continues right where it left off. After Negri awoke from her unconsciousness she was told by her mother that she was going to be spending a week at her grandmother's house in Santurce, Puerto Rico. The grandmother was very old and wanted to see her grandchild one more time before she passes. On the way to the house Negri and her dad went to a mercado, a place where people did shopping for the family. While they were in the mercado Negri wanted to eat some alcapurrias because she smelled it in the air. The father decided that they should eat before they got to the house in Santurce so he bought two alcapurrias, one for himself and the other one for Negri. When they finally arrived at abuela's house abuela could not stop comparing Negri to her father. Negri felt really good every time abuela said a compliment because. When the father was leaving his expression made Negri feel as though he was not going to come back. Negri suddenly wanted to see her mother and dad again because she felt alone after the way her father left her. Toward the end of Negri's stay at abuela's house she felt really comfortable and enjoyed sewing with abuela.

Quote:

“her long, mournful face horselike, her large eyes almond shaped, the corners pointing down as if weighed by many tears” (Santiago 88).

Reaction:

Santiago uses a combination of similes and metaphors to describe people that she sees that attract her attention. In the quote above, santiago is describing an old lady who sells Jesus heads with thorns on them. It is an important quote because Negri was scared of the lady, even though the majority of the people in Puerto Rico are Roman Catholics who believe in Jesus.

When I Was Puerto Rican (34-84)

Summary:

The mother is still mad at the father for sleeping with other girls, but the father still goes to visit her in her new house in Santurce. Negri has to become accustomed to a new school and neighborhood. The father is persistent and is breaking his neck to get back with Negri’s mother. The father tries to compliment the mother and not disrespect her. Every morning the father always reads the newspaper while he eats breakfast and takes it with him when he goes to work, but to get on the mother’s good side he would leave it behind on the coffee table. The dad would always try to have fun with all his daughters and Hector the new born baby. The mother eventually gave up and had a conversation with the dad which resulted in them getting back together, and moving back to Macun. Negri was so excited to go back to her neighborhood and hang-out with her best friend Juanita, who also goes to the same school as Negri. During the school year Juanita’s grandfather, Don Berto, a well know gentleman in the barrio died. That was Negri’s first experience with the death of a person that she actually met. The story continued with the Americans trying to give free breakfast to students and trying to teach them about good hygiene because it was election year, and the governors wanted to get the parents votes. Negri kept eating the American breakfast until one day she drunk some milk and ended up vomiting and bad mouthing to the lunch lady. Negri was unconscious for a couple days, and when she woke it was back to school, like if nothing had happened.

Quote:

“Well, it is the soul of a person that writes poetry” (Santiago 53).

Reaction:

Santiago is an author who likes to use personification. In the quote, she says that the soul, an intangible object is the reason that people can write poetry. The quote however, really shows the type of relationship that Negri has with her father. The father tries as hard as he can to give Negri a response to every question she may have, no matter if she is old enough or not.

When I Was Puerto Rican (3-33)

Summary:

Through the first thirty-three pages of the story When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago I found myself in the story, like if I was watching a movie. The protagonist Esmeralda aka Negri is a young Puerto Rican female living in Macun, Puerto Rican. Negri is the oldest sister, Norma and Delsa are her little sisters. Negri’s family is not particularly wealthy; instead I think that they are a very low class family. The father in the family is a repair man; he fixes any problems that may occur in the house. The mother is more of a house wife who cooks and cleans. In my first reading there is already a major conflict in the novel. Shortly into the story the mother is having a baby; Negri feels sad because she believes that her mom will have even less time for her since she will have to take care of the newly born family member. After the baby is born, Hector a boy, the father and the mother start to argue even more than they ever have. The father starts to take trips that don’t end for a few days and eventually the mother accuses the father of cheating on her with her ex. Negri overhears the conversation her parents had and confronts her dad about, and that is when she realized that she had another sister, one who was older than her. She was elated, she thought that now she would hang-out with a girl that she will not need to take care of. The father however, crushed her dreams when he told Negri that Margie, his other daughter, moved to New York and would not be able to see her. Negri eventually starts school, and based on the radio and her moms words, starts to believe that the man is the reason for all the problems in a relationship. After she started school, the father one day leaves and never comes back, that is when the mother decides that her and her four children: Negri, Norma, Delsa, and Hector should all move to the city because they might live a better more prosperous life.

Quote:

“I learned there were children whose fathers were drunks, whose mothers were “bad,” whose sisters had run away with traveling salesman, whose brothers had landed in prison” (Santiago 31).

Reaction:

Esmeralda Santiago likes to use personification and similes in her writing. She also likes to incorporate the Spanish language to add an appealing affect to the story. There are other parts in her writing when she might use a particular word to describe something, almost as if the word itself is a pun. The quote I chose is an important one because it is Negri understanding that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and she might think of going to New York to meet her sister Margie and discover that she had a better life in Puerto Rico.