Brief Wondrous Life

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz layers storytelling and meaning into its plot, with plenty of underlying messages, if the reader is willing to hunt for them a bit. From the relationships between similar characters like Lola and Beli to polar opposites like Yunior and Oscar, the reader sees different relationship and friendship dynamics play out and how such relationships are affected and looked upon by society. Oscar is a lonely, fantasy loving nerd who does not have much of a life, while Yunior has that machismo aspect that is focused on heavily in the story, from start to finish. In the story, Yunior and Oscar are both going to the same college, but Yunior has been rejected from every other residence, and when Lola asks a favor of Yunior to watch her brother Oscar, he gladly accepts since he has nowhere else to turn to. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Diaz uses Yunior

As Yunior goes on, more and more similarities, through all the difference between the nerdy, loner Oscar and the athletic, popular Yunior. ¨I had my job and the gym and my boys and my novia… I complained. I didn´t mind it though. I liked sh*t like Akira, though I could never stay awake for it¨(p. 172). Of course, Yunior has his qualms with Oscar, nothing is perfect, but as Yunior gives it time, he finds himself finding more similarities between himself and his roommate. Eventually, the reader can even see a friendship forming, where one never would have existed had Yunior not given Oscar the time of day. The interactions and stories that Yunior and Oscar share throughout their college lives make the reader realize how, even in real life, time will allow any differences to show similarities if they´re are allowed to do