Queer Narratives and Colonial Injustice: Tropical Landscape in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.2.2024.4047

Keywords:

Tropical Landscape, Queer Narratives, Colonial Injustice, Dominican Republic, Decolonialism, Junot Díaz, Queering Tropics

Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of colonialism, masculinity, and queerness in Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Through a decolonial lens, it examines how Díaz critiques the lingering effects of colonialism and dictatorship on Dominican identity, particularly through the ‘fukú’ curse—a symbol of intergenerational trauma. The paper argues that the queering of heterosexuality in the novel challenges rigid gender norms, where Oscar’s nonconformity and Yunior’s conflicted hypermasculinity expose the limitations of Dominican masculinity shaped by colonial rule. Set against the backdrop of the Dominican Republic’s tropical landscapes and violent history, Oscar’s and Yunior’s narratives highlight the broader struggle between individual authenticity and societal conformity. Díaz’s use of magical realism and transcultural storytelling amplifies this decolonial critique, revealing how colonial legacies continue to shape gender and identity in the post-colonial world. By analyzing the characters’ resistance to heteronormative pressures and their individual journeys, the paper situates The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao as a significant exploration of queering as a form of decolonial resistance, reconsidering the lasting impact of colonial oppression on cultural and gender identities.

Author Biographies

Prabhudutta Samal, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Prabhudutta Samal is a distinguished Research Scholar in English at the School of Humanities of KIIT Deemed to be University, with an academic focus that spans a diverse range of critical areas including Modernity, Environmentalism, Colonialism, Postcolonialism, and Gender Studies. His scholarly contributions, reflected through Scopus Indexed publications, showcase his commitment to exploring complex cultural and societal dynamics.

Swati Samantaray, KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Swati Samantaray is presently working as a Professor in the School of Humanities of KIIT Deemed to be University. She has been conferred the Best Faculty Award by the Padma Shri Ruskin Bond in the year 2012. She has authored as well as edited several books and also has to her credit numerous Scopus Indexed research articles and conference papers. Her widely acclaimed books include - The Mystic Flights of Tagore; Lord Jagannath: The Enigmatic Emblem of Cosmic Consciousness, and Mysticism. Her fields of interest are mysticism, eco-criticism, feminism, existentialism, cultural and film studies, folkloristics, and diaspora literature.

References

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Published

2024-10-15

How to Cite

Samal, P., & Samantaray, S. (2024). Queer Narratives and Colonial Injustice: Tropical Landscape in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. ETropic: Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics, 23(2), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.2.2024.4047

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 2 (2024): Queering the Tropics, Part 2. Queering Tropically: Sexuality, Indigeneity, Decoloniality, Spatiality

Section

Essays and Articles

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