The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Chapter 3 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Act.Chapter.Section.Paragraph), (Act.Special Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 21
Skilled our Gangster became in many a perfidy, but where our man truly excelled, where he smashed records and grabbed gold, was in the flesh trade. Then, like now, Santo Domingo was to popóla [slang for female genitalia] what Switzerland was to chocolate. And there was something about the binding, selling, and degradation of women that brought out the best in The Gangster; he had an instinct for it, a talent – call him the Caracaracol of Culo [Trickster of Ass]. (1.3.9.6)
We don't want to get all feminist on you, but. Oh wait, yes we do. Here, The Gangster does what most of the men in Wao do: treat women badly. In this book, men treat women like objects. They use them and toss them aside when they're done. Trujillo. Jack Pujols. The Gangster. The capitán… Need we say more?
Quote 22
What is it with Dictators and Writers, anyway? Since before the infamous Caesar-Ovid war they've had beef. Like the Fantastic Four and Galactus, like the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, like the Teen Titans and Deathstroke, Foreman and Ali, Morrison and Crouch, Sammy and Sergio, they seem destined to be eternally linked in the Halls of Battle. Rushdie claims that tyrants and scribblers are natural antagonists, but I think that's too simple; it lets writers off pretty easy. Dictators, in my opinion, just know competition when they see it. Same with writers. Like, after all, recognizes like. (1.3.6.9)
Díaz says that writers and dictators are actually in competition with each other. Why? Well, when you read a novel, you're totally at the whim of the author. You have to believe what the author tells you, because the author has total control over this world. Same thing with being a citizen under a dictatorial leader. So, of course, dictators would like to restrict what gets written during their regimes; writers can breed dissent, can write alternative versions of history that portray dictators in unfavorable lights. That's what's with dictators and writers.