ENGL 110
Daniel Keller
May 10, 2016
Let’s take the long way to our school, a black cat just crossed our path. As an eight year old stubborn kid, I insisted on taking the usual path while my cousin stuck to his plan of taking the long way. During our school assembly, he warned me that I better watch out for the bad luck I have summoned upon myself. Returning back home, I remember being punished twice that day, tore my pants while playing soccer and stepped on dog poop. It didn’t took me much to believe that it was my mistake of choosing not to believe in that superstition which is why I got into trouble. Everyone of us has been in this situation, haven’t we? But, do we ever think it might be our thinking that something bad might happen is what blinds us from seeing the good things that happens? Our human need to fill in the gaps for the things that we cannot explain is what persuades us to resort to superstition. It’s human nature. The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao deals with Dominican superstitious curse ‘fuku’ and its positive side: zafa. The novel tends to project …show more content…
Fuku is said to be a curse brought up in the New World by the Europeans when colonizing the world. It is believed that fuku can plague one’s entire line of family. Anyone who goes against Trujillo or even think of going against him is severely affected by the wrath of ‘fuku’. Moreover, Trujillo himself is shown controlling fuku. However, ‘fuku’ might not be a curse but a fear created by Trujillo among the citizens of Dominican Republic to protect his anarchism and prevent any rebellion against him. We can concur that Abelard, Oscar’s grandfather, invited fuku in his bloodline by hiding his daughter from Trujillo. As a result, the Dominican family of Oscar Wao is plagued by ‘fuku’, making every member of the bloodline’s life a living