The ending of a novel can be evaluated by the reader in several different ways, however to properly analyze the work is to further explore the logic of how everything has come to be. The ability of the author to show the reader that the ending is reasonable from the preceding action and the character’s nature is what should truly be examined. Not only is the ending of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz both happy and unhappy, it is logical in the sense that it follows logically from the climax of the novel all while the character’s have been constant throughout, except Oscar.
Oscar, the protagonist experiences a life-changing transformation that leads to his untimely death. However, the ending is convincing because of this transformation and it is convincing that the novel would end the way it would. Diaz wrote this novel in a way that kept the reader captivated and interested because his logic can not be questioned. As the novel is coming to a close, the reader finds that Oscar’s attitude and appearance changes rapidly, he experienced some great burst of energy to adjust his reclusive lifestyle.
The sudden alteration in his life is never revealed to the reader, but seems to be more of a “deux ex machina” tactic to go with the ending. Because of the frequent switching of stories and histories, when the reader is reintroduced to Oscar at the end, chapters of his life are left out and he had suddenly transformed. Having been shunned by society during his high school and college years due to his odd looks and awkward social habits seemed to be too cruel for Oscar.
The Essay on Meaning of Life and Australian Cultural Identity
“From separate catastrophes, two rural families flee to the city and find themselves sharing a great, breathing, shuddering joint called Cloudstreet, where they begin their lives again from scratch. For twenty years they roister and rankle, laugh and curse until the roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts. ” (Winton, 1991) Tim Winton’s critically acclaimed novel, Cloudstreet is a ...
There had had to be something bigger in store for him. Oscar even began to branch out from his hermit way of life after the change; he even visited his family in the Dominican Republic where he was driven too far by love for a woman he met. His determination and passion eventually led him to his death but it seemed just right. Oscar had shown throughout the ending an unbreakable determination to court this woman and win over her love.
His new appearance and outgoing personality drove him to pursue her and never give up. Trouble began to brew because of the woman, and it seemed logical to any normal person to discontinue the pursuit; but Oscar’s stubbornness that was frequently depicted in situations throughout the novel led him to his death. In this novel there was no other way for Oscar to die logically; he needed a big bang to bow out of his eccentric life and what better way for him, than to die for love.
True love, what Oscar had been searching for his entire life and finally found, had killed him. The conclusion of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is satisfying because the ending revolved around Oscar’s death, the separate stories of the novel now intertwined because of him. His transformation and new personality was ultimately the cause of his death, but in a sense it can be considered happy because it seems just right. Oscar becomes a new person and breaks free of his nerdy and rejected persona.
Diaz seamlessly weaves the ending of Oscar Wao’s story and all the characters around him due to their natures and the preceding actions. The ending of this novel is convincing and logical because of Oscar’s new transformation which led him to do things which he would have not done before. These things that he did, most specifically pursuing a woman he should not have, led him to his death. Despite the morbid ending, it is not unreasonable; it is certainly logical and therefore satisfying to the reader.
