Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Diaz's novel details the (brief and wondrous!) life of Oscar Wao in the context of Dominican relations and culture within the United States. For this reason, the text is placed on the left side of the map, which focuses more on internalized conflict. The main characters of the novel, including Oscar, Lola, and Yunior all face their own internal conflicts in consideration of how they deal with their Dominican sides while living in the states.
Audre Lorde, Poetry is not a Luxury - Lorde argues for the use of poetry towards social change in her poem. Especially for underrepresented groups, poetry presents itself as a vital tool, a medium to explore ideas otherwise ignored in other forms of expression. Yunior, in writing Oscar Wao has a similar motive in mind, claiming it as a form of zafa to his fuku.
Gloria Anzaldua, How to Tame a Wild Tongue - Diaz's seamless interweaving of Spanish and English in his novel leads us to question the impacts of speaking such language in America. This is only a part of a much more general problem that the characters in Diaz's novel try to answer: how and to what extent should they change their identity in the US? Anzaldua argues that in fact, no change should be needed. No matter the location, people should not have to give up their sense of self and the most crucial parts of their identity - such as language.
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