Junot Diaz often uses footnotes throughout the text as an opportunity to tell backstories about Oscar's life and Dominican culture. Unlike most authors, Diaz's footnotes have just as much, if not more character than the regular text, because they are just as vital to the story as the text itself. These footnotes enhance the story by bringing the reader closer to the author because they are Junot's chance to speak directly to his audience. They also enhance the story primarily through their ability to provide background about Dominican culture and history- key influences on the behavior and gender roles of the society in which Oscar lives.
The reader has a love/hate relationship with the protagonist, Oscar. On one hand he is an endearing young boy who struggles with his abilities to fit into a society with traditional gender roles. Knowing Oscar's struggles and his unfulfilled desire for affection, the reader feels sympathy for him. On the other hand, Oscar has skewed values and judges people in ways that are far from admirable. He places too much importance on his ability to have a relationship, he objectifies women, and he values attractiveness over intelligence regarding his own self worth and the worth he places on girls. His consideration of his own depression and his complete disregard of Olga's following the breakup that ended his "Golden Age" is just one example of the double standards he has for the way people of different genders should behave. However, the way he judges people is only a result of his upbringing. From an early age, he was taught that the ideal man is strong, dominant, non-emotional, and sexually versed and the ideal woman is submissive, beautiful, and only useful for staying home to take care of the family. So on one hand, the reader wants "fuku" to teach the sexist, materialistic, and shallow Oscar a lesson, but on the other hand, the reader just wants Oscar to be able to rise above the norms of Dominican culture so he can express himself and be loved, no matter how he compares to the cookie cutter ideal male.
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