The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Group

Question:

javed23
javed23
Student
College - Sophomore

Why was Oscar's mother mean to him in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao?

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Posted by javed23 on Wednesday October 21, 2009 at 6:57 AM and tagged with beli, characters, mother, oscar's mother, the brief wondrous life of oscar wao, trujillo.

Answers:

  1. loveyourself4ever
    loveyourself4ever Student
    High School - 9th Grade

    Maybe because she was jealous of him.

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    Posted by loveyourself4ever on Sunday November 8, 2009 at 8:42 AM

  2. archteacher
    archteacher Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    I don't think that Beli is intentionally mean to her children.  She had a really tough life under Trujillo's regime in the DR--she lost most of her family and was abused horribly before finally landing with La Inca.  She is scarred by these experiences and by her almost-death at the hands of Trujillo's men (the result of a relathionship with another of Trujillo's men).  To her, the world and sexual relationships probably seems completely unsafe.  Her controlling behavior is probably an attempt to keep her children from harm and prevent them from suffering what she has suffered.  Unfortunately, Oscar winds up dying under circumstances very similar to the ones that almost killed his mother.

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    Posted by archteacher on Tuesday November 24, 2009 at 2:28 PM