How we cite our quotes: (Act.Chapter.Section.Paragraph), (Act.Special Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
[Oscar] coughed. I have heard from a reliable source that no Dominican male has ever died a virgin. You who have experience in these matters—do you think this is true?
I sat up. Dude was peering at me in the dark, dead serious.
O, it's against the laws of nature for a dominicano to die without f***ing at least once.
That, he sighed, is what worries me. (1.4.1.39-1.4.1.42)
It's true that Oscar tries to fit the mold of the Dominican male in some ways. However, we also think that he really respects women, and wants to experience love. More than societal pressure motivates him. He's kind of a romantic. Check out the last paragraph of the book if you don't believe us.
Quote #8
Jenni was her real name, but all her little goth buddies called her La Jablesse, and every standard a dude like me had, this diabla [devil] short-circuited. Girl was luminous. Beautiful jíbara [?] skin, diamond-sharp features, wore her hair in this super-black Egypto-cut, her eyes caked in eyeliner, her lips painted black, had the biggest roundest tits you've ever seen. Every day Halloween for this girl, and on actual Halloween she dressed up as—you guessed it—a dominatrix, had one of the gay guys in the music section on a leash. (1.4.1.96)
There are quite a few strong female characters in Wao. Beli. Lola. Jenni. Are the male characters in the novel threatened by these strong female characters, do you think? If so, why would they—these men from a macho culture—be threatened by a strong woman?
Quote #9
And besides, that fall a miracle happened: Suriyan showed up at my door. Looking more beautiful than I ever saw her, I want us to try again. Of course I said yes, and went out and put a cuerno [horn] in her that very night. Dios mío! Some n*****s couldn't have gotten ass on Judgment Day; me I couldn't not get ass, even when I tried. (1.4.1.194)
We don't doubt that Yunior hooks up with Suriyan here. But we do want to point out that Yunior also brags a lot about his good looks and charm throughout the book. As a narrator, Yunior does a lot of posturing: he wants us to know that he's strong and tough and that women constantly fall for him. We're guessing the reality is just a shade less fantastic than that.