The great theme of power cannot be missed in The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao and the characters in the story use their different traits to do their best to obtain this one thing that almost everyone craves. The most blatant example of this is in the character and dictator, Trujillo. He has the power on the island and uses fear and intimidation to keep his subjects in line. His power immediately affects the characters in the novel through beatings and censorship which keeps the others fearing for their lives. Through Trujillo we see power through strength and control. In Beli, we see power through another lens. She uses her sexuality to achieve what she wants. She wants to get out of the lower class and this is seen when she tries to date the hottest guy in the school, Jack Pujols, as well as the ‘Gangster’. She continually dates men that she think will give her the most in terms of power and social stature. She uses what she has to gain an advantage over the others. Finally, in the case of Oscar Wao, power is created in a totally different sense. Oscar’s nerdiness and looks leave him ousted out of both the Dominican culture as well as the white culture on the island. He does not fit in anywhere well. However, this is what gives him the most power because he does not follow in the footsteps of the other men of the book who cheat, lie, steal and murder their way through life. Oscar has the power over himself to choose the man HE wants to be, not the man that his society wants him to be.
^The dictator Rafael Trujillo.