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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is dark and darkly comic. The novel is organized around the idea of fate. The characters are each haunted by the curse, or fukú, that they understand to dictate and doom their futures. The omnipresence and inevitability of this fukú adds a constant sense of foreboding to the mood of the novel.
Each individual character in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao harbors hopes for their own future. This is most notable when Oscar falls in love with Ybón and sees the world as a beautiful place. Lola believes that she can make a better life for herself, in the same way that her mother Beli did. The collective nature of the story, which follows the tragic arcs of many characters’ lives through digressions and flashbacks, shows how futile these hopes can be.
Like other tragedies, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is tragic in part for its very inevitability. The reader knows that fukú will prevent the characters from getting what they truly want. The tension between these characters’ momentary dreams and the persistent narrative doom adds a sense of hopelessness and heartbreak to the novel’s mood.
Related Themes:
