Abstract: This study of the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2007) analyses the performative and normative acts of masculinity – such as creation and repetition – displayed by the male and female characters. It considers them alongside the narrative voice which functions to re-establish order in the hetero-normative, chauvinistic gender system of migrant Dominican society in the United States. The study seeks to understand and analyse the tension between different forms of masculinity.
