Oscar 1

A sadly disproportionate amount of the population only have one developed point of view, that being the American one (and plenty people here don’t even have that). We listen to American politicians, and American entertainers and we read American literature, and little do so many of us realize that while gaining knowledge and perspective we are also running the risk of losing a broader, all-encompassing perspective, which stems from learning about other cultures and the products of their imagination and creation. Cultural bias can’t be helped in most cases, but one can possibly move to change their own ideas or at the very least seek to have them challenged, in order to become more cultured and learned. That, at least, is my personal goal. I believe that all people have a unique perspective, but on a smaller scale than I discussed previously, it is important for individuals to hear the thoughts of others for the same reason I believe people should be aware of other cultures; for the sake of growth, and blogging is a great tool for social interaction on a large scale.

If unfamiliar with Dominican culture, which most non-Dominicans probably are, the footnotes serve to give some history about the Dominican Republic, their culture and their prevailing mythical preoccupations.

Personally, I can say without the footnotes I would have been slightly lost in this story, even only after a few pages. They allow the reader to play catch up and understand the underpinnings of the story at large without having to stop reading the book and look things up. The footnotes in this particular book retain the same voice and character of the narration, which is a bit uncommon. This technique allows for the reader to stay immersed in the story and allows for the narrator to explain the history in a brief and fluid manner. Though there weren’t many, the footnotes supplied a surprisingly large amount of information that was both educational and characteristic. Of course some tell the story of Trujillo, former Dictator-for-Life, and they also give insight into some of the more obscure comic book and middle earth references, which established the character and the viewpoint early on without having to explain that this person is a nerd. So this narration and these footnotes make it possible for the reader to pick up on the history and myths as well as the person they will be reading about and the overall tone of the book.

He story that the footnotes establish let the reader know that the fuku is a major theme in this book, which ties in with Dominican history. It seems possible that maybe the footnotes are a part of a counter spell to fuku. Maybe they are a counter spell because they establish a clear history of events as they were, and maybe they were presented in such a way that their accuracy acts a preventative measure against the fuku. Otherwise I’d like to read more and figure things out a bit more when I have a stronger grasp on what the fuku really IS.