Junot Diaz Comes To Brooklyn College
Junot Diaz is one of the most unprofessional professional adult I’ve encountered. He came to Brooklyn College and sat for a discussion on his book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, introduce one of his other books, This Is How You Lose Her, and sign books in the Whitman Auditorium.
The first thing to note is Junot Diaz’s use of language during the discussion. He curses, a lot! It is not a particularly negative form of cursing, as its use more or less coincided with the colloquial use of curses. It appears unprofessional, and the Professor leading the discussion is surely taken aback, but it aids in compounding a message: a message of hard work and dedication that can lead the common man to recognition. It also served to bridge a significant portion of the student population, since many people used the kind of same language. Then there was his code switching. He readily switches between English and Spanish, as a way of illustrating the life of a Dominican, since the meaning of a phrase can be lost when used in a different language.
In part of Diaz’s discussion, he talks about his perspective on writing. To him, he treats it as a form of art. It isn’t something done for the wealth that may accompany it, and it isn’t much either so he says, but as a way of expressing himself and as a hobby. He says that in this day and age, students studying art believe that it will result in payment. That the effort the students put in will be compensated for, which is unfortunately not the case. His statement that he doesn’t know why he wrote of a man with no face hints to an idea that we, as liberal arts students, read too much into a piece. Be it actual art or writing, sometimes the simplest explanation is “Because he felt like it.”
There is much to be learned from Diaz. His personality and speech provide a unique combination of humanity’s hardships and legacy in a story to success. The main point to take away from this discussion would be that hard work truly is the key to success.
