Resistance throughout The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, which takes place at the set in the late 1900s, tells the story of Oscar Wao, an overweight Dominican "ghetto nerd," his mother, and his rebellious sister who live together in Paterson, New Jersey. Throughout the novel, Diaz incorporates many different stories about each character that show acts of resistance. One of the novel's most striking stories of resistance is that of Oscar's mother; Beli, driven by a great tragedy, known as Trujillo's curse, to love atomically and thus follow a dangerous path. Beli's family history plays an important role in her choices that ultimately force her into a life different from the one her adoptive mother, La Inca, had wanted. Beli Resisting La Inca depicts his downfall because Beli makes choices against La Inca's desires that will harm him. She is unaware of his history and background with the Abelard family, other than the fact that La Inca continually tells Beli that her father was a doctor and her mother was a nurse. Abelard Luis Cabral was Oscar and Lola's grandfather, the man who said something bad about Trujillo, thus ultimately sending the curse of fukú to Beli. Diaz writes: “During those long days – before delinquency and bank failures, before the diaspora – the Cabrals were numbered among the country's elite” (211). The Cabrals held a high place in society, but it was not until Abelard Cabral upset Trujillo that he was condemned to the curse of Trujillo's rule. Trujillo's power is so strong that he has ruined not only the life of Abelard Cabral, but also that of his wife and three daughters. Both her daughters died suddenly and Beli suffered later in life along with her love. Trujillo's power may affect Beli especially because she knew nothing of his history. Diaz describes Trujillo, writing: "You might roll your eyes at the comparison, but, my friends: it would be difficult to exaggerate the shadow of fear he cast on the Dominican people and the shadow of fear that 'it projected throughout the region' (224). .Beli's impulses allow her to ignore the fact that falling atomically in love with the Gangster, a man she meets at a luxury nightclub, is a mistake. In a world where no one gives her such a feeling, the Gangster makes Beli feel beautiful. But the Gangster is a pimp and exploits women, which shows the degradation of women like Beli. The Trujillo system in the Dominican Republic, which the Cabarals are associated with, exploits women and gangsters, just as Trujillo did just that. This life path that Beli is embarking on is a bad choice because he is prey to fukú. She sees the Gangster as an escape from her current life because he is extremely rich. The Gangster promises her a house in Miami with as many rooms as she wants. Beli is naive and doesn't realize that the gangster cannot help her escape the life she is unhappy with. Instead, all the Gangster can bring to Beli is bad luck. The gangster ends up married to Trujillo's sister, who is extremely cruel and aptly named Trujillo. The gangster's wife makes Beli beat until she almost dies. Beli is vulnerable because the gangster has power over her; she sincerely believes it is an escape from her Dominican world. Throughout, La Inca sees otherwise and tells Beli she is crazy. La Inca also implies that a man cannot save her, but Beli continues to make sure that