Myth and the Fantastic in the Work of Junot Díaz

Abstract

This chapter explores the ways in which Junot Díaz draws on ancient Greek myth in two of his works, Drown (1996) and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007). Placing Greek myth alongside the stories from other fantastical worlds, such as those found in the works of Tolkien and Marvel Comics, Díaz offers a pathway to realms seemingly not affected by transatlantic slavery, racism, or modern dictatorship and diaspora. Yet, as much work on magical realism has shown, a turn to the fantastic can be deeply political. Díaz’s evocation of Greek myth (most prominently, those of Homer’s Odyssey and the House of Atreus) is given only as much space as the myths of other times and places, thereby stripping the classical canon of the aura of superiority which it gained during the colonial period. In doing so, Díaz works to creates a new epic for the Dominican diaspora.