The Walcott Poem

   Díaz incorporated Walcott's poem in his novel because it has a similar effect on readers. It uses harsh phrases like "dog rotting" and "slums of empire was paradise." Additionally, it deals with the speaker having a cultural identity crisis, and this is a major theme in the novel as a whole. Walcott uses a frank, straightforward tone to share the thoughts of the speaker, Shabine, who represents the mixed cultural heritage of his people in general. Moreover, Díaz uses his characters to reflect his own cultural identity.
   By putting it at the beginning of the novel, Díaz introduces these themes to sort of prepares the reader for an emotionally tough story.