"Either I'm nobody or I'm a nation"

The poem that is included in the beginning of Diaz's book, to me seemed very random at first. I didn't really understand how this poem about a "red nigger that loves the sea" pertains to the book. However on closer inspection I am starting to see how it relates to the life of Oscar and also his family. The character in the poem feels that they are living in a world where they must behave a certain way. I perceive this from the 4th & 5th line that says "If loving these islands must be my load, out of corruption my soul takes wings". This person feels that they are being forced to appreciate something that they do not, but they will rise above this corruption. They are not impressed by the people with the big houses and cars (conspicuous consumption), it "poisons their soul". I see that this relates to the character because he turns out to be sort of an outsider and does not share the views of most of the peers around him. I think that the end of the poem represents the feelings of an outsider as well when it states "either I'm  nobody, or I'm a nation" because one never knows if he is alone with his opinions or if other people share them as well. These feelings that Oscar and the person in the poem have are feelings that I think many of us grapple with as well. No one can ever be inside of each others' heads so we can never know if we are alone or not.