To live a successful life, change and new beginnings must be accepted in order to be happy, because one cannot live the same life forever. This is justified in the story Dark Dude, by Oscar Hijuelos, where it is shown that change is necessary to live a successful life. In the story, the main character, Rico, is disturbed by his current life in New York and therefore decides to leave to start a new life and accept a fresh start. Oscar Hijuelos depicts the symbols, characters and conflicts of the story to show that one must accept a new beginning to be happy. In the story, the characters justify their actions by recognizing that one must accept a new beginning in order to be happy. While living in New York, Rico is persuaded by his friend Gilberto to join him in Wisconsin, which he agrees to, telling his friend Jimmy, "Anyway, come over this summer, I'll fuck off the camp here. (Hijuelos 123) This shows his willingness and desire to leave his current life and start a new one, so that he can be happy. The characters also justify accepting a fresh start, as Rico feels that his friends and family have not treated him fairly, thus convincing him to leave. When Rico gets in trouble with the police, he says to himself, "Sitting there...my mind kept thinking about when I would walk through the apartment and all the shit I would go through: my mothers hitting me and yelling at me like I was the worst son in the world. ” (Hijuelos 119) This gives the reader an idea of ​​what Rico is going through in his personal life, implying that his parents frequently mistreat him, which persuades him to leave. Dark Dude's supporting characters influence Rico's decision to leave New York, which...... middle of paper ......o leave home and accept a fresh start. The conflicts in Dark Dude convince Rico to leave New York, making him unstable, therefore leaving, which proves that one must accept new beginnings to be unstable. In Dark Dude, Rico proved unstable in New York, ultimately needing a change of scenery. Eventually, he decided to move to a much more peaceful setting in Wisconsin, where he felt more accustomed to it, justifying that one must accept a new beginning to be happy. The characters, settings, and conflicts Rico encountered in New York City proved too much to handle, as he struggled to adapt to the nature of life in his crime-ridden neighborhood. Dark Dude was performed by Oscar Hijuelos to remind readers that you can't live the same life forever and that you have to accept a new beginning to be happy..