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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/70965
Description
Title
Initiation in the Puerto Rican Novel
Author(s)
Diaz, Leticia
Issue Date
1982
Department of Study
Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese
Discipline
Spanish
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Literature, Latin American
Abstract
Initiation, or the rites and ordeals that mark the passage from adolescence into adulthood, has appeared in most genres of literature through the ages. In this study I examine the presence of the elements of initiation in the Puerto Rican novel. It is my intent to prove that a relationship can be established between the appearance and usage of initiation and the colonial status of Puerto Rico.
I use a combination of two critical approaches: archetypal and socio-historical. By integrating these two critical methods, I create a prototype of initiation within a Puerto Rican context. This serves as a guide for the study of initiation in the individual novels. For my investigation I have selected three novels: La v(')ispera del hombre (1959) by Rene Marques, Ardiente suelo, fr(')ia estacion (1961) by Pedro Juan Soto, and El fuego y su aire (1970) by Enrique A. Laguerre.
It is the presence of initiatory elements in each of these novels that provides them with a structural link. The works are also joined by the treatment of themes such as ethnicity, language, identity, and acculturation. Despite the differences in style and content, all three novels reflect the concern of the authors regarding Puerto Rico's future and her present colonial status.
This dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter I contains an overview of Puerto Rico in terms of history, culture, society, language and other related topics. I investigate the causes of the Island's colonial condition and show how it still exists despite the changes in the last four decades. In Chapter II the steps of initiation are presented and explained, along with their application and relevance in modern literature and life. Chapters III, IV and V contain the examination of the individual novels presented in chronological order.
Each of the three literary chapters includes general background information on the author and his works, a short analysis of the fictional and structural components of the novel and a detailed examination of the elements of initiation and their relationship to the colonial status of Puerto Rico.
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