Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Carpentier, Alejo, --1904-1980--Pasos perdidos; Callado, Antônio--Quarup; Pasos perdidos (Carpentier, Alejo); Quarup (Callado, Antônio); Dissertations, Academic;
Abstract
Two Latin American works, Quarup (Callado, 1967) and Los pasos perdidos (Carpentier, 1959) interpret in their protagonists the perennial problem of the modern alienated human in the metropolis. The introduction to this thesis shows how this alienated protagonist is a central preoccupation in Latin American literature since the beginning of modern urbanization and industrialization in the hemisphere. The loss of any real human identity in modern life inevitably leads to the search for new, cultural and personal identity. Furthermore, the conjoining of these two works in a single study contraposes the literatures of Hispanic America (Los pasos perdidos)and Portuguese America (Quarup), a rare critical event still. This search--busqueda--presents itself as that old paradigm of the journey, odyssey--viaje/viagem. In these two works, the two protagonists take different journeys in their search for identity. One takes an interior journey, that is, the search is done within himself, whereas the other takes an exterior journey, outside himself, in another place or another time. The two chapters on the respective works, then, are interpretive synopses that focus on the central problem of the alienated urban protagonist. Carpentier's and Callado's protagonist's respective round trip journeys take them to an ideal, enchanted place and time that transform them in a profound way. How they reenter "civilization" is the test and the challenge to criticism. In the conclusion to the thesis, and drawing upon a selection of the most reliable critics of these two works and their problems, we conclude, among other things, that one novel ends optimistically (Quarup) and the other ends pessimistically (Los pasos perdidos). Nevertheless both reflect the personal and social realities of Latin America. The sources of the alienations that challenge the protagonists and the outcomes of their journeys are clearly identified in the novels. It is the modern forces of international political economics that cause such a lack of personal and social identity. This "aculturaci6n" (Rama) explains this general phenomena of loss and search for cultural identity and the specific local, national and regional characteristics of such a busqueda. The final portion of this thesis concludes by observing that the phenomena of "aculturaci6n" is the result of modern social, technological, and political changes.
Year of Submission
1988
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
School of Music
First Advisor
Robert Krueger
Second Advisor
Raúl Muñoz
Third Advisor
Alida Bakuzis
Date Original
1988
Object Description
1 PDF file (51 leaves)
Copyright
©1988 Ana Beatriz Rodrigues Gonçalves
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Gonçalves, Ana Beatriz Rodrigues, "Busqueda de identidad cultural en dos novelas latinoamericanas: Los Pasos Perdidos de Alejo Carpentier y Quarup de Antonio Callado" (1988). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2752.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2752
Comments
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