Date of Award

Spring 2022

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Major

LACS: Hispanic Studies

First Advisor

Priscila Meléndez

Abstract

Since the arrival of the Europeans to the so-called New World, the chronicle has been considered the first literary expression of the American continent. From its beginnings, the chronicle was used to communicate historical stories characterized by its narrative from the first-person point of view and the fact that the chronicler was generally a witness to the action. The chronicle is a hybrid genre that mixes an aspect of journalism and literature leading to distant vocal expressions. Throughout my research, I will focus on the Puerto Rican novelist, playwright, essayist, and short-story author Luis Rafael Sánchez’s compilation of chronicles titled Devórame otra vez (2004). I will analyze this text in light of its complex identity as a collection of forty chronicles published in newspapers around the Spanish-speaking world exploring the subjective identity of some of these narratives. Luis Rafael Sánchez compiles these chronicles as he takes his reader through a series of travels from Latin America, Europe, and Puerto Rico. In this hybrid text, Sánchez underscores the island’s complex social, racial, and political issues beginning in 1898 when Puerto Rico was first acquired by the United States. Through my analysis, I will unmask how the text represents a critique of the ambiguous and indeterminate political status of Puerto Rico through an ironic writing style.

Comments

Senior thesis completed at Trinity College for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies.

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