“Chapter 6: The Caribbean Novel” – William Luis
Comps people mentioned:
-
Juan
Francisco Manzano, Autobiografía de un
esclavo (pg. 126)
-
Gertrudis
Gómez de Avellaneda, Sab (pg. 126)
-
Alejo
Carpentier, El reino de este mundo
(pg. 129-130)
-
Severo
Sarduy, De donde son los cantantes
(pg. 134)
General notes:
-
Caribbean
was the first point of contact between the Old and New Worlds (125)
-
Caribbean area was defined by the fertile land
and subsequent plantation and sugar-mill systems – high need for slaves =
higher African population (125)
-
Caribbean countries gained their independence
later than their Spanish American counterparts (125)
-
Juan Francisco
Manzano, Autobiografía, 1835/1937
(126)
o
Reflected desire to write with realism
(abandoning Romanticism)
o
Reflected incorporation of blacks and slaves into
early Cuban literature
o
Arguably the first narrative to document life on
the island
-
Slavery was a viable institution in Cuba until
1886 (127)
-
Slavery was a big theme in the earlier novels of
the Caribbean (126-127)
-
“In the twentieth century, and after the
founding of the Cuban Republic, two themes became popular among novelists: the
decay of Cuban society and slavery” (129)
-
Alejo Carpentier
o
One of the most important Cuban writers of the
twentieth century (129)
o
Works reflect interest in Afro-Cuban culture and
religion
o
El reino de este mundo, 1949 (130)
§ Brief
summary – pg. 130
§ Interest in marvelous/magical realism
-
Most important event of the century (in
Cuba/Carribbean particularly) is Castro’s rise to power in 1959 (132)
o
Cuban Revolution transformed society, culture,
and literature
o
Division between writers who support the new
government and those who oppose it and seek exile
o
Literary explosion
o
“Literature was no
longer viewed as a national or regional enterprise, but as a weapon against
Western imperialism”
o
“Writers who supported the revolution and wrote
about contemporary events in the new society did so from an ideological
perspective”
-
Testimonial novel is a more successful sub-genre
promoted by Cuban literature (133)
o
Has played a role in providing an outlet for marginal
subjects in Latin American literature
-
“Cuba’s Special period” – created by the fall of
the Soviet bloc, marks the latest stage in the island’s economic and cultural
production (133)
-
Severo Sarduy
(134)
o
One of Cuba’s best writers, who lived outside of
the country (in Paris)
o De donde son los cantantes, 1967
§
Affirms that Cuban culture is Spanish, African,
and Chinese, as his characters represent
-
“The large migration of Puerto Ricans to the
United States influenced Puerto Rican culture and the novel” (137)
-
“Puerto Rican women writers constitute a
significant group of new writers” (138)
-
The last
part of this article/chapter (~ pg. 135-140) is all about Puerto Rican and
Dominican writers who are not on our list…
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