Espacio y violencia en la novela centroamericana del siglo XXI

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Date
2013
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University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

Throughout the 21st century, Central America has experienced widespread violence despite the signing of the Peace Agreements during the 1990s. The existing conflict has inevitably influenced the literature of this region and this dissertation entitled Espacio y violencia en la novela centroamericana del siglo XXI, examines four Central American texts that form an important part of the writings from this time and place. The novels to be analyzed include: El arma en el hombre (2001) by the Salvadorian writer Horacio Castellaños Moya, El hijo de casa (2004) written by Guatemalan Dante Liano, Sombras nada más (2002) by the Nicaraguan author Sergio Ramírez and Verano rojo (2010) by Daniel Quirós, a Costa Rican writer. This dissertation aims to show that violence in these areas has infiltrated spaces of social interaction and more specifically, the boundaries between public and private spaces have been transgressed and blurred due to increased conflict in both spheres. Throughout these novels, the characters are depicted both as victims of this brutality and, in many cases, instigators of violence, illustrating diverse and contrastive perspectives. The analysis of these texts also brings to light the sociopolitical context surrounding this vicious atmosphere; problems such as national corruption and a general mistrust of the legal system have directly impacted the sociopolitical climate in these countries. These novels establish that the violence has not dissipated, but instead maintains a continuous presence making it an almost daily occurrence. Conflict consistently permeates public, private, urban and rural spheres and these texts illustrate a wide array of perspectives, all of which serve to demystify the singular view of history that the hegemony wishes to propagate.

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Literature
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