La cultura y su efecto en la literatura
Open Access
- Author:
- Pecora, Alexandra Lubrano
- Area of Honors:
- Spanish
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- William Robert Blue, Thesis Supervisor
John Lipski, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- magia
ciencia ficción
realismo mágico
tecnología - Abstract:
- I am a graduating senior at The Pennsylvania State University. I am majoring in both Spanish literature and French literature. Foreign languages have always appealed to me because I am intrigued by different cultures and by the ability to communicate with people in their native tongues. The aspect of language that most interests me is the lexicon because words fascinate me; I enjoy studying their meaning and their impact on meaning. Due to my fondness of words, it made sense to me that my Schreyer Honors College thesis would focus on literature Throughout my Spanish studies at Penn State I have been exposed to many different types of literature from essays, to novels, to poetry, to short stories. While each literary genre impacted my love of literature I have specifically enjoyed short stories because of my interest in words. In my experience, I have found that in novels and essays I focus my attention on rhetorical devices which develop and characterize the writing style. In poetry my attention is focused on how the experience is portrayed using images and varying poetic devices. In short stories, an author must interest and involve the reader quickly. Therefore the value of each sentence, particularly at the beginning is high. Given my fascination with language, with writing, with words, short stories seemed a natural choice, not that I have anything against poetry, rather, I find short prose fiction more engaging. Once I was confident that I wanted to research short stories, I faced the problem of choosing the stories I would use. I first chose stories from authors whose works I have enjoyed reading and, soon after, realized that many of the stories I chose were classified as magical realism, a genre which I have come to understand is a major part of Hispanic literature and culture. Based in its popularity, I considered contrasting this genre with the popular genre of science fiction in United States culture. Out of all of the different kinds of short stories that I researched I decided on science fiction and magical realism because both had qualities that readers can relate to such as familial relationships, the awe of magic and the desire to explore different worlds. I found the stories in these genres interesting because they were fun to read but also had varying levels of both social and political commentary, which, when taken into consideration and analyzed made for a deeper and even more enjoyable reading experience. After much research in both genres, I was able to select five short stories in Spanish in Magical Realism and six short stories in English in Science Fiction to study. I have summarized the stories below in the preface to lay the foundation for my thesis. Both my classes at Penn State and my individual interests inspired me to select this stimulating topic for my thesis.