Literary Representations from the Border: The American Dream, Immigration, Power and Hyphenated Identities

Abstract

The recent phenomenon of massive immigration of Hispanic people to the United States, despite the strict discourse of power andpolitics proclaimed by the actual president of this country, of stopping their entrance, has motivated me to partake in this research. Iintend to explore the lifestyles of some particular people from Latin America, such as Mexicans and Cubans, who historically havemigrated to this nation and their existential conditions depicted in literature as a means to profess, through these representations,the limitations and/or benefits of living as subalterns and as part of hyphenated cultures. I will also examine how, in literature,these people have found possibilities to achieve their aspirations of ascending socially. An aim of this study is to make thepertinent topic of immigration more accessible and more sensible through the critical reading of literature. This research will alsocontribute to enrich the Programa en Investigaciones en Literatura Comparada (PILC), by offering to conduct research in a field ofstudy that is extremely relevant today.