In this paper, it shall be examined how African American and Mexican American women writers have both developed highly innovative narrative strategies in order to establish their literary voice in which to express their experiences of being women belonging to an ethnic minority. Rather than attempting a direct comparison
between the works of African and Mexican American women writers, I shall focus on the methods writers of both ethnicities have used in order to establish two separate literary traditions of female expression. My observations shall be based on texts by Zora
Neale Hurston and Sandra Cisneros. Despite the fact that the works were written decades apart and thus also mirror major differences in the social and cultural development of the US, I will show that it is possible to draw significant parallels between them. Besides, the different contemporary reception of their work can be considered an indication of how much the American literary canon has changed in the
last decades of the 20th century.
Gender and race are important aspects in the works of both African American and Mexican American writers. Women writers of these two ethnicities have used different narrative devices to depict the themes of marginalization and discrimination, as well as issues of racial, sexual and artistic empowerment of women. The transgression of traditional gender roles and the questioning of gender boundaries and categories are a vital part of their works.
The quest for a collective identity is another frequent theme in the works of African American and Mexican American women writers. However, as is to be shown in this paper, the treatment of this topic can be considered one of the most crucial difference markers between African American and Mexican American women authors. In the following, a detailed analysis of Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and Sandra Cisneros' prose collections The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories will serve to illustrate this argumentation.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. African American Women Writers
II. 1. The Harlem Renaissance – A Quest for African American Identity
II. 1. 1. The Predecessors - Literary Production and Women Writers of the 19th Century
II. 1. 3. Women Writers of the Renaissance
II. 2. 1. Zora Neale Hurston – Biographical Note
II. 3. 1. Contemporary and Posthumous Reception of Their Eyes Were Watching God
II. 3. 2. Janie Crawford: Emerging Heroine of Their Eyes Were Watching God
II. 3. 3. Dynamics of the Metaphor in Their Eyes Were Watching God
II. 3. 3. 1. Storytelling, Communal Discourse and Verbal Empowerment in Their Eyes Were Watching God
II. 3. 4. Race and Gender in Their Eyes Were Watching God
II. 3. 5. An Alternative Reading: Voodoo in Their Eyes Were Watching God
III. Mexican American Women Writers
III. 1. Mexican Americans in US Society: the Beginnings of Chicano/a Literature
III. 2. Chicana Feminism and Feminist Discourse
III. 3. 1. Biographical Note and Literary Work
III. 4. The House on Mango Street
III. 4. 1. Narrative Structure and Perspective
III. 4. 2. Style and Language in The House on Mango Street
III. 4. 3. The House as Leitmotif
III. 4. 4. Gender Constructions: Opera and Fairytales as Subtexts
III. 5. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories
III. 5. 1 Narrative Structure
III. 5. 2. Finding Voice: Code-switching and the Language Issue
III. 5. 3. The Mericans – Marginality and Borderland Themes
III. 5. 4. Subversion through Subtext: Womanhood and (Soap) Opera
IV. Conclusion
Objectives and Research Themes
This thesis examines how African American and Mexican American women writers have developed innovative narrative strategies to establish their own literary voices. It explores the diverse methods these authors employ to navigate and express the complexities of being women within an ethnic minority, focusing on their unique approaches to resisting marginalization and patriarchal power structures.
- The significance of vernacular and code-switching as tools for artistic empowerment.
- Deconstruction of traditional gender roles and the quest for female autonomy.
- The role of folklore, mythology, and subtext in challenging socio-political boundaries.
- Comparative analysis of narrative structures in the works of Zora Neale Hurston and Sandra Cisneros.
- The impact of race, gender, and social history on the formation of female literary subjectivity.
Excerpt from the Book
II. 3. 3. Dynamics of the Metaphor in Their Eyes Were Watching God
The repetitive use of certain metaphors is one of the text's most striking features in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Their display follows a certain pattern which supports the underlying structure of the novel, particularly illustrating Janie's quest for her own voice. The metaphors Hurston uses can be divided into two groups: those pertaining to the sphere of nature, namely the tree, the mule and the horizon, and those closely associated to civilization: the porch, the store and the high seat. This contrasting set of metaphors marks the two extremes of the spectrum of Janie's life. The metaphors belonging to the domain of nature can be read as an expression of her hidden feelings and thoughts. They also depict the process of Janie's development and emancipation. The metaphors associated with civilization serve to illustrate the obstacles on this path. Moreover, all of the aforementioned metaphors are not used statically, but are adapted and altered in the course of the novel, thus underlining the novel's overall topic of development.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter contextualizes the political and social climate for minority authors in the US, setting the stage for the analysis of female voices in literature.
II. African American Women Writers: This section explores the historical backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance and focuses on Zora Neale Hurston's pivotal role in establishing an authentic Black female voice.
III. Mexican American Women Writers: This chapter investigates the emergence of Chicana literature, examining the impact of feminist discourse and the struggle against dual oppression through the works of Sandra Cisneros.
IV. Conclusion: This final chapter synthesizes the findings, highlighting how both Hurston and Cisneros successfully created a literary discourse that transcends dominant cultural narratives.
Keywords
African American literature, Chicana literature, Zora Neale Hurston, Sandra Cisneros, female identity, narrative strategy, vernacular, code-switching, gender roles, empowerment, Harlem Renaissance, Chicano Movement, marginalization, folklore, subtext.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
The work investigates the literary strategies used by African American and Mexican American women to articulate female subjectivity and overcome racial and gender-based obstacles.
Which authors serve as the primary subjects of study?
The study focuses extensively on the works of Zora Neale Hurston and Sandra Cisneros, analyzing their contributions to their respective literary canons.
What is the central research question?
The research explores how these women writers developed unique narrative techniques—such as the use of vernacular and code-switching—to define and express their experiences as ethnic minority women.
Which academic methods are applied?
The thesis utilizes a comparative literary analysis, focusing on narrative theory, the use of subtext, and the exploration of socio-historical contexts surrounding the texts.
What topics are explored in the main body of the work?
The analysis covers themes such as the "New Negro" movement, the role of folklore in empowerment, the intersectionality of race and gender, and the use of metaphors and operatic subtexts to subvert patriarchal constraints.
How would you describe the significance of the selected keywords?
The keywords highlight the intersection of linguistic, socio-political, and cultural elements that are central to the thesis's argument regarding female agency and identity construction.
How does the author define the "mule" metaphor in Hurston’s work?
In Hurston’s text, the "mule" serves as a complex metaphor for the suppression and racial/gendered subordination of Black women, a condition that the protagonist Janie actively rebels against.
In what way does Sandra Cisneros utilize "code-switching"?
Cisneros employs code-switching between English and Spanish as a tool for political and aesthetic resistance, reflecting the hybrid identity of Chicana women and their search for an authentic voice.
How does the thesis interpret the subtext of opera and fairytales in Cisneros’ writing?
The thesis demonstrates how Cisneros deconstructs these genres, re-writing them to replace passive, victimized female archetypes with strong, self-assertive protagonists who challenge patriarchal power structures.
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- Carmen Fuchs (Autor:in), 2009, Race, Gender and the Vernacular in the Works of African American and Mexican American Women Authors, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/174347
