The Evolution of Latin American Narrative in the 20th Century
Narrative of Hispanoamericana XX
In the middle, primary discern trends such as the indigenous novel (Ciro Alegría with The Broad Alien World), the novel of the Mexican Revolution (Manuel Azuela with The Underdogs), and the novel of the forest (Eustasio Rivera with The Vortex). The new American novel emerged with new forms of narration in the 40s and 50s, coinciding with profound social transformations. Some features are:
The narrator is omniscient, temporal linearity breaks through different resources, and in terms of language development, there is a concern about the pace of syntactic prose.
In addition, various trends coexist:
a) Narrative Metaphysics (concern about vital issues) – Jorge Luis Borges: Universal History of Infamy, which includes seven fictional biographies of legendary characters. Fictions is divided into two sections: The Garden of Forking Paths and The Library of Babel. José Lezama Lima: Paradiso, exposing the complexity of life until the age of twenty years. The existential and the metaphysical are constants in this kind of autobiography.
b) Existential Narrative concern, accentuated by the Second World War.
Juan Carlos Onetti: Stories of villages of lonely people with a gray and monotonous life (similar to The Hive by Cela) with Dostoevsky influences. It comes with a police structure that entangles the reader: The Yard, Juntacadáveres, Let the Wind Speak.
Ernesto Sabato: Although he had scientific training, he rejected scientific positivism, oblivious to the anguish of man. His novels are inquiries into the human mind, madness, and lucidity. Works include: The Tunnel, which tells a story of love and madness, narrated from the present by a person imprisoned. On Heroes and Tombs explores frustration, unhappiness, and failure of ideals. Abaddon the Destroyer addresses guerilla repression, torture, and death, mixing autobiography and fiction.
c) Magical Realism
The second half of the century marks a break with traditional realism with the appearance of mythical, fantastic, and magical elements while maintaining a credible plot, hence the name. Important authors include:
Miguel Angel Asturias: In his American lives, “wonderful,” he depicts social withdrawal and avant-garde forms. Mr. President, the dictator novel.
Alejo Carpentier: The Kingdom of This World, an account of the uprising of black people in Haiti, features a character with magical powers. The Age of Enlightenment, a historical novel about the development of revolutionary events.
Julio Cortázar: Rayuela, a narrative collage that allows for non-linear reading, set in Paris and Buenos Aires, is a search for the existential.
Augusto Roa Bastos: His works revolve around his country, Paraguay. I, the Supreme, tells of corruption caused by power to become Dr. Francia, a dictator.
Juan Rulfo: Pedro Páramo: A story of search and the sad reality of what ends up being a conversation with the dead in their graves.
2. The American Novel Since 1960
The boom of this type of novel, widely distributed, peaked in the significance of works by hearth narrative. The young authors were:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Carlos Fuentes: The Death of Artemio Cruz, a critical view of the Mexican Revolution process.
Mario Vargas Llosa: La Ciudad y los Perros, set in a military school, criticized its closed world and violence.
Alfredo Bryce Echenique: A World for Julius.