Hijo de Hombre by Augusto Roa Bastos The Way of Man

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Portugal, Jose Alberto

Keywords

Roa Bastos, Augusto, Social Crisis, Social Drama, Land of No Evil

Area of Concentration

Literature

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the narrative project of Augusto Roa Bastos in Hijo de Hombre. To understand the underlying tension of the Paraguayan society Roa Bastos portrays in his novel and the perennial bouts of violence from which it consequently suffers, Paraguay, as a totality, is viewed from the perspective of the village. From this vantage point emerge the two realities that comprise the Paraguayan experience: the official reality and the reality of the people. The official reality is seen as one of oppression and of indifference, attributes that are communicated to an archetypical figure of oppression, whereas the reality of the people is one marked by political, economic, and religious oppression and marginalization. In the novel, these realities take the form of distinct narratives that characterize the two main protagonists of Hijo de Hombre. The juxtaposition of these narratives reveals the fundamental tension of the novel, that of the breach between words and actions, between theory and practice. The attainment of a society devoid of the iniquities, the injustices, and the indifference to human suffering characteristic of the current Paraguayan reality represented in Hijo de Hombre can be achieved only through the actions of Man.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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