Essays and Research Papers on Latin-American Literature

A 4 page essay that compares and contrasts 2 short stories by Hispanic Caribbean writers. Tomas Lopez Ramirez, in his short story "Sad Though Brief the Rituals," and Hima Contreras in her short story, "The Fire," present very similar views of devious women. Through these secondary characters, both authors offer an interpretation ...

This 15 page paper analyzes Derek Walcott's book, Omeros. Analyzed for theme, symbolism, irony, characterization, post colonial impact, and epic comparison to Homer's Illiad and Odyssey. Quots cited from texts. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 4 page paper examines the themes of heritage and gender in Cisnero's two short stories: Eleven, and Barbie Q. Quotes cited from text to support thesis. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

6 pages in length. Jorge Luis Borges' Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius can readily be interpreted as a piece of speculative fiction focused most prominently upon reflecting the parabolic aspects of Berkeleian idealism. Discovering a once-upon-a-time existence where materialism has no place, Borges' protagonist brings this reality full circle when, upon recreating this other ...

This 7 page paper examines this Latina author's 1975 work. The use of characterization is explored and a b it of the author's life is discussed. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 5 page essay that argues that Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate, 1994) and Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart, 1994) both create characters who are incredibly strong-willed and also invested within their cultures in such a way that it narrows their focus toward other considerations. In other words, Esquivel's Mama Elena and Achebe's Okonkwo ...

A paper which looks at Alvarez's novel in terms of symbolic interaction, with specific reference to the culture clash that the sisters experience, and the problems they have reconciling their patriarchal Catholic upbringing with New York culture of the 1960s. Bibliography lists 2 sources

A 20 page paper which examines how the author masterfully employed humor to create a unique heroic characterization. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines how Antoinette becomes alienated from her society, and the effect of language serving as an impenetrable barrier. No additional sources are used.

A 3 page essay that compares two passages from Victor Villasenor's Rain of Gold, a real-life account of his Mexican-American family background. The writer discusses two passages that highlight the texture and nuance of the mother/son relationship and the importance of the matriarch in Mexican culture. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page analysis of "The Mystic Masseur" by V.S. Naipaul. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 6 page paper examines this work of historic fiction. Concepts about the dirty war are discussed in depth. Many thematic elements are addressed. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines the position of social class in Miguel Cervantes' "Don Quixote." No additional sources cited.

This 3 page paper explains the end of the book, when the boy (Santiago) saves his own life by following the Alchemist's advice to tell others of what was in his heart. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 5 page paper provides an overview of some of the central images in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page paper which xompares and contrasts Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ “Chronicle of a Death Foretold.” No additional sources cited.

This 4 page paper talks about the theme of racism as expressed by the book. The concept of Ladino is discussed and characters are noted as examples of stereotypes or how they break them. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 7 page essay. Antonio Lobo Antunes, contemporary Portuguese author, writes in a style that is very reminiscent of the psychologically complex novels of Faulkner or Dos Passos. In both Act of the Damned and The Natural Order of Things, Antunes presents perceptually complicated narratives that offer a cacophony of voices through the medium of ...

A 3 page paper which examines how the angel is compared by the townsfolk to a circus animal, a carnival acrobat, and a sideshow freak (a woman who had been changed into a spider), the significance of these three incidents to the story, and how they help readers to make sense of the old man ...

A 6 page essay/research paper that, first of all, explains the real-life historical connection of this novel to the deaths of three sisters who were brutally murdered by the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. Then, the writer discusses the structure of the novel and how Alvarez creates characterization by letting each sister narrate the ...

A 3 page essay that looks at Gonzalo de Berceo's thirteenth century masterpiece Milagros de Nuestra Senora (Miracles of Our Lady), which consists of a series of narratives that relate many of the miracles performed by the Virgin Mary. In this work, Mary is essentially the protagonist who battles against the forces of evil, ...

A 3 page paper which takes an image from Derek Walcott’s “Omeros” and analyzes it. The image analyzed is the sea swift. No additional sources cited.

A 7 page paper which provides general characteristics, compares with other novels, makes observations about and summarizes the story and its themes, considers the use of language, how it relates to Don Quixote Part I (Chapter 52) and Part II (Chapters 73-74), examines how the story represents closure, what Cervantes is trying to say, the ...

3 pages in length. Much of what Richard Rodriguez writes about is the quest for ethnic assimilation, noting that the Hispanic community is sorely in need of contemporary ethnic guides to lead them through their issues of cultural assimilation. To his great dismay, it is with great consternation that he realizes how even ...

A 3 page essay that discusses this thirteenth century poetry. Gonzalo de Berceo, thirteenth century Spanish poet, focused on the subject of the Virgin Mary and her importance to Christian worship in his text Milagros de Nuestra Senora (Miracles of Our Lady). Berceo begins with an elaborate allegory that pictures him as a pilgrim finding ...