Latina Humor in the Works of Sandra Cisneros

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Zsófia Anna Tóth

Resumen

Abstract: The paper discusses three works written by Sandra Cisneros, namely Woman Hollering Creek, The House on Mango Street and Caramelo, from the point of view of women’s humor. With the help of these works, it is argued that Cisneros uses Latina humor in order to highlight intersectional problems concerning her identity and to reveal important facts and features about/of Latino/a existence. The point is made that Cisneros uses comedy and humor to redeem the pain and suffering through laughter instead of utilizing the tragic mode of artistic expression, hence she is able to secure survival and solutions to problems instead of a tragic wallowing in negativity (which interpretive way could also have validity concerning the occurrences which are narrated).     


Keywords: Latina humor, Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek, The House on Mango Street, Caramelo

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Tóth, Z. A. (2020). Latina Humor in the Works of Sandra Cisneros. Acta Hispanica, (II), 609–616. https://doi.org/10.14232/actahisp.2020.0.609-616
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Biografía del autor/a

Zsófia Anna Tóth, Department of American Studies, Institute of English and American Studies, University of Szeged

Zsófia Anna TÓTH received her PhD in British and American literature and culture from the University of Szeged and is currently a senior assistant professor at the Department of American Studies, Institute of English and American Studies, University of Szeged, Hungary. Her general research interests are film studies, cultural studies, gender studies, humor theories as well as British and American literature and cinema. Her main research field is concerned with the representation of female aggression and violence in American literature, culture and specifically film. Her other main fields of interest include Jane Austen (her works, their adaptations as well as her legacy, her ‘afterlife’), the New Woman (her representation and historical, cultural and academic reception) as well as Disney and Pixar animations. Her first book, which was based on her PhD dissertation, entitled Merry Murderers: The Farcical (Re)Figuration of the Femme Fatale in Maurine Dallas Watkins’ Chicago (1927) and its Various Adaptations, was published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing (UK) in 2011. Her current research topics are humor theories, humor and gender, women’s humor, and especially the work(s) (and the phenomenon) of Mae West.

Citas

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