In this Book
- The Uses of Failure in Mexican Literature and Identity
- Book
- 2004
- Published by: University of Texas Press
summary
While the concept of defeat in the Mexican literary canon is frequently acknowledged, it has rarely been explored in the fullness of the psychological and religious contexts that define this aspect of “mexicanidad.” Going beyond the simple narrative of self-defeat, The Uses of Failure in Mexican Literature and Identity presents a model of failure as a source of knowledge and renewed self-awareness. Studying the relationship between national identity and failure, John Ochoa revisits the foundational texts of Mexican intellectual and literary history, the “national monuments,” and offers a new vision of the pivotal events that echo throughout Mexican aesthetics and politics. The Uses of Failure in Mexican Literature and Identity encompasses five centuries of thought, including the works of the Conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo, whose sixteenth-century True History of the Conquest of New Spain formed Spanish-speaking Mexico’s early self-perceptions; José Vasconcelos, the essayist and politician who helped rebuild the nation after the Revolution of 1910; and the contemporary novelist Carlos Fuentes. A fascinating study of a nation’s volatile journey towards a sense of self, The Uses of Failure elegantly weaves ethical issues, the philosophical implications of language, and a sociocritical examination of Latin American writing for a sparkling addition to the dialogue on global literature.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- 1. Education and Entropy in Bernal D
- pp. 21-46
- PART 2. Visions of a New Nation
- pp. 47-109
- PART 3. The Revolution of 1910
- pp. 111-140
- 6. Guillermo G
- pp. 165-185
- Works Cited
- pp. 219-232
Additional Information
ISBN
9780292797192
Related ISBN(s)
9780292705739
MARC Record
OCLC
60745525
Pages
256
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No