Abstract
This thesis project provides a close reading of the literary work of Ecuadorian author Miguel Antonio Chávez. The analysis in this work discuses how the author use humor to criticize the discourses that have been produced in order to represent indigenous and Afro-descendants in the country, as well as the fragility of social and political institutions such as the church, the state, and the country's educational system in the pieces La puta madre patria, La kriptonita del Sinaí, and El electroshock nuestro de cada día. This thesis analyses humor as a narrative tool with its function to reproduce and criticize the fragility of the political and social institutions in Ecuador. Further, it is shown how humor in the literature of Miguel Antonio Chávez is used to release tension and diffuse conflict, which allows him to criticize how the blanco-mestizos have constructed images and perceptions of the racial minorities in Ecuador. The characters in the literary pieces La puta madre patria and La kriptonita del Sinaí are victims of racial perceptions towards the indigenous and afro-descendant communities in Ecuador, which situate them at a social disadvantage. Moreover, Miguel Antonio Chávez humoristic tone in his literary work El electroshock nuestro de cada día, is used to represent and criticize the flaw participation of the social institutions during the conflict between the government and the subversive groups in Ecuador during the 1980s. In sum, this study shows that deploying humor as a narrative tool in the literary work of Miguel Antonio Chávez, allows him to illustrate how the Ecuadorian society deludes itself, ignoring and lacking awareness of social problems, including racial prejudice and the fragility of the social institutions, which result in a decay of its society.
Advisor
Adriana Gordillo
Committee Member
Gregory Taylor
Committee Member
Alfredo Duplat
Date of Degree
2016
Language
spanish
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
College
Arts and Humanities
Recommended Citation
Yanez, L. E. (2016). La Identidad Ecuatoriana a Través del Humor de Miguel Antonio Chávez [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/645/
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