Iris Haslhofer

Resistance and Social Criticism in Chicano Literature: As Represented in J. Villarreal, O.z.acosta, R. Anaya, A. Islas Iris Haslhofer

The question of dominance ¿ and of being dominated ¿ is of central importance for the Anglo American ¿ Chicano cultural interaction. Based on the hypothesis that the construction of a Chicano/a cultural identity necessarily entails some kind of perpetual, never-ending resistance against Anglo- American hegemony, Mag. Iris Haslhofer analyzes the representation of resistance against Anglo American hegemony in four different literary key works by male Mexican Americans (namely, Pocho by José Antonio Villarreal (1959), The Revolt of the Cockroach People by Oscar Zeta Acosta (1973), Bless me, Última by Rudolfo Anaya (1972) and The Rain God by Arturo Islas (1984). Through an investigation of the socio-political and socio-historical background of these literary key works, the author traces back Chicano resistance against Anglo American hegemony. Resistance and Social Criticism in Chicano Literature is a multifaceted piece of work that could be read by any literary scholar, any person who is interested in Cultural Studies and could be of special interest for bi-cultural people.