Browsing by Subject "Spanish Civil War"
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Item The child’s perspective of war and its aftermath in works of adult prose and film in Mexico and Spain(2011-05) Nickelson-Requejo, Sadie; Higginbotham, Virginia, 1935-; Robbins, Jill, 1962-; Fierro, Enrique; P?rez, Domino; Reed, Cory; Richmond-Garza, ElizabethThis dissertation investigates the literary and cinematic use of the child’s perspective to present the Mexican Revolution and the Spanish Civil War and their aftermath in several Mexican, Spanish, and international (Mexican-Spanish collaborative) narratives of the 20th and early 21st Centuries written by adult authors and filmmakers, and targeted for adult audiences. The Mexican narratives are Cartucho and Las manos de mamá by Nellie Campobello, Balún Canán by Rosario Castellanos, and Bandidos, a film by Luis Estrada; selected Spanish works are El espíritu de la colmena by Víctor Erice, Cría cuervos by Carlos Saura, and El sur by Adelaida García Morales; and both international works are films by Guillermo del Toro, El espinazo del diablo and El laberinto del fauno. I attempt to determine the textual or cinematic function of the child as first person (homodiegetic) narrative viewer in these works, and I study the different ways in which this child’s point of view is constructed in order to depict the overwhelming tragedy of war. I note patterns and diversities in subject matter presented by the narrative voice, and observe the characteristics of the child narrative viewer’s world and priorities (as presented by the authors and filmmakers), paying careful attention to how each perceives and understands his or her country’s violent upheaval and its aftermath. The theoretical framework of this investigation draws mainly from trauma theory, Gothic studies, and the tradition of the fairy tale. I illustrate how within the war narrative in addition to the author’s/filmmaker’s desire to recreate the sentiment that a child would evoke in adult readers and viewers, the child narrative viewer is employed for three main reasons: to play upon or against preexisting notions of the child’s innocence; to represent (possibly subversively) the nation; and as therapeutic means of returning to a paradise lost or creating a paradise never experienced.Item The Thing to Do: Motivational Factors for Enlistment in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939(Texas A&M International University, 2014-10-06) Buentello, Marco Antonio; Thompson, Jerry D.Nearly 3,000 Americans volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Much has been written about them, but there is no comprehensive study on their motivations for enlisting in what we now call the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. In this thesis, the letters and spoken words of the volunteers are analyzed in order to better understand their various motivations. Each volunteer internalized the Spanish Civil War. Some had distinct reasons for volunteering, while others were carried by the Popular Front movement. Many volunteers came to see the situation in Spain as the “thing to do.” Why did Spain become a necessary struggle for these Americans? Were they fighting strictly for the Second Spanish Republic or were they fighting for personal reasons? The role of the Communist Party USA is also explored as it played a pivotal role in motivating the volunteers. There are no records for a majority of the volunteers. But in analyzing the words of those who left records, this study concludes that there were clear trends in motivations among the volunteers. Each volunteer internalized the Spanish Civil War, but they also saw themselves as part of the larger proletarian struggle. Were they a product of their times or simply motivated individuals?