Within Four Walls : The Portrayal of Home in American Immigrant Literature

Abstract

[EN]In this dissertation I explore the meaning of home in American immigrant literature. Starting from a theoretical framework about spaces in literature, I focus on the case of Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street and Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic. The study of both works allows me to establish several similarities between them. Home is an intimate place that is supposed to symbolise security and comfort Nevertheless, in the case of immigrant families this space may be full of dichotomies that trigger conflicts when two cultures collide under the same roof. [ES]In this dissertation I explore the meaning of home in American immigrant literature. Starting from a theoretical framework about spaces in literature, I focus on the case of Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street and Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic. The study of both works allows me to establish several similarities between them. Home is an intimate place that is supposed to symbolise security and comfort Nevertheless, in the case of immigrant families this space may be full of dichotomies that trigger conflicts when two cultures collide under the same roof.