Marginal Narration In Sandra Cisneros’s Caramelo

Sandra Cisneros is an influential contemporary Mexican American female writer who is well-known for employing particular perspectives of ethnic minority as well as a brisk and poetic language.Caramelo is an elaborate work that has cost her nearly seven years.Adopting a Chicana girl as the major narrator,this novel narrates the century-long history of four generations in the Reyes family.And this faithfully reveals the living condition of the Mexican immigrants in America.This thesis aims at using the combination of Chicana feminism,Homi Bhabha’s hybridity ideas with narratives theories to analyze three types of marginal narration,which is respectively female,subaltern and transnational narration so as to excavate the multiple meanings uttered by a marginal voice.The whole thesis contains five parts.The first part is an introduction of Sandra Cisneros and her life experience as well as the novel Caramelo,literature review about her works at home and abroad and the layout of this thesis.Starting from the gender of the narrators in this novel,Chapter Two analyzes the first type of marginal narration in this novel,which is female narration.Caramelo simultaneously adopts personal narration and co-narration from female characters in order to give a voice to marginal Chicanas.This thesis also borrows the idea of Chicana feminism to analyze the reasons and meaning in applying female narration,revealing the author’s urge of reconstruct female value both at individual and family level.Chapter Three centers on the second type of marginal narration,which is subaltern narration.Due to the historical migration reasons and ethnic problems,the Chicano group is still struggling financially at the bottom of society.They work diligently and silently but still can’t make ends meet.The narration of family history reflects the difficulty and obstacles Chicano/as met but it also indicates the author’s attempt to appeal to social equality.Chapter Four,from the perspective of Homi Bhaha’s cultural hybridity,discusses the purpose and meaning of the third type of transnational narration.As a mixed ethnic group,Mexican Americans always stay in an awkward situation since they sit at the margin of both cultures without the sense of belonging.Therefore,only by establishing a hybrid cultural identity can the Chicano ethnic group find a new standpoint for culture to develop and prosper.The conclusion gives an overview of the three types of marginal narration above and summarizes the importance for the Chicana group to make their own voice.Beyond that,it also indicates the author’s overall viewpoint of the entire ethnic group while at the same time draws a plain picture about the future development of the Chicano/as.