Orozco Cortes, Filimon

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The American dream: Disillusionment in selected works of Ana Castillo, Judith Ortiz Cofer, and Virgil Suarez
(2008) Orozco Cortes, Filimon; Irizarry Rodríguez, José M.; College of Arts and Sciences - Arts; Haydock, Nickolas; Rivera Rodríguez, Rosita L.; Morales, Betsy; Department of English; Delgado Acosta, Bernadette M.
The concept of the American Dream exerts enormous influence on American life. The promises of wealth and success of the American Dream are powerfully appealing. This thesis presents a critical analysis of representations of the concept of the American Dream and its impact and response on the Latino protagonists in So Far From God by Ana Castillo, The Line of the Sun by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and Going Under by Virgil Suarez. In these texts, the Latino protagonists must confront the dilemma of choosing between pursuing the promises of the American Dream or recovering and preserving their cultural heritage. Characters must contend with the promises of success on the one hand, and with the demands of traditional Latino culture on the other. The pursuit of the American Dream leads the protagonists to cultural alienation from their own heritage and forces them to an introspective reconsideration of their cultural identity.