Literature of the Southwest

Paper Summary:

Southwestern American literature forms a distinct genre with a sharp flavor that includes land, geography, attitudes and people. Four novels, Tony Hillerman's "Dance Hall of the Dead," Edward Abbey's "Fire on the Mountain", Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses," and Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima" are discussed in this paper to present a partial menu of this exceptionally pungent mix.

From the Paper:

"Within the harsh realities of llanero life, Anayo shows us the spirit of the Chicano people who inhabit this bleak land. He gives us what Paul Beekman Taylor calls the wings of survival: "the spirit's soar to salvation (where) flight merges quests for art with the soul's inclination toward its source; that is, worldly with spiritual aspirations" (Taylor unpaged). Antonio's spirit is one with the spirit of the llano: "The summer came and burned me brown with its energy, and the llano and the river filled me with their beauty" (Anaya 76). His soul immerses itself in the mystery of Ultima's magic, in order, in the words of Taylor, to achieve "flight from chains of church, national identity, and parental ties" (unpaged), to learn to be himself and survive in this land."

More papers on Literature of the Southwest:

• Research Paper # 94627 : "Effective Leadership: Southwest Airlines"
• Research Paper # 29037 : "The Success of JetBlue and Southwest Airlines After 9-11"
• Analytical Essay # 17094 : "Southwest Literature -- America Picante"

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