Identity in Coser y Cantar and Almost a Woman

Abstract

This study contemplates the different definitions of North American identity and the relation between these concepts and the role immigrants are given as part of this nation as displayed in Coser y Cantar and A lmost a Woman . The main goal of this paper is to illustrate how immigrant women face the different situations affecting their identity, and how do they deal with the suffering from longing their native land as well as the need to adapt in order to survive in the new territory. As a result, most women end up with a ‘‘fragmented’’ identity, identifying themselves as bicultural and bilingual: ‘‘ni de aquí, ni de allá, ni de ninguna parte’’, no longer completely from their native land neither from the new one. Therefore, as a starting point, I provide an overview on the topic of North American identity through history and the two contradictory movements leaning towards assimilation: ‘‘melting pot’’ or integration: ‘‘multiculturalism’’. Furthermore, I examine how women writers such as Anzaldúa, Chin or Kristeva explore the process of acculturation in the United States, the resulting ‘‘hybrid’’ identity and how gender matters when it comes to the redefinition of oneself. It’s also important to analyse how this loss of identity is expressed through the characters in the literary works: SHE and ELLA in C oser y Cantar and Esmeralda Santiago in A lmost a Woman . To achieve this, I stress the relevance of names and naming, language, ethnic stereotypes and finally food and music in the configuration of these character’s identity. As a conclusion, an interpretation of the possible resolutions in these women’s struggle to identify themselves is provided in order to demonstrate how identity is in constant change and is affected by personal, social and political factors.