Die Wahrnehmung des Fremden im Caoba-Zyklus von B. Traven
The fictitious retelling of the events of the Mexican Revolution in the six novels of the Caoba cycle shows the consequences of colonialism. It also shows the social and economic injustices under which Mexican indigenous peoples suffered. The distinctive character of the native is well shown in the context of the cultural conflict between the colonizer and the colonized. The examination of the portrayal of the native section of the population is the major aim of the following thesis, which combines a narratological and postcolonial approach. The examination of selected text extracts shows, how and to what extent the German-speaking author is detached from a colonial discourse and if he can be seen as a forerunner of postcolonial discourses. The following central questions guide the analysis: To what extend does the representation of indigenous characters correspond to the one of the "noble savage"? How are the different groups of society portrayed (as individuals, type or allegory)? Which methods does the author employ in order to give the European or Western reader an understanding of the foreign culture? Traven's narrative technique of showing the various societies from different perspectives plays an important role in this respect. In his desire to show societal situations as oppression and exploitation, Traven writes from the perspective of the colonized; but he narrates from the perspective of the colonizer with the intention to understand the dictatorial system. This approach corresponds to the "contrapuntal" method described by Edward E. Said in his work Orientalism. I want to show to which extent the author utilises the "contrapuntal" method in his postcolonial criticism and to which extent it is a real postcolonial criticism. Furthermore, the thesis draws on Homi K. Bhabhas theory of the hybrid contact zones to assess the importance Traven gives to transcultural, viz. reciprocal influences?
Mexican Revolution Indigenous peoples Postcolonialisme Postcolonialism Adventure novel