Desmitificación del personaje migrante mexicano visto como delincuente en Estados Unidos en novelas contemporáneas escritas por autores mexicanos

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes literary representations of male migrant characters of Mexican origin who legally or illegally enter the United States throughout the 20th century and the first decades of 21^st century. The purpose is to examine the stereotype of the Mexican migrant seen as a criminal once they step foot on American soil in the following novels written by Mexican authors: Las aventuras de don Chipote, O cuando los pericos mamen (1928) by Daniel Venegas, Murieron a mitad del río (1948) by Luis Spota, the short story “La pena” included in the novel La frontera de cristal (1995) by Carlos Fuentes, and Campeón gabacho (2015) by Aura Xilonen Arroyo. The different historical events between Mexico and the United States such as the loss of Mexican territory after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the need for cheap labor in the United States during World War II, the creation of border control institutions like the Border Patrol, the massive deportation of undocumented Mexican workers, among others, created over time the perception that Mexicans are inferior, poor, dirty, useless, disposable, harmful, and undesirable beings, to the point of equating the Mexicans as criminals. The descriptions of the rogue character included in the picaresque novel as someone trying to satisfy basic needs or the young man who seeks to find the meaning of life in the bildungsroman help to decipher the internal and external processes the Mexican migrant characters face in their attempt to work, survive, and be included in American life.