Male-Female polarity and Latino Family dynamics in Awarded Books by Authors of Latino Origin from United States after 2000

This Master thesis focuses on the dynamic of the development and rethinking of the concept of the traditional Latino patriarchal family built up around male dominance. This work explores the changes of the traditional concept under the pressure of society of the United States in novels written in English by authors of Latino origin awarded for their novels after 2000. The most significant of them being Junot Díaz and his The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; the other two are Mexican Female authors Stella Pope Duarte with If I Die in Juárez and Reyna Grande with Across a Hundred Mountains. The first part is purely theoretical, stemming from the concepts of traditional Latino masculinity, the role of the female and children in the patriarchal family in order to explain the clash of values and family crises which Latinos undergo once they are confronted with the different system of values of the United States and the consequences for all family members. In the second part, all three books are analyzed on the basis of the male - female polarity. Consequences for families are explored as seen by Latino/a authors. Finally, solutions and possible ways of escaping the vicious spiral of violence and tensions created by the changed paradigm penetrating the Latino family life as suggested in the novels are..