Reframing Latin America: A Cultural Theory Reading ... - BGSU Blogs

narrating about narrative 57
perspectives and narrative styles tend to differ greatly from the styles and
contents of works produced by “lettered citizens.”
“Who sees?” (89) This question should not be understood as point of view. It
refers to whose perspective is presented, or how the narration is focused. We
distinguish between point of view and focus because sometimes the narrator
can focus the narration on a character other than on him or herself (see
Celsa’s World, excerpted below). Focus is similar in function to the frame
of a window. Considering the focus of the novel contributes to our understanding
of its discursive construction.
Semiotic narratologists challenge the essentialist assumption that narratives
are stable. They look for contradictions within narrative to reveal multiplicity
of meaning, for the ways in which a narrative refl ects discourses
and thus is subject to constant variations in interpretation. Semioticians
often read texts against themselves to expose how a narrative constructs
identity and meaning through contradiction. A claim by a narrative written
in Spanish that it represents Mayan people and their worldview may diverge
from what the text actually does.
Another common essentialist practice that semioticians reject is the
close biographical study of the author in order to gain access to the truths
of a text. The logic behind this practice originates in the essentialist belief
that an author’s intention instills meaning in a text. Therefore, the truths
of a text are to be found in the author’s life and thought. Because semioticians
embrace the notion of unintended meaning and of the death of the
author, they do not privilege biographies. But they nonetheless remain very
interested in historical context, both that pertaining to the author and to
the period in which a text was produced. Semioticians ask, Where is the
author from? What is his or her education? What is his or her economic situation?
What is the historical context in which she or he is writing? What
are the author’s political views? Who makes up the author’s audience? What
was the author’s access to the national discourse? Semioticians do not ask
these questions with the goal of unearthing the true intentions of the authors
or fi nding out how the human condition is uniquely captured. Their
objective is to reveal the discursive framework within which authors operate.
They expose the elements that constitute the windows through which
authors see.
Many of the authors included in the chapters that follow, for example,
were educated, white or mestizo men who at the time they were writing, or
shortly thereafter, became political leaders in their countries. As a result,