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RE-FIGURING the MESTIZO BODY: DISABILITY and ILLNESS in CHICANO LITERATURE by EMILY CAROLINE PERKINS FREDERICK WHITING, COMMITTE

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RE-FIGURING the MESTIZO BODY: DISABILITY and ILLNESS in CHICANO LITERATURE by EMILY CAROLINE PERKINS FREDERICK WHITING, COMMITTE RE-FIGURING THE MESTIZO BODY: DISABILITY AND ILLNESS IN CHICANO LITERATURE by EMILY CAROLINE PERKINS FREDERICK WHITING, COMMITTEE CHAIR NIRMALA EREVELLES MICHAEL INNIS-JIMÉNEZ PHILIP BEIDLER YOLANDA MANORA NIKHIL BILWAKESH A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2012 Copyright Emily Caroline Perkins 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Chicano activist literature of the 1960s depicted images of healthy bodies in its quest to promote empowerment for its people, but, paradoxically, Chicano novels written from the 1960s to the present have been filled with images of disability and illness rather than health. This project uses a disability studies perspective to present reasons for this paradox and to suggest that images of disability serve to both create and reflect contemporary attitudes toward nationalism in the Chicano nation. Unlike previous disability studies readings of Chicano literature, this study illustrates how specific historical transformations in conceptions of disability within the Chicano movement have contributed to shifting conceptions of national identity. To help illustrate these shifting conceptions, I offer the term dys-placement, which refers to post-colonial literature's convention of depicting disabled Others in effort to both register and critique a variety of social and political displacements. In effect, dys-placement contributes to a shifting of values within the post-colonized culture to aid in the culture's survival. In the process of dys -placement, disability tends to retain specific meanings in specific eras, and these meanings encapsulate the post- colonized culture's contemporary consciousness. This study will track the changing meanings of disability in Chicano novels published from the 1970s through the 1990s, but it will primarily focus on Miguel Mendez's Peregrinos de Aztlán (early to mid-1970s), Rudolfo Anaya's Tortuga: A Novel (mid to late 1970s), Arturo Islas' The Rain God: A Desert Tale (1980s), and Benjamin Saenz's Carry Me Like Water (1990s), which offer conceptions of Chicano identity that are exemplary of other Chicano literary works from their respective eras. These historically-specific ii meanings of disability are typical of dys-placement because images of disability originate from trends in political activism and literature, and authors often suggest particular meanings of disability by framing it accordingly to particular models of disability in the ascendant at the time of their writing. In the four eras I explore, authors use the materialist, the rehabilitation, the social, and the cultural models, respectively. The process of dys-placement is also examined through Chicano culture's historically-specific manipulation of its cultural nationalist rallying symbol Aztlán. iii DEDICATION For my courageous and tireless mother who has always encouraged me to follow my heart and supported me in my pursuit; for my true love, my treasure, and my best friend, whose patience, understanding, and devotion know no bounds; and for my precious and loving grandparents who will always live in my heart. iv ` ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank my mother Mildred, my grandparents Troy and Lennis, and my cousin and sister-friend Ashley who made my college experience possible. After I sustained my high-level spinal cord injury eighteen years ago, you never questioned my desire to continue my education, and your support in my pursuit of knowledge has been matchless and indescribable. Because my hands were crippled, you lent your own. Thanks to your dedication and countless hours of hard work, you helped me overcome obstacles that would have been insurmountable otherwise. Words can never express the depth of my gratitude. Thank you for never letting my body’s limitations limit my dreams. I would also like to thank Fred Whiting who guided me through the process of writing this dissertation and reminded me that writing is indeed a process with limitless possibilities. Thank you for instilling me with the courage to enter into new areas of study, for encouraging me to follow my instincts and take risks, for allowing me the freedom to let my ideas grow wherever they may, and for being there with me while I figured and re-figured. Your optimism sustained me from the beginning, and your confidence in my abilities gave me invaluable boosts along the way. You have always drawn forth more subtle and sophisticated intellectual thought from me than I ever thought possible. Thank you for pushing me to think in more nuanced ways. Thank you to Nirmala Erevelles for your contagious enthusiasm and for making me feel like a part of the disability studies community. Your knowledge of disability studies resources has been indispensable, as have your insights into contemporary issues in disability studies v scholarship. My thanks also go out to Philip Beidler, Yolanda Manora, Nikhil Bilwakesh, and Michael Innis-Jimenez for your encouragement as well as your advice for expanding my ideas. I extend my thanks to my friends and professors in graduate school for sharing in my exploration of disability identity and for helping me to discover the importance and the power of language. In particular, thanks to John W. Crowley for your years of mentorship and friendship. How I cherish our unforgettable discussions in which you shared your vast literary knowledge and your insights into the field of English and disability studies. Furthermore, thank you for always reminding me about the best part of literature – the joy of reading. My gratitude goes out to my undergraduate professors at Mississippi University for Women for their encouragement throughout this process and for inspiring me to be a scholar and a lifelong learner, and to the University of Alabama Office of Disability Services for converting many of my research materials into an accessible format throughout the course of this dissertation process. Finally, I would like to thank my special friend Andrew who is a constant source of support and perspective. Thank you for your patience throughout this journey and for understanding how disability can be a part of my identity without overwhelming my identity. Your faith in me will always be my biggest source of inspiration. vi CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................v 1. DISPLACEMENT AND DYS-PLACEMENT IN CHICANO LITERATURE ..................1 2. DISABILITY AND ECONOMIC OPPRESSION IN MIGUEL MENDEZ'S PILGRIMS OF AZTLÁN .................................................................................................29 3. REHABILITATING THE SPIRIT IN RUDOLFO ANAYA'S TORTUGA .......................66 4. BORDERLANDS DISABILITY AND NATIONAL AMBIVALENCE IN ARTURO ISLAS’ THE RAIN GOD............................................................................105 5. DEAFNESS AND SHARING DIFFERENCE IN BENJAMIN SAENZ'S CARRY ME LIKE WATER ........................................................................................................ 137 AFTERWORD ..........................................................................................................................168 WORKS CITED .......................................................................................................................172 vii DISPLACEMENT AND DYS-PLACEMENT IN CHICANO LITERATURE From the outset, national/cultural identity, place, and the body have been inextricably bound together for the politically engaged Mexican American people who have come to be known as Chicanos/as. This connection can be traced back to Chicanos/as Aztec ancestors. According to Aztec mythology, the Aztec people wandered for centuries after being displaced from their homeland called Aztlán, a lush paradise characterized by caves, flowing springs, and a magical mountain as well as the absence of old age and illness. Legend tells that the Aztecs, or Mexicas, originated in what is now the southwestern United States and they migrated to Mexico and populated the swamp land now known as Mexico City. Their god Mexica told them that they would one day journey back to the Southwest and locate Aztlán, their rightful land, to live a life of comfort and ease. This comfort and ease, particularly as it affects the body, is depicted in Diego Duran’s recorded stories of the sixteenth century Aztecs’ tales of Aztlán. In these stories, the inhabitants of Aztlán could grow younger with each step that they climbed on the magical mountain; they could acquire whatever age they desired and, in doing so, rejuvenate themselves. In addition, their bodies never got sick in Aztlán because they did not eat foods grown outside their magical realm (Duran 220). The Aztecs never found their way back to their place of comfort, as legend goes, but their Chicano descendents adopted their mythological homeland as a cultural rallying symbol in the 1960s in order to strengthen the Chicano movement which began in the 1950s and attempted to 1 become officially organized in the 1960s. 1 Chicano leaders incorporated Aztlán’s emphasis on youth and good health to suture a physical
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