The body as an argumentative metaphor in Our America, by José Martí
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This essay proposes reading Nuestra América, by José Martí, based on a metaphorical construction that runs through the text: the American continent is a consciousness that simultaneously inhabits two bodies, one sick and the other healthy. The sick body, which represents the Colony, is characterized by suffering pain and being monstrous; the healthy body, which represents the Republic, is characterized by having a strong pride that is born from self-knowledge. This metaphorical construction, beyond reflecting the tension of powers experienced during Independence, shows that in Martí's political imaginary the Colony and the Republic were not historical periods but states of the subject. In the same way, America, in that imaginary, was not a geographical space but a divided culture that suffered from a fatigue of accommodation produced by the antagonistic struggle between good and evil. Although this metaphorical construction seems to have a positivist character, the truth is that at no time is it used to despise the differences or racial crossovers present in America; on the contrary, it is used to warn of the social decomposition that the continent can suffer due to the absence of values.
Downloads
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in Ecos de la Academia retain copyright in their works and grant Editorial UTN, through the journal, a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to publish, distribute, preserve, index, and disseminate their articles in any format or medium.
Unless otherwise indicated, content published by the journal is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0):
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This license permits users to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for any purpose, including commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors, Ecos de la Academia is identified as the source of publication, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated. Attribution must be provided in a reasonable manner and must not suggest that the authors, the journal, or Universidad Técnica del Norte endorse the reuser or the use made of the material.
No legal terms or technological measures may be applied that restrict the uses permitted by the license. The license does not affect other rights that may apply, including moral rights, privacy rights, image rights, data protection rights, or other third-party rights.
How to Cite
References
Comte, A. (1984). Discurso sobre el espíritu positivo (Trad. C. Berges). Madrid: Sarpe. (e.o.: 1844).
Martí, J. (2012). “Nuestra América”. En: Escenas norteamericanas y otros textos. (Comp. A. Schnirmajer). (e.o.: 1891).
Ramos, J. (2009). Desencuentros de la modernidad en América Latina. Literatura y política en el siglo XIX. Caracas: Fundación Editorial El perro y la rana. (e.o.: 1989).
Sontag, S. (2003). La enfermedad y sus metáforas. El sida y sus metáforas (Trad. M. Muchnik). Buenos Aires: Taurus. (e.o.: 1978).