The Dualism in Luz Villaverde’s View of Her Family in Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban
Orality is a central term in postcolonial literature. Many critics have studied it and one of them is Justin D. Edwards. He wrote a book called Postcolonial Literature in which, among other subjects, he deals with orality. One of the main definition he gives in his book is that “an oral tradition is […] defined by the transmission of cultural material by word of mouth rather than through written documents” (Edwards, 40). In Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban, orality is a recurrent theme. Throughout the whole novel, there are different elements that bear witness to the presence of orality. Among them, Spanish words in an English text, the themes of history and personal history, and the structure of the novel, attest the presence of orality in the novel.
García’s novel is written in English yet, sometimes, Spanish words appear in the text. In his study, Justin D. Edwards explains that this is a characteristic of orality: “the first-person narrator, Hera, uses non-English words such as ′Kamakama′, ′Pakeha′ and ′hoha′” (Edwards, 49). Edwards talks about this characteristic explaining that the main character also uses words that are linked to his background. In García’s novel the characters expressing themselves use Spanish words. They mix them with English, however there are two different ways to use Spanish words in this novel. Some of those words are written in the same font as the English words. When Pilar talks about her grandmother, she hardly ever uses the words “grandmother” or “grandma”. She almost always uses the Spanish word “Abuela”: “I imagine Abuela Celia’s surprise as I sneak up behind her” (García, 26). This word, as the other Spanish words that are not graphically separated from the English text, is part of someone’s name. Here, it completes Celia’s name. Other Spanish words are however written in italic. One of them is the term “santería” which is a religion practiced in Cuba. Felicia believed in “santería”: “At night, Felicia attended our ceremonies” (García, 186). The use of Spanish words, whether they are written in italic or not, emphasis the Cuban culture of the characters.
The culture of the characters is also expressed through history. As Edwards point out in his study, “the history and culture of the place and the people are kept alive” (Edwards, 48) through orality. That is precisely what Pilar’s father is trying to do when he “told [her] stories about Cuba after Columbus came. He said that the Spaniards wiped out more Indians with smallpox than muskets” (García, 28). Pilar asks: “Why don’t we read about this in history books?” (García, 28). Pilar’s question shows that she did not learn about the Spaniards in history books, by reading. But she listened to her father who told her this story. In this extract, orality keeps history alive because oral words transmit knowledge, which was not written down, to someone. Pilar wants people to also remember the history that is not written in books: “If it were up to me, I’d record other things” (García, 28). “Record” has a double meaning that is essential in this context. The first meaning is linked to the idea of preserving information (Oxford English Dictionary). The second meaning is linked to the recording function of electronic devices (Oxford English Dictionary). In this meaning, there is the idea of recording information that was spread by oral transmissions. Oral transmission is more efficient in keeping history alive because it keeps many histories alive, not only the one that can be read in books.
The history that must be recorded is also the personal one. Celia used to talk to Pilar and this reminded her of her Cuban origins. But now that Pilar does not talk as much as before with her Abuela Celia, “Every day Cuba fades a little more inside [her], [and her] grandmother fades a little more inside [her]. And there’s only [her] imagination where [their] history should be” (García, 138). The absence of oral communication between Celia and Pilar makes their personal history disappear. The fact that Pilar refers to Celia as her “grandmother” is significant in this context. It emphasises even more that her Cuban culture is disappearing. As orality’s presence keeps history and culture alive, its absence makes them fade away.
The difficulty occurs when one has to write down stories that are drawn from oral cultures. “The circular communication of the oral process that occurs between teller and listener(s) is, when written down, transformed into a linear narrative structure” (Edwards, 43). Edwards explains that oral communication is not organised in the same way as written communication. Therefore, it is difficult to bring out orality in written pieces. However, García’s novel has a particular structure that demonstrate the presence of orality. The plot is not written in a linear way. Back and forth in time are part of this non-linear writing that recall an oral transmission. The chapters are not chronologically ordered and the addition of Celia’s letters in the middle shows a particular organisation of time. In this perspective, it is a “literature that mixes oral and written forms of communication” (Edwards, 47). Edwards also points out another characteristic of orality: “Oral cultures […] do not order thoughts in this [linear] ways because their natives and cultural belief systems rely on […] the ′stitching together′ stories” (Edwards, 46). This idea of “′stitching together′ stories” is interesting in the context of Dreaming in Cuban. In this novel, there are different narrative voices. In every chapter, there are various characters expressing themselves to make the plot move forward. They tell stories which differ from the ones that the previous character told. The novel is constructed as stories stitched together and this points out the orality in García’s style of writing.
Dreaming in Cuban is a postcolonial novel in many ways. Therefore, in the whole novel, there are different manifestations of orality, which is a central theme in postcolonial literature. The presence of Spanish words in an English text is one of the manifestation of orality in the novel. Those words point out the Cuban culture in the novel. The preservation of history is another central theme linked to orality. The novel points out how history is preserved differently when recorded in an oral or in a written way. It also points out how the absence of orality makes history disappear. Finally, the structure of Dreaming in Cuban is in itself a manifestation of the oral culture.
References:
- García, Cristina. Dreaming in Cuban. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 1992.
- Edwards, Justin D. “Orality.” Postcolonial Literature. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp.40-50.
- Oxford English Dictionary: