You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU Theses and Dissertations

Jazz discourse in Julio Cortazar's "Rayuela": Improvising a narrative

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2000
Summary:
Julio Cortazar's preoccupation with the musicality of language celebrates the paradox of its intent to construct and convey meaning and its inability to be equated with actual human experience. His works expand traditional boundaries associated with the narrative form by encompassing characteristics typical of various forms of communication other than literary, which he engages for the purpose of seeking authenticity in all and every aspect of human existence. Rayuela, like a jazz musician's improvisation, is Cortazar's testimony; although not explicitly autobiographical, its fluidity and lack of constructed pretension allow for a direct bridge of communication between author, narrative, and reader akin to the experience of jazz performance. Like a musical improvisation, Rayuela juxtaposes the serious elements of structure and logical sequencing with a playful, intuitive imagination that succeeds in catapulting the reader into new worlds which, like an individual improvised solo, is never repeated in exactly the same way.
Title: Jazz discourse in Julio Cortazar's "Rayuela": Improvising a narrative.
754 views
298 downloads
Name(s): Lewis-Scorza, Karen.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Gosser Esquilin, Mary Ann, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2000
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 120 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Julio Cortazar's preoccupation with the musicality of language celebrates the paradox of its intent to construct and convey meaning and its inability to be equated with actual human experience. His works expand traditional boundaries associated with the narrative form by encompassing characteristics typical of various forms of communication other than literary, which he engages for the purpose of seeking authenticity in all and every aspect of human existence. Rayuela, like a jazz musician's improvisation, is Cortazar's testimony; although not explicitly autobiographical, its fluidity and lack of constructed pretension allow for a direct bridge of communication between author, narrative, and reader akin to the experience of jazz performance. Like a musical improvisation, Rayuela juxtaposes the serious elements of structure and logical sequencing with a playful, intuitive imagination that succeeds in catapulting the reader into new worlds which, like an individual improvised solo, is never repeated in exactly the same way.
Identifier: 9780599747340 (isbn), 15790 (digitool), FADT15790 (IID), fau:12542 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2000.
Subject(s): Cortázar, Julio--Rayuela
Jazz in literature
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15790
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.