Language and the tourist experience in Paralelo 35 (1967) by Carmen Laforet in the context of the travel books to the United States in the 1960s

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze Carmen Laforet’s traveling experience in the book Paralelo 35 (1967). Published in a context in which the travelogue to the United States has already established itself as a literary tradition with an audience, Laforet’s book distinguishes itself from those of its contemporaries by adopting a polyphonic perspective and by thematizing the linguistic aspect of the cultural experience. This article will be divided into three parts: the first part serves as an introduction to travel writing to the United States; the second part focuses on the chronicles published in the 1960s by Josep Pla, Miguel Delibes and Julián Marías, and the third part analyzes Paralelo 35. In this study, we will consider: 1) the set of themes from which the European literary imagery on the United States has been constituted; 2) the use of genres related to autobiography, essay and journalism; 3) the construction of a literary image of the writer, identifiable or comparable with that of the traveler, tourist or interpreter.