“A autohistória-teoria de Gloria Anzaldúa em I am not your perfect mexican daughter de Erika Sánchez”

Abstract

The present final thesis analyzes the journey of the protagonist Julia Reyes in the novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (2017) by Erika Sánchez. The analysis is grounded in chicana theorist Gloria Anzaldúa’s understanding of the importance of collectivity in the process of affirming chicana identity. The research draws upon the concepts of borderlands and autohistoria theorized by Anzaldúa (1987, 2009, 2015) alongside Keating (2005, 2009) and Bhattacharya (2020), contrasting them with the individualized, Western theorization of self-writing found in the work of Foucault (2004) and Klinger (2007). Based on this framework, the study interprets Julia Reyes’s journey of discovery, healing, and transformation as intersecting with her parents' pain and trauma, thereby highlighting the connection between personal and collective experiences in the protagonist's process of self-affirmation and development.