Presence under erasure without final redemption - Broadening Oscar Zeta Acosta's Literary Project
Authors
Jensen, Anne Ry ; Griffin, Nick Erik
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-01
Abstract
This thesis centers on Oscar Zeta Acosta’s archival fiction—four texts collected in The Uncollected Works of Oscar Zeta Acosta—which has often been overlooked in favor of his well-known novels, The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (1972) and The Revolt of the Cockroach People (1973). Rather than reading Acosta only through the politicized Brown Buffalo persona, the study argues that the archival texts portray ways of being that come before, never quite reach, or remain outside the political consciousness associated with the canonical works. It proposes a prospective/retrospective distinction: the famous novels look back and interpret colonial violence with a decolonial vocabulary, while the archival fictions show people encountering that violence before they have the political language to name it. The analysis examines “The Little House,” “Perla Is a Pig,” “The Worm Dieth Not,” and “To Whom It May Concern,” drawing on work by Michael Hames-García (postpositivist realism), Gerald Vizenor (survivance—ongoing presence without triumph), Nelson Maldonado-Torres (coloniality of being), Jorge Manuel Gonzalez (colonial inscriptions), and Jonathan Metzl (structural violence). It investigates how marginalized subjects navigate erasure, exclusion, and social abandonment—not through heroic resistance, but through shame, withdrawal, exhaustion, despair, and persistence. Across the corpus, colonial violence is rendered corporeally: Acosta’s characters feel structural oppression in and through the body—as humiliation, segregation, injury, social stigma, or collapse. “The Little House” follows a young Mexican American boy who internalizes exclusion before he can explain it politically. “Perla Is a Pig” depicts a community where fear, superstition, and horizontal hostility make recognition impossible. “The Worm Dieth Not” presents the figure of el Huero insisting that genealogical storytelling preserves presence despite ongoing marginalization. “To Whom It May Concern” imagines the breakdown of social institutions in a speculative register, where despair displaces political action. A central intervention is a challenge to resistance-centered readings of Acosta. Following scholars such as Marta Ester Sánchez and Louis Mendoza, the thesis argues that literary criticism has often privileged overt resistance while overlooking quieter modes of survival. Acosta’s archival fiction preserves precisely these neglected forms. Through the lens of survivance, the study shows that political significance does not require triumph, recognition, or redemption. Ultimately, it concludes that the archival fictions depict presence under erasure—persistence without final redemption. By foregrounding survival, narration, and persistence over heroic resolution, these texts broaden our understanding of Acosta’s literary project and the kinds of subjectivity possible under colonial conditions.
Denne afhandling sætter fokus på Oscar Zeta Acostas arkivfortællinger—fire tekster samlet i The Uncollected Works of Oscar Zeta Acosta—som ofte overses til fordel for hans kendte romaner, The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (1972) og The Revolt of the Cockroach People (1973). I stedet for at læse Acosta gennem den politiserede figur Brown Buffalo argumenterer studiet for, at arkivteksterne viser livspositioner, der ligger før, aldrig helt når frem til eller falder uden for den politiske bevidsthed, som præger de kanoniske værker. Afhandlingen foreslår derfor en fremad-/tilbagebliksskeln: Hvor romanerne ser tilbage og fortolker kolonial vold med et afkolonialt sprog, skildrer arkivfortællingerne, hvordan mennesker oplever sådan vold, før de har ordene til at udtrykke den politisk. Analysen undersøger “The Little House,” “Perla Is a Pig,” “The Worm Dieth Not” og “To Whom It May Concern” og trækker på teorier af Michael Hames-García (postpositivistisk realisme), Gerald Vizenor (survivance—vedvarende tilstedeværelse uden sejr), Nelson Maldonado-Torres (kolonialitet af væren), Jorge Manuel Gonzalez (koloniale indskrifter) og Jonathan Metzl (strukturel vold). Fokus er på, hvordan marginaliserede personer håndterer sletning, udelukkelse og socialt svigt—ikke gennem heroisk modstand, men gennem skam, tilbagetrækning, udmattelse, fortvivlelse og vedholdenhed. På tværs af korpuset vises, at kolonial vold udspiller sig kropsligt: Acostas karakterer mærker strukturel undertrykkelse i kroppen—som ydmygelse, adskillelse, skade, socialt stigma eller sammenbrud. “The Little House” skildrer en ung mexicansk-amerikansk dreng, der internaliserer udelukkelse, før han kan forstå den politisk. “Perla Is a Pig” viser, hvordan frygt, overtro og horisontal fjendtlighed gør anerkendelse umulig i et lokalsamfund. “The Worm Dieth Not” lader figuren el Huero insistere på slægtsfortælling som en måde at bevare tilstedeværelse på trods af marginalisering. “To Whom It May Concern” fremstiller et spekulativt sammenbrud af sociale institutioner, hvor fortvivlelse erstatter politisk handling. Et hovedbidrag er et opgør med læsninger, der sætter modstand i centrum. Med udgangspunkt i kritik fra forskere som Marta Ester Sánchez og Louis Mendoza peger afhandlingen på, at litteraturforskningen ofte har prioriteret åbenlys modstand og overset mindre synlige overlevelsesformer. Netop disse former bevares i Acostas arkivfortællinger. Med begrebet survivance viser afhandlingen, at politisk betydning ikke kræver triumf, anerkendelse eller forløsning. Konklusionen er, at arkivteksterne skildrer tilstedeværelse under udslettelse—vedvaren uden endelig forløsning. Ved at fremhæve overlevelse, fortælling og vedholdenhed frem for heroiske afslutninger udvider teksterne vores forståelse af Acostas projekt og af de subjektiviteter, der er mulige under koloniale betingelser.
[This abstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords