The term "saga" is applied freely to a certain body of literature, yet the genre itself is loosely and culturally defined. The problematics of the genre remains largely unexplored, and the issue of "inter-American" literature itself is stiU new to the Uterary world. Defining the term "famüy saga" as it relates to the literature of the Americas is especially chaUenging, as the avaüable discussion of the genre mainly concerns the ancient Icelandic Sagas, or addresses the issue as a subdivision offolklore. FinaUy, the famüies portrayed become representatives oftheir communities, sacrificing individuahty for the broader goal ofcultural representation. The presence and questioning of these significant famüy values within the text is another crucial component ofthe genre. Moreover, the familial homestead often plays an important role in the shaping of famüy life and its values. Secondly, famüy sagas trace their history to oral traditions and the passing down of history hence, these novels tend to share a reliance on orality in their style and organization, and in their ability to impart opinions and varying versions of "history" based on hearsay or gossip. The theme is almost inevitably the destruction of this family and a reversal of its rules, which may be seen as a negative and tragic downfall or as a liberating and positive step.
Certain traits appear to me as constants throughout various family sagas, and I wül analyze José de la Cuadra's Los Sangurimas (1934) and Jane Smüey's A Thousand Acres (1991) as novels exploring and reveaUng the foUowing generic features: First of all, each narrative traces the history of a famüy over many generations, from its roots in a specific location or period oftime to its downfaU. An understanding ofhow the famüy saga functions in society as an important cultural artifact is vital to the concretization of the genre. THE COMPAnATIST FAMILY SAGAS OF THE AMERICAS: LOS SANGURIMAS AND A THOUSAND ACRES Lori Ween What exactly is a family saga? What structures or themes allow certain works to be designated as such, and what are the connections between a text, its historical perspective, and the oral tradition? How does tradition itself translate into the written form? Some scholars have sought to define the criteria for this designation, yet many questions remain, as the definition must stretch to include stories from diverse cultures with varying modes ofrepresentation. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:
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