Narrating Queer Identity in Xochitl Gonzalez’s "Olga Dies Dreaming"

Abstract

The following study introduces an exploration of queer narrative identity as depicted in selected characters in recently popularized Caribbean American fiction. A close examination of Xochitl Gonzalez’s Olga Dies Dreaming allows for an analysis of the challenges faced and the contested spaces traversed by queer literary characters, within a transcultural context, subsequently foregrounding a nuanced understanding of queer identity and relations of power. Through a selective reading of Gonzalez’s Olga Dies Dreaming the literary representation of queer identity is placed under an intersectional lens and examined against a backdrop of postcolonial US Caribbean communities in New York. Stereotypical representations of Latin machismo, intergenerational conflict, intense familial relationships and a closeted behavioral model regarding queerness are some of the main factors that emphasize immigrant vulnerability and affect identity negotiation.