English Honors Theses

Date of Creation

4-2021

Document Type

Departmental Honors Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Oliver de la Paz

Abstract

The Car Ride Home explores the coming of age of a young boy into a queer man, searching and sifting through the trauma of home life, and realizing his mother’s addiction affects more than just herself, but an entire family. This realization coincides with views of masculinity, as he carefully watches the men around him. He internalizes these depictions of masculinity when exploring his own confusion and investigation of his own sexual identity and queerness. The poetry collection is broken up into two connected parts. Part one explores the illusion of childhood and nostalgia while introducing subtle glimpses and secrets of the family as well as the self, with an emphasis on family trauma. Part two dives more into this idea of questioning sexuality, as something combatting both Latino identity and even religion. Sexuality begins as something to be kept secret, but slowly and surely reveals itself in experiences. This second part culminates on both the deeper exploration of sexuality and beginning to accept it and what healing can look like when trying to redefine a home previously filled with trauma. This collection encapsulates both who I was, and who I am becoming; where I was, and where I am going.

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