The theme of social protest in the short stories of Balldomero Lillo.

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: The purpose of this study is to clarify Baldomero Lillo's contribution to the development of the Chilean short story, and the role he played in bringing about an awareness of social injustices in his country, through social protest in his short stories. Importance of the study: The short story in Chile began its movement away from 'the treatment of European, culture and became concerned with the development of Chilean culture, thus giving Chile a national literature. The writers who contributed to this development were classified as the Generation of 1900. Baldomero Lillo, as the guiding figure of this generation, was the first to delve into the soul of the Chilean man, into his problems and joys. Baldomero Lillo searched for this man's true identity: who he was, how he functioned, his aims and feelings, and his way of life. To do this, he probed the common man in the rural, mining, and coastal regions where he found a store of very colorful Cnilean culture. This, he knew, was the true picture of Chile that had been forgotten or had never before been subjected to such a penetrating analysis. In his treatment of the man of Chile, Baldomero Lillo presented a realistic picture of the inJusticcis . that his people suffered. and of their miserable condition. both social and spiritual. This social protest can be seen primarily in his short stories dealing with the Chilean miner. In summary. Baldomero Lillo. in contributing to the development of a truly National Chilean literature, brought about an awareness of the miseries to which a large segment of the Chilean population was sUbJected: thus he was considered the father of social protest in Chile. Methods of procedure. Selections of periodicals and books pertinent to the problem were the sources used in this study. These include studies, pUblished and obtained in Chile, done by the contemporary writers and biographers of Baldomero Lillo. Further research uncovered material published in the United States. The compiling of appropriate material for the development of the problem was based on facts as a means of documenting the treatment of this thesis. Organization of the remainder of the thesis. Chapter II presents a short biography on Baldomero Lillo and indicates the influence of the circumstances of his life and his milieu in shaping his literary career. Chapter III deals with the development of the Chilean short story. It illustrates the traditional style and themes into which Chilean literature had fallen before Baldomero Lillo's appearance and how events of the time motivated Baldomero Lillo's generation to make a change. Chapter IV treats Baldomero Lillo's contribution to the short story in Chile. Chapter V is an analysis of the theme of social protest in selected short stories from his works. Chapter VI comprises the summary and conclusions.