ABSTRACT
The article is concerned with artistic properties of one of the staples of Chicano literature, the Klail City Death Trip Series by Rolando Hinojosa, which are viewed from the perspective of the culture of popular laughter. The research draws upon Bakhtin’s theory of carnival and the carnivalesque. The analysis reveals that carnival laughter affects the system of images; it permeates the system of characters and shapes the speech structure of the novels. The dual nature of the comic characters, who work as a destructive force and at the same time are bearers of the truth, encapsulates the culture of carnival laughter. Another representation of the carnivalesque and the grotesque is the masks that Chicanos wear. The grotesque serves as a survival tool for the Chicano community, depicted in the novels, that helps them combat the fear of the inevitable.
KEYWORDS:
Chicano Literature; Carnivalesque; Grotesque; Bakhtin; Rolando Hinojosa