Genius, Marginalization and Madness in El perseguidor, by Julio Cortázar
Abstract
The current article is focused on the notions of genius, marginalization and insanity in the specific case of El perseguidor (1959), a story by the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar. Special attention is paid to the figure of the protagonist, Johnny Carter, in relation with his counterpoint Bruno and with the modern Western society to which he belongs. Taking social ontology presuppositions as a point of departure, we defend the thesis that it is the friction between society and the individual that prompts the consideration of the latter as a mere lunatic. Likewise, we propose marginalization as a way of personal identity and we try to ascertain the degree of artistic brilliance of the character –if any– according to the narration
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