Roberto Arlt: Professionalism and Literary Style

Roberto Arlt: A Professional Writer

Arlt Argentina emerges in literature very differently from the Florida group, as he possessed a self-taught, humble background. He was not formally educated in Europe, nor was he a traditional academic; however, he was an avid, insatiable reader, leaving indelible traces of influences like Dostoyevsky or Balzac in his work.

The Argentine writer was a true professional who often faced financial constraints, which dictated his literary production. Two main reasons drove his professionalization:

• A) He began writing police reports as an editor for the journal Crítica in 1927, a newspaper adapted to modern, young audiences, before moving to El Mundo.
• B) He frequently evaluated or criticized the work of other writers based on their popular reception.

The Role of Caricature

The caricature is a fundamental resource for social criticism. It is achieved by exaggerating, creating disproportion, and altering the relationship of parts to the whole.

The Grotesque in Arlt's Work

In his descriptions, Arlt uses elements that exceed simple caricature and approach the grotesque—a mode of literary representation that points toward social criticism. His characters possess strange, ridiculous, and disproportionate traits that create a tragicomic effect.

The grotesque introduces elements that are simultaneously funny and repulsive, such as Joaquín's glass eye. Both caricature and the grotesque serve to question and criticize identity, degrading and ridiculing subjects until they appear monstrous and inhuman.

Identity and Orality

The problem of identity is central to his stories. The narrative is fully articulated through orality, consisting of long dialogues that provide deep insight into the characters.

Characteristics of Arlt's Literature

• A) His writing freely exhibits markedly colloquial language.
• B) He utilizes the vos form.
• C) Lunfardo terms appear frequently.

This demonstrates the position Arlt took regarding the debate raised by academics and writers who discussed the problem of a national language and sought what was socially representative. Arlt maintained that a sound, flexible language full of shades cannot be replaced by a rigid language that does not correspond to our psychology.