Analysis Of Flaming Iguanas By Cormac Mccarthy

Transfiguration of America Through Road Novels Flaming Iguanas by Erika Lopez and The Road by Cormac McCarthy critiques America, while transgressing heteronormativity and modifying mobility and identity. Traveling west is an adventure and an opportunity to discover oneself, it is also an extension to exercise one s freedom. As a woman,Tomato Rodriguez travels across the country to see his dad in California. Being on the road transgresses the meaning of the road, whilst inventing one’s identity. It is a space to develop a bond that is of mutual respect, sustained by love. In Flaming Iguanas the road is presented as a means of escape and reassertion. Tomato escapes domestication, common societal beliefs that are placed on women. As a bisexual, chicano woman on the road she is transgressing heteronormativity. In previous road novels the road is a place for white hetero-men having an adventure. Tomato exercises her new found identity when she consummates with the Canadian John, ch allenging double standards that are placed on women. She writes â€Å"if you’re a woman traveling alone people will instantly want to kill you†, she is not scared to challenge these myths and exercise her freedom, as a woman on the road (111). As a pioneer in heteronormativity, she has set a path in which she does not conform to society s ideals, ultimately mending gender norms for others. The road novels are usually dominated by men and their adventures, causing havoc on everywhere they set foot. As a