With the rise of fascism in Europe. many writers found they could no longer voice their opinions freely. Aside from the threat of imprisonment or death, strict censors were put into place, so any criticism of the regime had to be disguised. Nevertheless, some writers were able to bypass the censors and offer criticism of the regime in power. The authors warn against the techniques used like mass propaganda, aggressive approaches to war, and extreme nationalism in their literature. By examining the literature that appeared under fascism, this thesis attempts to establish a cross-cultural connection between Italy and Spain through two unique authors and their highly personalized criticism by examining Carlo Emilio Gadda's La cognizione del dolore and Carmen Laforet's Nada. Gadda uses autobiographical references in his works as symbols of Mussolini's fascism, and Laforet is able to capture the female perspective of life under Franco's rule due to her unique upbringing in the Canaries. In distressing political times they were able to relate the situation to their own lives and by doing so find a creative outlet to oppose fascism. In the case of these authors, it is essential to consider their biographies to fully comprehend their workst due to the personalized approach to criticism, which allows for a more complete reading of the text. With this comparative study I hope to bring more attention to these authors through an emphasis on the value of literary opposition to fascism in the context of history.

This thesis examines the products and impact of the language contact situation produced in Argentina between Italian immigrants and the local Argentine population from the late 1800s to the present day. This thesis is composed of two main parts: historical research and first-hand research, including a comparison between the linguistic situations in Argentina and Uruguay. Despite the high percentage of people of Italian descent in Argentina, we find a case of language shift and loss. Though in the past Italian immigrants were subject to discrimination, now Italian culture is a sense of pride. Nonetheless, the Italian language is only one marker of culture, and one that is lost in the home environment after a few generations. There have been, and still are, some Argentine efforts toward language maintenance, which could perhaps be improved after a thorough comparative study of Uruguay's Italian education model.