IN QUEST OF FREEDOM. REINALDO ARENAS AND HIS NOVEL THE DOORMAN Abstract The subject of this thesis is to analyse the novel The Doorman (El portero) by Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas and to situate it in the context of the author's life. This work focuses on the part of life of Arenas which he spent exiled in the United States of America. When writing the novel The Doorman, Arenas draws from his own experiences and observations of phenomena in the North American society. At the same time, in this novel appears the motif of seeking freedom and also the theme of escape from the environment of oppression, which are very characteristic themes of Arenas. Key words: Reinaldo Arenas, Cuba, exile, the USA, The Doorman, freedom