Perspectivas póscoloniais em O cortiço.

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the postcolonial perspectives in the Brazilian novel O Cortiço (1890), by Aluísio Azevedo. The importance of this research is justified since it is still not common studies about the Brazilian literature at the light of the discussions proposed by the critical-theoretical bias used here, especially about the corpus. In order to better support the discussions, it will be used the works of Said (2003), Loomba (1998), Bonnici (2000; 2005), for example, mainly because this research will show a historical timeline involving the terms colonialism, imperialism, race, class and discourse, providing examples such points and their representations in national and international literary works, in order to establish meaningful parallels that show patters of similarities among voices of the metropolis and those of the margin, both defending their causes, also taking into consideration aspects of the feminist theories. This study will also show subversive works about the new space, that is, Brazil, such as those of black people and Indians, works produced in Brazil, by Brazilian and Portuguese writers, highlighting discoursive strategies to denounce the horrors imposed by the invaders to the subjected people. Azevedo‟s novel possesses a subversive nature in the sense that it criticizes the process of marginalization of peoples segregated at the margin of society and the so called white race superiority, what resulted in several ways of prejudice. His novel also questions the horrors of slavery.