A Brasa que não dorme : diálogos entre literatura e história em Pão cozido debaixo de brasa, de Miguel Jorge

Abstract

This dissertation presents an analytical approach of the dialogue between history and literature which flows through a historiographical metafictional production. Considering the fact that the interpretations of historical events can be recorded by both historiographical and fictional narratives, we believe that the work "Pão cozido debaixo da brasa" (1997), written by Miguel Jorge and the object of our research, a historiographical metafiction, offers to the reader a great opportunity to re-read the history. More specifically, to re-read the history of the radiological disaster with Cesium-137 which took place in the city of Goiânia, state of Goiás, Brazil, in september1987. The work in question produces critical and ironic re-creation of this space and this event. The overall objective of this research, therefore, is to examine the effectiveness of the dialogue between the real and the fictional as one of the most striking features of this genre of postmodernism. More specifically, the objective is to demonstrate what characterizes the novel "Pão cozido debaixo da brasa" as a literary work which can paradoxically approximate history and literature, since it cannot be classified as a traditional historical novel. Besides that, we intend, with this research, to identify the symbolic resources which enable the literary transfiguration of the city of Goiânia and the disaster with Cesium-137. This is a bibliographical, analytical- interpretive research, since we focus on the analysis substantiated by relevant theoretical contributions of a literary work. Through the dialogue established between the real and the fictional, we took care as not to separate the text from its context; on the contrary, we sought its fusion, as highlighted by the literary critic Antonio Candido (2006). In order to build up a basis of more historiographical data about the catastrophe with Cesium- 137 and the history of Goiânia in a broader sense and in dialogue with our theoretical references, journalistic as well as historical information was considered and problematized in this study. Among various theoretical options, we initially chose the studies of Hutcheon (1991) and White (1995). These authors contest the rigidity of the limits between fiction and history, highlighting the ideological implications which are inherent to all narratives. Gagnebin (2006) helped us to understand the memory conservation and postmodern historical narratives. Mumford (1965) reflects on the rise of cities and the development of the metropolis, their contradictions and disintegration. On a try to understand how disasters like the one in Goiânia are transfigured into great aesthetic productions, we accessed the works of authors such as Oliveira (2008), Carvalho (2000) and Olival (2009). These two last authors have made an important study on the poetry of Miguel Jorge. The analysis of the novel "Pão cozido debaixo da brasa" allowed us to perceive that setting rigid boundaries between history and literature can lead to a process of alienation from reality and prevents the possibility of a critical and dialogical reading of historical narratives.