Revista Mal Estar e Subjetividade
Print version ISSN 1518-6148
Abstract
GADZEKPO, John Rex Amuzu. Entre o cordel e o Pau-Brasil: uma metáfora diacro-sincrônica do Brasil. Rev. Mal-Estar e Subj. [online]. 2004, vol.4, n.1, pp.171-206. ISSN 1518-6148.
Within the framework of a research trip about the desafio - the dialogued satirical vein of the Brazilian cordel literature - in the mainly North-eastern region of Brazil, several aspects of Brazilian civilization come up for commentary, as they emerge in the bibliographic discoveries made along this trip, as well as in what are perceived as related matters (notably Afro-Brazilian literature and culture), in certain institutions and in the very human and natural landscape. Based on a metaphor rooted in the qualities of the almost extinct brazilwood, observations and analyses of the status of cordel literature and the present socio-economic situation of Brazil are made in the light of an exemplary symbiotic relationship postulated in the said metaphor. In essence, therefore, this essay attempts a pluralist and holistic (re)interpretation of Brazil in which a synchronic journey induces a corollary diachronic trip along often forgotten paths in the history of Brazil, calling for a rethinking and reappraisal of several (including literary) aspects of the existing strategies, orientations and policies regarding the identity and making of Brazilian society.
Keywords : civilization; historiography; identity; brazilwood.