Entre ecos de luta e de falhanços: figurações da Ditadura Militar em Sempreviva (2014), de Antonio Callado, e O Minossauro (1975), de Benedicto Monteiro

Abstract

In this work, the novels O Minossauro (1975), by Benedicto Monteiro, and Sempreviva (2014), by Antonio Callado are analyzed, they were published in Brazil during the military dictatorship, in 1975 and 1981, respectively. These are novels that represent dictatorial oppression in the period of Latin American military dictatorships and in their subsequent developments, whose shadows and discourses still persist as a threatening ghost, in the various coup attempts, just remember what happened in Brazil on January 8, 2023. In the light of these two novelistic figurations, this study aims to reflect on the discourse of military repressive actions, with emphasis on political exile, dictatorial violence and revenge, as configured in the analyzed works. This research is justified as a contribution to expand the knowledge of literary works that revisit the Brazilian military dictatorship in the Latin American context, in Brazil and specifically in the Pará Amazon. By dealing with themes such as exile, violence and revenge, it contributes to preserve historical memory and expand the critical repertoire about this period. It also highlights the need to give visibility to those who were censored and silenced, whose experiences during the years of lead are still little known, reinforcing the relevance of valuing national and Amazonian literature and integrating them into academic debates. The research has as its method a qualitative approach, using bibliographic studies developed from the Comparative Literature. The work is divided into three sections as an option to organize the discussions. Based on theoretical contributions by Arns (1987), Candido (2000), Bosi (2002), Calveiro (2006), Carvalhal (2006), Pires (2007), Seligmann-Silva (2003), Bakhtin (1998), among others. In this way, the novels show the close articulation between political exile, dictatorial violence and revenge, to the extent that exile and revenge emerge as developments of the military repressive practices disseminated throughout Latin America in the mid-twentieth century, revealing the search for freedom and justice in the face of the violations suffered. In addition, violence and the dictatorial apparatus remain inscribed in contemporaneity, manifesting themselves through legal amendments, punitive actions, torture and silenced murders, which produce indignation and a feeling of impotence in the face of the persistence of these brutalities.