Sharp tongue: Donana and ancestral knowledge in Torto Arado

Abstract

The thematic and narrative intricacies of the novel Torto Arado, by Itamar Vieira Junior, trigger several possibilities for academic studies, with emphasis on female protagonism. The initial reflection of this work focuses on the importance of the character Donana and the strength of orality, ancestry and memory of affection for the enunciative construction of the work and for embodying female resistance. Without disregarding the other women in the story, the relationship between granddaughters Bibiana and Belonísia (protagonists of the book) and grandmother Donana (matriarch of the novel) provide valuable clues to unveil how the link between female bodies-voices and ancestry is constructed. Some propositions to analyze: how does the character Donana, understood as a teacher of tradition, form the guiding thread of the story? Does the image construction of the character Donana occur differently in the affective memory of each granddaughter? How important is memory in the construction of an identity and a collective narrative of Fazenda Água Negra, the setting of the book? To discuss such propositions, the methodology aims at qualitative research with references that enable readings about ancestry, orality/orality, writing, among other operational concepts. The reflections produced in the work lead to important discussions about female representation in literature, which in the novel Torto Arado is constructed by a profusion of memories, beliefs and ancestral knowledge, important for the strengthening of a new literary language, outside the male colonizing axis. , as well as for a new visibility-architecture of the feminine, of black women, of other worlds cut and opened with them.