Um defeito de cor e O caminho de casa: a representação do sujeito diaspórico em neonarrativas de escravidão contemporâneas

Abstract

The objective of this dissertation is to comparatively analyze the representation of the diasporic subject in two works, Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi (2017), and Um defeito de cor, by Ana Maria Gonçalves (2019), which critically revisit the past, promoting an intertwining between fiction and history, in order to demonstrate the impact of captivity on the identity configuration of enslaved blacks and their descendants. Both works can be characterized as neo- slave narratives, a term coined by Bernard Bell (1987) to designate contemporary works on the slave trade that appropriate historical facts and characters, inserting them into the fictional universe. In doing so, they present features of slave narratives from the 18th and 19th centuries. The novels will be examined from the perspective of diaspora theories developed by Kevin Kenny (2013), Paul Gilroy (2001) and Robin Cohen (1997), and cultural identity, from the perspective of Denys Cuche (1999) and Stuart Hall (2003), among others. We will also resort to the acculturation theory of John Berry (2004) to analyze the strategies adopted by captives in surviving and adapting to the places where they are enslaved.