Identidade em crise: a década de 1930 e seus reflexos na obra de Graciliano Ramos

Abstract

The intersection of the subject matters of language, culture and identity is a necessary and urgent issue on the language learning, in which the proposed investigations are developed. The argument we intend to prove is that works such as São Bernardo, Angústia and Vidas Secas reflect, yet not intentionally, an identity crisis in good part of the Brazilian people, instigated by the events established in the 30 s. The researches were developed from the lexical analysis of the three novels, seeking to identify in which way the referred crisis is reflected in the textual conception. Due to the magnitude of the corpus it is proposed to focus on the strategies used by the author to construct the identity of each protagonist, as well as the development of the respective crisis of such identities. Due to the specificity of the corpus-text and the theme it is necessary the congruence of theoretical basis from distinct but complementary areas. The linguistic analysis is based on the lexical selection according to Verbal Iconicity Theory Assumption (SIMÕES), of semiotic basis, which deals with the iconic, indicial and symbolic potential of the lexicon. The lexicalized expressions are also analyzed due to its relevance in the Portuguese Language learning, due to the meaning potential they bear. For the approach of these expressions, the theoretical support is sought in Xatara and Succi (2008), based on the following criteria: tradition, authority, polyphony, ideology, context and intertextuality, used in the classification of these expressions as a proverb. The analysis about the construction and about the identity crisis are based on the Psychoanalysis and Social Cience fields, mainly on Morin (2007) and Woodward assumptions (2014). The approaches are based on Freud assumption (1997), according whom, body, outside world and relationships represent the source of human suffering. Due to the magnitude of the selected corpus, the list of words used in the text composition relies on the technological support of the Antconc1 software. In order to better conduct the investigations, three questions were elaborated, and their answers will be sought on the body of the thesis: Is it possible to identify features from the lexical iconicity study in the focused works? How can iconical and indicial signs reflect the tensions that are responsible for the identity construction (me X me, me X other, me X world)? Can the iconical and indicial forms listed in these works certify the verissimilitude between the world narrated and the sociopolitical scenario of the time in wich the works are situated? It is intended, therefore, to contribute to the understanding of the novel here analyzed both as literary works representing an historical era and as effective Portuguese Language learning