Tropical Sol da Liberdade e sob Os Pés, Meu Corpo Inteiro: a Literatura como Memória da Ditadura Brasileira.

Abstract

The present study is the result of the perennial and growing need to work on individual and collective memory in relation to historical facts and the need to create a historical memory, so that pernicious periods such as the Brazilian dictatorship do not occur again. Such period changed the course of the nation and of entire families due to violence, persecution, and disappearances, and it is not discussed enough in the contemporary world. Brazil has not penalized anyone and leniency and silencing about the dictatorship were attempts to erase those facts from the collective memory, so here we try to show why literature is relevant to raise themes involving the dictatorship. A literature founded analysis of topics such as individual and collective memory, exile, and trauma, avoids us forgetting about them. Literature can contribute to the reinterpretation of the past, to a collective memory rebuild, to inform new generations of what truly happened, and to put an end to sophistry. Here it is shown that remembering is important to discuss the dictatorial regime and the dramas of the families that succumbed due to authoritarianism and arbitrary acts. The commented novels are used mainly to reveal credible subjects that were covert within the official history. Both are inspired by real facts to report stories that take place at the time, and after, the dictatorship and serve as a reflection on the events of the period so little addressed today.