Historical-literary rupture in Lobatian work: identities, erasures and decontextualization

Abstract

Introduction. Decontextualizing or contextualizing the work of Monteiro Lobato is part of a discussion, that began in 2010, when the book Caçadas de Pedrinho (“Huntings of Pedrinho”), purchased with public money for distribution in public schools, was the target of retaliation before the National Education Council (NEC). Objective and Methodology. The complaint, made by Antônio Gomes da Costa Neto, questioned the racism and prejudice contained in the book. The fact triggered a wave of protests, both in support and against the questioning. Some defend the mere adaptation or deletion of terms considered offensive, others suggest paratexts to contextualize the socio-cultural panorama of the book's time. Results and Conclusion. This article proposes to comprehensively revisiting the issue, taking into account the conflicting opinions and suggestions for overcoming impasses, without leaving aside the proposal to use the example comparatively with other secular works within the historical panorama of evolution of human thought.