“Sabor de química" by Roniwalter Jatobá and "Dente de Ouro" by Rubens Figueiredo

two migration and labor experiences revisited through the lens of lacanian materialism

Abstract

Roniwalter Jatobá and Rubens Figueiredo are writers who are quite distinct in terms of aesthetics and themes. However, we perceive a specific similarity between two narratives concerning the representation of the effects caused by migratory movement in the lives of two protagonists. In light of this identification, the present essay aims to create a comparative reading between the narratives "Sabor de química" (1976) by Roniwalter Jatobá and "Dente de ouro" (2006) by Rubens Figueiredo, with Lacanian Materialism as the theoretical-critical anchor. The fictional experiences of the protagonists in these narratives reveal migration experiences marked by suffering, abandonment, and precariousness. From these experiences, we seek to highlight that these stories share a common imaginative universe with worldviews that point to similar horizons. Their intertextual resonance forms a reflective aesthetic framework regarding the symbolic and subjective dimensions of the authoritarian and unequal modernization process of Brazilian society.

Key words: Contemporary Brazilian Literature; Lacanian Materialism; Labor; The Poors in Literature.