Saramago and Noah’s Ark: laughter, irony and parody in the meaning de(re)construction

Abstract

The considerations presented here are based on the reading of the novel entitled Caim (2009), written by the Portuguese author José Saramago. It aims to explore the way the writer used the parodic, carnival and ironic language to establish the questioning and reflective laughter when dialogues with scriptural narratives, the analyses path realizes the comparative reading: fictional passage and the Biblical narrative. The reflexive exercise analyzed the stylistics resources and the saramaguian dialogues as of the Bible passage of Noah’s Ark from the Old Testament. As theoretical sources was used Bakhtin (1996), Fourastié (1985), José Carlos de Vasconcelos (2012), Minois (2003), Hutcheon (1985-2000), Lopes (2010), Ferraz (2012) among others language experts. The reflections indicate to the comprehension which the dethronement of arbitrary things through language resources such as irony, carnival and parodic laughter, contributes to the readers development, because promotes the breaking of determinism, the critically and autonomy thought. The problematization of unified perspectives, of serious/authoritarian, expands, therefore, the world vision and humanizes the readers.