Marginal representations in João Antônio's writing: from rascal to marginal

Abstract

The term marginal includes nuances of meanings that reverberated in social theories to explain the processes of marginalization and exclusion forged by capitalism in Latin America, as well as the notion also echoes in literary criticism. In this way, the notion of marginality is covered by entanglements that move the meaning through aesthetic, political and social dimensions. In a strictly artistic approach, marginal are the productions that break with norms and aesthetic paradigms, facing the literary canon. But it is possible to situate it in the slip of meaning that will refer to those classified as criminals and criminals, who live outside the law, excluded and marginalized socially, economically and culturally. The present study makes an excerpt within the work of São Paulo writer João Antônio, observing the theme of marginality that is shown through his characters marginal to society and literature, because João Antônio will narrate the history of the underworld, of the one who is invisible. The focus of this study privileges narratives by the short story writer who, between the 1960s and the 1980s, produced works in which the marginalized definitely enter the pages of our literature as true protagonists. To discuss the issue of marginality in João Antônio's work, we will analyze two short stories: “Malagueta, Perus and Bacanaço”, which is part of the collection of the same name, the first book published by João Antônio in 1963, winner of several prizes, including the Jabuti ; and the short story “Paulinho Perna Torta”, from the book Leão de Chácara (1975).