Um mundo que cabe nas mãos: análise do contrato social e das relações de reconhecimento no romance Fogo Morto, de José Lins do Rego

Abstract

Assuming that novelists, like other intellectuals, practice sociological imagination, based on their experiences and perspectives, we intend to carry out a dialogue between the novel and some social theories. We chose the novel Fogo Morto by José Lins do Rego, due to the world he presents us, demonstrating the synthesis of the decadence of the engenhos in Várzea da Paraíba in the face of the structural changes caused by modernization. Among these changes is a change in the social relations and morals that serve as a basis, generating innumerable conflicts, injustices and disrespect. For a reinterpretation of the novel based on social theory, we start from the concepts of moral economics coined by E. P. Thompson, injustice as outlined by Barrington Moore and recognition through the theory of Axel Honneth. At first, we unveiled the author and his work, demonstrating his perception of regionalism (tradition) and decay. Then we describe the characters reading them from the theory of Recognition. Finally, we carried out the novelist's encounter with social theory, demonstrating his aptitude to intuit and express the norms that made up the (implicit) social contract and how this contract influenced the identity of his characters, in a way that makes his book as an ally understanding of that society and observes the novelist as an intellectual capable of contributing to social theories.