JORGE AMADO, 1964: ABOUT LITERATURE AND CITY

Abstract

In Shepherds of the night, a novel written on the eve of the 1964 civil-military coup, Jorge Amado presents women and men with abundant joys and knowledge, emeritus at parties, social and political struggles, against the imposition of work and exploitation. Relationships and encounters in this novel add the kinship of deities, bringing together religions and men in the same historical space, showing that dichotomies and divisions can be overcome. Pastors are workers in the "city of Bahia", living in the threat of expropriation of land and the right to housing, and who resist "laughter". Jorge Amado's literature, as well as a subject in the dispute for the plurality of voices in historical research, constitutes an important source in the discussion about the city and cultural modes of urban living, contributing specifically to the work analyzed here to think about the construction of dictatorships in Brazilian society.