Por entre vozes e silenciamentos em Torto arado

• Ano de defesa: 2025
• Autor(a) principal: Ferreira, Genoveva Martins da Costa
• Orientador(a): Pinto, Divino José
• Banca de defesa: Ferreira, Elizete Albina , Rabelo, Sebastião Augusto
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Programa de Pós-Graduação STRICTO SENSU em Letras
• Departamento: Escola de Formação de Professores e Humanidades
• País: Brasil
• Palavras-chave em Português: Torto arado; Vozes femininas; Gênero; Vozes narrativas; Resistência
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Female voices; Gender; Narrative voices; Resistance
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: LINGUÍSTICA, LETRAS E ARTES
• Link de acesso: https://tede2.pucgoias.edu.br/handle/tede/5223

In this study, we focus on the fictional narrative of Torto Arado, by Itamar Vieira Junior, led by three Black female voices, whose plot takes place in a quilombola community living on the fictional “Água Negra” farm. Beyond literature, Vieira Junior’s work encompasses historical, social, racial, and gender issues that are intrinsic to Brazil’s formation process. In this sense, a discussion is proposed on gender and race issues, whose relevance is connected to the struggles of Black women, represented here in the central and symbolic figures of the narrators. Furthermore, the narrative highlights the importance of both collective and individual memory, presenting it as an instrument of resistance and identity for the community portrayed. The novel explores how oral tradition and the transmission of knowledge play an essential role in preserving quilombola culture while also revealing the effects of historical silencing imposed on these groups. This study analyzes the novel Torto Arado, by Itamar Vieira Junior, emphasizing its contributions to the genre of Brazilian social novels and its role as a representative work of the country's social and historical dynamics. The research discusses the narrative strategies used by the author, highlighting the use of three narrative voices that explore the past and present of a rural community marked by trauma, memories, and hopes. The relationship between memory and silencing is manifested both in the individual experiences of the characters and in the collective sphere, exposing the scars of a past of oppression and the struggle for recognition and permanence. One of the most impactful episodes in the book involves the mutilation of Belonísia, who loses her tongue in an accident during childhood. This event acquires a strong symbolic meaning, as her condition reflects the reality of many Black women historically prevented from speaking, whether due to physical, social, or political restrictions. Although unable to speak, Belonísia finds other ways to express herself, revealing the power of female resistance even in the face of imposed silence. Beyond Belonísia’s literal loss of speech, the novel exposes the silencing of female experiences concerning work, sexuality, motherhood, and spirituality. The women of Água Negra play fundamental roles in maintaining the community, yet their stories and demands are often rendered invisible. They carry ancestral knowledge, act as healers, and take on informal leadership roles, but their contributions are rarely officially recognized. Despite the imposed silencing, the narrative also highlights how memory and oral tradition become instruments of resistance. Ancestry and the transmission of knowledge play an essential role in preserving the community’s identity. Even while silenced, women find ways to communicate, to pass on their stories, and to keep the struggles for rights and dignity alive. By giving voice to female characters, Torto Arado breaks this cycle of silencing, bringing to light the pains, challenges, and resistances of quilombola women. The narrators transform their experiences into testimony, reconstructing their histories and reaffirming their presence in a society that attempts to erase them.