Name: LUCIANO VIEIRA DE AGUIAR
Publication date: 23/06/2026
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| HIATA ANDERSON SILVA DO NASCIMENTO | Examinador Externo |
| JOAO CLAUDIO ARENDT | Examinador Interno |
| MÁRCIA MARIA DE MEDEIROS | Examinador Externo |
| ROBSON LOUREIRO | Examinador Interno |
| SERGIO DA FONSECA AMARAL | Presidente |
Summary: This thesis investigates how racial relations are literarily constructed in the novels Um
rio imita o Reno by Clodomir Vianna Moog and Longe do Reno by Bayard de Toledo
Mercio. It analyzes the distinct ways each work develops discourses on identity,
belonging, and racial prejudice within the context of German colonization in Southern
Brazil. While engaging with historical, sociological, and cultural studies essential to
understanding the period depicted, the research prioritizes Literary Studies as its
interpretive lens, viewing the novels not as documentary records of reality but as
narrative and fictional constructs that generate meaning, organize social concepts,
and create tension within discourses on race. The theoretical framework draws upon
authors from literary theory, comparative literature, and Brazilian literary criticism,
incorporating reflections on race, ethnicity, and eugenics only insofar as they aid in
interpreting the fictional elements. Methodologically, the study is qualitative,
bibliographic, and comparative in nature, relying on textual analysis of the novels to
examine narrative aspects, character construction, representation strategies,
discourse organization, and the points of convergence and divergence between the
two works. The analysis demonstrates that, despite sharing the same historical and
spatial setting, the two works offer distinct literary responses to the racial tensions
present in Brazilian society. While Vianna Moog highlights racial prejudice as a
structural element of conflict in his novel, Bayard de Toledo Mercio tends to
downplay or mitigate these tensions, resulting in differing discursive interpretations of
the relationships between Brazilians and people of German descent. Comparing
these literary works reveals how literature contributes to shaping collective
representations and contesting meanings surrounding the issue of race, thereby
broadening the scope of critical reception within the field of Literary Studies.
