São Luís nas linhas da crônica: Uma análise da memória a partir de José Chagas

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the memories of the city in the chronicles of José Chagas, found in the following works: Da Arte de Falar Bem (2004), and Pedra de Assunto (1961). It also examines how the chronicler portrays and appreciates the city of São Luís in the selected chronicles, with a central focus on investigating memory through these texts. For this purpose, it was essential to conceptualize the chronicle from the perspective of literary history and literary theory. Therefore, we drew upon the studies of literary critics such as Antonio Candido, Eduardo Portella, Massaud Moisés, and Jorge de Sá, whose respective theories were fundamental to the development and investigation of this work. In addition, we explored José Chagas’s chronicles, selecting those that refer to the city of São Luís. We also analyzed the chronicles in terms of their linguistic and literary characteristics within various discursive contexts. Subsequently, we investigated the presence of memory in Chagas’s chronicles. To this end, we considered the memorialist perspective in the chronicler’s work, based on the studies of Angélica Soares, Maurice Halbwachs, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Michael Pollak, and Paul Ricoeur. This extensive theoretical framework proved to be highly relevant in addressing memorialistic production. Thus, this research aligns with the idea that reflecting on memory through the chronicle and, consequently, through Maranhão literature means thinking with literature itself, embracing the reflection and writing that the chronicle offers through memory. The research is qualitative, grounded in the comprehensive development of this study. It consists of a content analysis investigation, with primary focus on the theorists and critics of the chronicle and memory presented throughout this research. It interprets, from literary, social, and philosophical perspectives, how such an approach is represented in the chronicles of José Chagas.