SAND CAPTAINS

It is a modernist novel, belonging to the second phase of Modernism in Brazil (1930-1945), also known as Romance of 30 or Neorealist phase, whose narrative appears strongly linked to the political, social and economic transformations of the period. For the first time in the history of Brazilian literature, a writer denounces in a pamphlet way - romantic, and paradoxically, socialist and realistic - the problem of abandoned minors and minor offenders who defied the police and society itself. The romantic approach is due exclusively to the fact that the author minimizes the crimes of the boys and accentuates the defects of society, not even the Church was free from the author's censorship. On the other hand, Jorge Amado brings up for discussion the problem of these boys who did not have the happiness of having a family or the happiness of being welcomed by the State that had (and still has) the obligation to defend them from any type of marginalization.Captains of the Sand deals with the problem of abandoned children and its consequences: violence, crime, discrimination and prostitution. The narrative begins with a sequence of Letters to the Newsroom of Jornal da Tarde - Letter from the Secretary of the Chief of Police; Letter from Dr. Juiz de Minores; Letter from a Mother Seamstress; Letter from Father José Pedro; Letter from the Director of the Reformatory - in order to discuss issues related to children who lived from theft and infested the city. Next, three chapters are presented: “Under the moon in an old abandoned warehouse”; "Night of great peace, of the great peace of your eyes"; Canção da Bahia, “Canção da Liberdade”.In the first chapter, the reader comes into contact with the universe of the boys, their sad figures and their life stories. The main characters are: Pedro Bala, a fifteen-year-old boy, who won the leadership right after a “sickle fight”. Blond, with a scar on his face, became a kind of father for the boys. He had the necessary authority to lead the group, agility and, above all, he became an example for those boys. The Professor was a light in the darkness ... he was the one who read stories of sailors, of adventures ... he brought fantasy to the reality of those boys, which only literature could provide. Gato was the trickster, he used his cleverness to "get along in life", he is the explorer of women. Legless was hate in person. Since he was a child he had learned to hate everything and everyone, even when he loved. He pretended to be a helpless orphan and took advantage of his victims to steal them. João Grande was the “good Negro” as Pedro Bala used to say. Lollipop, faith. In the second chapter, the reader is introduced to the character Dora and her brother, who after losing their parents, victims of smallpox, will be part of the Captains of the Sand. In the third chapter, after Dora's death, the reader is faced with major transformations. Dora broke the hearts of all those boys. Life at Trapiche would never be the same. Life needed to run its course, some dreams came true, others were stupidly interrupted. Pedro Bala, although pursued by the police of five states as an organizer of strikes, as a leader of illegal parties, as a dangerous enemy of the established order, became a hero of his class. "Dressed in rags, dirty, semi-hungry, aggressive, cursing and smoking cigarette butts, they were, in truth, the owners of the city, those who knew it totally, those who totally loved it, their poets."- Jorge Amado, Sand Capitains Jorge Amado, loved by the public, often misunderstood by critics - for the carelessness with the Portuguese language, for the colloquial language, for the idealized way in which he presented his characters - will always be remembered as the writer who managed to maintain a permanent and intense dialogue with the audience. Captains of the Sand, despite being written so long ago, remains current. This is what the literary researcher Eduardo Assis Duarte shows, the story of those boys continues to punctuate the pages of newspapers and television, showing that social, economic and political problems persist.As for bonfires and abandoned minors, the sad conclusion is that they remain part of the country's history. The boys went from “dominated” to “excluded”, despite attending more and more public spaces. The bonfires, on the other hand, persist. At the dawn of the millennium, they apparently lost interest in books. They now turn to Indians, beggars and homosexuals. (DUARTE, 204: 50)Browsing the pages of the book is an exercise in citizenship. Even if, in an idealized way, Jorge Amado created engaging characters, capable of "opening" the eyes of the reader, who finds himself involved in each story, who recognizes one or the other character in the police pages. Are they heroes? Are they bandits? Are they victims? They are abandoned minors! It is preferable to believe that they are victims, victims of the marginalization to which they are subjected. Victims of a system that urgently needs to change. "Because now he knows that she will shine for him among a thousand stars in the unique sky of the black city."- Jorge Amado, Sand Captains 🖤📚Note: ☆☆☆☆☆| Title: Sand Captains | ISBN: 9788510053068 | Year: 1937 | Specifics: 280 pages | Editor: Record| Genre: Brazilian Literature, Romance, Fiction| Finishing: Hardcover| Measurements: 21.4 x 14.2 x 1.6 cm|Cutting: Unpainted Jorge Leal Amado de Faria WTO • GOSE • GOIH • CBJM or just Jorge Amado (Itabuna, August 10, 1912 - Salvador, August 6, 2001) was one of the most famous and translated Brazilian writers of all time. Jorge Amado is the most adapted author of cinema, theater and television. True hits like Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, Tenda dos Milagres, Tieta do Agreste, Gabriela, Cravo e Canela and Tereza Batista Tired of War were her creations. His literary work - 49 books in all - has also been the subject of samba schools throughout the country. His books have been translated in 80 countries, in 49 languages, as well as in braille and on tapes recorded for the blind. He was a member of the Brazilian communist intellectuals since the end of the first half of the 20th century - an ideology present in several works, such as the portrayal of the inhabitants of the Bahia warehouse in Capitães da Areia, in 1937. Jorge was surpassed, in number of sales, only by Paulo Coelho. But in his style - the fictional novel - there is no parallel in Brazil. In 1994, his work was recognized with the Camões Prize.🖤📚The Official Page Jorge Amado Foundation