Memória e política de esquecimento da Ditadura Militar (1964-1985) nos contos “A mancha” e “Condomínio”, de Luis Fernando Verissimo

Abstract

The present course conclusion work is the product of reflections about memories of traumatic eventsexperienced in the military dictatorship in Brazil, starting in 1964 and ending in 1985, and the policy of forgetting that was established later. The periodof the military regime triggered arrests accompanied by torture, deaths and political disappearances, causing a wound that still remains open, whose theme demands critical reflectionand awareness that is only possible through the maintenance of collective memory. The research, through a literature review, aimed to produce an interpretative analysis ofthe short stories “A Mancha” and “Condomínio” by the author Luis Fernando Verissimo. The tales portray the suffering of torture survivors in the military regime. In “The stain” it is possible tosee that there is an attempt to silence the tortured Rogério, by the reactionaries, to the point that the main character is not even able to talk about his political past with his own daughter, leaving them only with a false peace. On the other hand, the character João, from the short story “Condomínio”, gets more openness to talk about his past with his tormentor, even trying to face him through words in the desire that he at least portray himself, which did not happen. In the end, due to his new financial and artificial state, João ends up succumbing to the system, living peacefully with his torturer. And we witness the silencing of the voice andthe erasure of João's memory. The interpretative analysis to which we dedicated ourselves highlighted two aspects: the silencing of voices and the attempt to erase the memories of a historical past of torture and repression on the one hand, and onthe other hand, the continuation of the dictatorship, now of the ruling class to the detriment of the poor and marginalized population.