The heroic sense of life in <i>Vidas Novas</i>, from Luandino Vieira

Abstract

The hero and his adventure constitute one of the most revisited topics of the narrative tradition, going back to the classic antiquity. Based on different figurations of the hero we can perceive specific aspects of the societies where they were produced. How they understood the historical time, defined concepts like justice, value or represented conflict. The hero myth proclaims itself as an exemplary narrative, revealing the moral content of a specific community and conferring origin, value and purpose to the most diverse cultural elements. Thus, the focalization on the myth of the hero allows us to grasp the influences of the political field on the cultural domain. Furthermore, heroes institute new communities, found cities and new ways of inhabiting the space. Their stories alter the forms of understanding the experience of the present, as well as the expectations for the future, shedding light on the influences of the field of aesthetic representation on the production of logical forms. The aim of this article is to compare some of the main aspects of the hero myth in its classical typology with the figurations of the hero in Vidas Novas (New Lifes), from Luandino Vieira. Based on those differences and similarities, this paper intends to discuss how specific ways of understanding human existence in the world emerge to the surface of the words and narrative forms. 

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22409/gragoata.2017n43a916.