Relações de poder e violência em O avesso da pele, de Jeferson Tenório

Abstract

The novel O avesso da pele (2020), winner of the 2021 Jabuti Award, written by Jeferson Tenório, is the object of study of this research. In the novel, Pedro, a Black man, seeks to understand (and narrate) the story of his father, Henrique, who was murdered during a police intervention in the city of Porto Alegre. The aim of this study is to analyze the representation of power relations and violence in the book. As part of the theoretical framework, the research draws on authors such as Achille Mbembe (2018), bell hooks (2019), Carla Akotirene (2019), Cuti (2010), Fernanda Rodrigues (2019), Frantz Fanon (2020), Grada Kilomba (2019), Luiz Silvio de Almeida (2019), Pierre Bourdieu (2003), among others. Based on the reflections proposed by these authors, possible interpretations and analyses of the narrative were considered. In Chapter One, through the observation of Henrique, one identifies a character marked by both symbolic and physical violence, the latter being most clearly represented by his murder. In Chapter Two, it is noted that Martha, Luara, and Madalena are subjected to violence not only of a racial nature but also of gender and social class. In Chapter Three, it becomes evident that Pedro, as both narrator and character, is likewise affected by violence—though not always directly, but rather as a consequence of the experiences endured by his parents. Jeferson Tenório’s work foregrounds the protagonism of Black individuals, removing them from the marginal position to which they have historically been relegated in Brazilian literature. From this perspective, O avesso da pele concretely materializes the discussion of themes that, for centuries, have been erased from literature—such as Black subjectivity and racism.