Abstract
This article compares two novels narrated by Black female protagonists: the Brazilian novel Por cima do mar (Dornellas 2018) and the US novel The Hate U Give (Thomas 2017). Subject to socioeconomic disenfranchisement and devastating physical, sexual, and symbolic violence, both narrators learn to use writing to push back against totalizing views that cast them as perpetual victims. I use the notions of intersectionality (Crenshaw) and amefricanidade (Gonzalez) to analyze how challenges overlap and compound in these women’s lives, and I draw on the concept of self-definition (Collins) to study how the narrators employ discourse to reject stereotypes, construct self-assured images of themselves, and reclaim their human rights. I also examine narrative strategies that appeal to readers’ emotions and attempt to reconfigure their attitudes toward race and gender throughout the Americas.
Este artigo compara dois romances narrados por protagonistas negras: o romance brasileiro, Por cima do mar (Dornellas 2018), e o romance estado-unidense, The Hate U Give (Thomas 2017). Sujeitas a marginalização socioeconômica e violência física, sexual e simbólica arrasadoras, ambas as narradoras aprendem a usar a escrita para desafiar as visões totalizantes que as relegam ao papel de vítimas perpétuas. Uso os conceitos de interseccionalidade (Crenshaw) e amefricanidade (Gonzalez) para analisar como os desafios se sobrepõem e combinam nas vidas destas mulheres, e utilizo o conceito de autodefinição (Collins) para estudar como as narradoras empregam o discurso para rejeitar estereótipos, construir imagens confiantes de si mesmas e reivindicar seus direitos humanos. Também examino estratégias narrativas que apelam às emoções dos leitores e visam reconfigurar suas atitudes em relação a raça e gênero nas Américas.
Resumo
Abstract
This article compares two novels narrated by Black female protagonists: the Brazilian novel Por cima do mar (Dornellas 2018) and the US novel The Hate U Give (Thomas 2017). Subject to socioeconomic disenfranchisement and devastating physical, sexual, and symbolic violence, both narrators learn to use writing to push back against totalizing views that cast them as perpetual victims. I use the notions of intersectionality (Crenshaw) and amefricanidade (Gonzalez) to analyze how challenges overlap and compound in these women’s lives, and I draw on the concept of self-definition (Collins) to study how the narrators employ discourse to reject stereotypes, construct self-assured images of themselves, and reclaim their human rights. I also examine narrative strategies that appeal to readers’ emotions and attempt to reconfigure their attitudes toward race and gender throughout the Americas.
Este artigo compara dois romances narrados por protagonistas negras: o romance brasileiro, Por cima do mar (Dornellas 2018), e o romance estado-unidense, The Hate U Give (Thomas 2017). Sujeitas a marginalização socioeconômica e violência física, sexual e simbólica arrasadoras, ambas as narradoras aprendem a usar a escrita para desafiar as visões totalizantes que as relegam ao papel de vítimas perpétuas. Uso os conceitos de interseccionalidade (Crenshaw) e amefricanidade (Gonzalez) para analisar como os desafios se sobrepõem e combinam nas vidas destas mulheres, e utilizo o conceito de autodefinição (Collins) para estudar como as narradoras empregam o discurso para rejeitar estereótipos, construir imagens confiantes de si mesmas e reivindicar seus direitos humanos. Também examino estratégias narrativas que apelam às emoções dos leitores e visam reconfigurar suas atitudes em relação a raça e gênero nas Américas.
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In this issue
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- Article
- Abstract
- Black Feminist Foundations
- Selecting Texts
- Emergent Female Protagonists
- Unearthing “Forgotten” Histories of Violence
- Police Brutality and Resounding Trauma
- Plotting and Contesting Racialized Violence
- Summoning Witnesses and Emotional Responses to Female Objectification
- Rewriting Symbolic Violence: Controlling Images and Self-Definition
- Showcasing and Problematizing Offensive Behaviors
- Navigating Society and Personal Identity through Code-Switching
- Weaponizing Discourse against Stereotypes
- Final Thoughts
- Footnotes
- Works Cited
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- References
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