IMAGINARY IN THE APPREHENSION OF THE AMAZON REALITY IN THE TALE "A FEITICEIRA" OF INGLÊS DE SOUSA

Abstract

The representation of the Amazonian reality in literature is, historically, permeated by the power of the imagination, whether of the first europeans who crossed the region, or of the locals in their way of interacting with space and nature. Thus, either for lack of vocabulary to describe the unknown, or with the intention of demarcating the difference between the “civilized” and the “savage”, extraordinary stories, legendary beings and fantastic animals populated the first writings about lands and the amazon man. However, once the foreign gaze and apprehension through exoticism had passed, other stories followed, incorporating the imaginary elements into the narrative set in the region in order to highlight a certain cosmovision in which reality is permeable to elements of imagination and susceptible to them. This characteristic is not restricted to the expression of a certain regionality, although it can be understood as such, on the contrary, it can represent the strength of this literature as a genuine expression of deep Brazil. In this perspective, we will approach the short story A Feiticeira, by Inglês de Sousa, weaving considerations about amazonian literature and the need for its insertion also in the school context, in the scope of teaching literature.