DICTATORSHIP AND RESENTMENT

A STUDY OF RABO DE FOGUETE, BY FERREIRA GULLAR, AND AINDA ESTOU AQUI, BY MARCELO RUBENS PAIVA

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how resentment towards dictatorial regimes in Latin America, particularly the Brazilian military dictatorship, is presented in the autobiographies Rabo de foguete: os anos de exílio by Ferreira Gullar (2008) and Ainda estou aqui by Marcelo Rubens Paiva (2015). The research was based on a qualitative bibliographic approach. The theoretical framework included: the definition of resentment as presented by Ansart (2004); Lejeune's (2008) studies on the autobiography genre; Eurídice Figueiredo's research (as cited in Licarião, 2018) on literature as an archive of the Brazilian military dictatorship; and the contributions of authors such as Le Goff (1996), Pollak (1989), Seixas (2004), and Halbwachs (2006, as cited in Weber; Pereira, 2010) on literature, history, and memory. The analysis was divided into two categories: fear as a source of resentment in victims of repression, and resentment expressed by their family members. The results revealed that these autobiographical accounts uncover traces of resentment, which stem from feelings such as fear, anger, sadness, bitterness, and a sense of injustice, among others. Finally, the study concludes that both the direct victims of repression, such as Ferreira Gullar and Rubens Beyrodt Paiva, as well as their family members and friends, are affected, as demonstrated in the experience of Marcelo Rubens Paiva.