Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma
Encyclopedia
Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma (in English
: Sad End of Policarpo Quaresma) is a novel of the Brazilian author Lima Barreto
. Scholars consider the book as a Pre-modernist work in Brazilian Literature
.
The work was published in the feuilleton
form in 1911, from August to October in the Jornal do Commercio, a newspaper from Rio de Janeiro
. The focus of the work is the nationalism
in the early years of the Brazilian Republic and criticism to the middle-class and the bureaucratic government. The work is comical in the beginning, transiting to harsh criticisms by the end. These critics demystify the figure of the president Floriano Peixoto
(1891–1894), known as the Marechal de Ferro ("The Iron Marshal"), and also of the Brazilian military.
The book is centered on Policarpo Quaresma, a ultra-nationalist bureaucrat
of the Army
. Quaresma is a enthusiast of Brazilian popular an indigenous culture, and had an innocent love for his country. Throughout the story, his heightened patriotism leads him always to disastrous situations: in the first part, he ends in a asylum
; in the second, his agricultural enterprise fails due to the Brazilian pests and soil; and in the third and final part, he is arrested and executed under the orders of Floriano Peixoto, whom he admired.
Quaresma is fluent in German
, French
and English
; however, he just reads works of Brazilian authors or foreign authors whose works were about Brazil. His favorite authors were those who were considered the most patriotic: José de Alencar
and Gonçalves Dias.
He is seen as eccentric to his neighbors' eyes. Lima Barreto shows Quaresma's neighbors as pedant and mediocre people. There are several critics to the urban society of late 19th century. For example, the hollow relationships between the daughter of General Albernaz, Ismênia, and her fiance. She appears to be an disinterested girl who thinks that the only objective of a woman is to find a husband; and her fiance is a man who is lauded just because he finishes the college.
General Albernaz, who is a neighbor of Quaresma, is miserable man: beside his high title, he never fought a single battle - he lies about military deeds, and in fact, he just achieved the generalship because of his many years in service. Other characters are seen as purely mediocre: none of them has real value and are bureaucrats.
Quaresma's plan is soon put in action: he sends a requirement to the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies requesting a change in the official language of Brazil. He wanted the Tupi language, which is indigenous and pure Brazilian, in the place of Portuguese
, since Portuguese was imported from the European settlers. Quaresma was seen as crazy by the press and was harshly satirized. To worsen the situation, Quaresma accidentally sent a document in Tupi to the Ministry, and was fired.
The story continues in a asylum, where Quaresma was sent after these events. However, his friend Coleoni and his goddaughter Olga still believed him and his plan.
During the Second Naval Revolt (Segunda Revolta da Armada) he shows support to the president Floriano Peixoto's side. He quickly came back to Rio, to help the president in the confrontation.
Upon his arrival in the capital, Quaresma is received by Floriano Peixoto, and delivers to him a document on difficulties of the national agriculture
. However, Peixoto gives no importance to that.
As a supporter of the regime, Quaresma was put in charge of a squad, albeit his lack of military experience. In his squad, many of the soldiers were forced to fight, including his friend and guitar teacher, Ricardo Coração-dos-Outros (in Portuguese, his last name is actually a nickname, meaning "Heart-of-the-others", "Heart-belonging-to-the-others").
Quaresma became deeply disappointed when he saw the violence
of the regime
and its arbitrary acts. He soon realized Peixoto's contempt about him and became more disappointed when he killed one of the rebels.
When the revolt was subdued, Quaresma was put in charge of prisoners. At that time, all his illusions about Brazil
had vanished. After seeing the unfair executions and cruelties committed against the prisoners, he sent a letter exposing the situation to the president
. The president, who actually had ordered those crimes, accused Quaresma of treason and arrested him.
His goddaughter and Ricardo tried to save him, but they couldn't. Quaresma was executed by the president whom he admired, and for the sake of the country he loved.
In the end, all his projects failed: his attempt to make Tupi language official, the agricultural enterprise and his defense to the Brazilian government.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Sad End of Policarpo Quaresma) is a novel of the Brazilian author Lima Barreto
Lima Barreto
Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto was a Brazilian novelist and journalist. A major figure on the Brazilian Pre-Modernism, he is famous for the novel Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma, a bitter satire of the first years of the República Velha in Brazil.-Life:Lima Barreto was born in Rio de Janeiro in...
. Scholars consider the book as a Pre-modernist work in Brazilian Literature
Brazilian literature
Brazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
.
The work was published in the feuilleton
Feuilleton
Feuilleton was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle of the latest fashions, and epigrams, charades and other literary trifles...
form in 1911, from August to October in the Jornal do Commercio, a newspaper from Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. The focus of the work is the nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in the early years of the Brazilian Republic and criticism to the middle-class and the bureaucratic government. The work is comical in the beginning, transiting to harsh criticisms by the end. These critics demystify the figure of the president Floriano Peixoto
Floriano Peixoto
Floriano Vieira de Araújo Peixoto , April 30, 1839, Maceió, Brazil — July 29, 1895, Rio de Janeiro; born in Ipioca , was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the War of the Triple Alliance, and the second President of Brazil.-Election and Succession as President:Floriano Peixoto...
(1891–1894), known as the Marechal de Ferro ("The Iron Marshal"), and also of the Brazilian military.
The book is centered on Policarpo Quaresma, a ultra-nationalist bureaucrat
Bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can comprise the administration of any organization of any size, though the term usually connotes someone within an institution of a government or corporation...
of the Army
Brazilian Army
The Brazilian Army is the land arm of the Brazilian Military. The Brazilian Army has fought in several international conflicts, mostly in South America and during the 19th century, such as the Brazilian War of Independence , Argentina-Brazil War , War of the Farrapos , Platine War , Uruguayan War ...
. Quaresma is a enthusiast of Brazilian popular an indigenous culture, and had an innocent love for his country. Throughout the story, his heightened patriotism leads him always to disastrous situations: in the first part, he ends in a asylum
Asylum
- Politics and society :* Asylum , places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome* Right of asylum or political asylum* Church asylum or sanctuary, a right to be safe from arrest in the sanctuary of a church or temple...
; in the second, his agricultural enterprise fails due to the Brazilian pests and soil; and in the third and final part, he is arrested and executed under the orders of Floriano Peixoto, whom he admired.
First part
The whole first part takes place in Rio de Janeiro. Quaresma is shown as an wise, but ingenuous, nationalist who spent years of his life in private studies on Brazil. After 30 years, he finally found the right time to put in action his plan for improvement of Brazilian government and society.Quaresma is fluent in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; however, he just reads works of Brazilian authors or foreign authors whose works were about Brazil. His favorite authors were those who were considered the most patriotic: José de Alencar
José de Alencar
José Martiniano de Alencar was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is one of the most famous writers of the first generation of Brazilian Romanticism, writing historical, regionalist and Indianist romances — being the most famous The Guarani...
and Gonçalves Dias.
He is seen as eccentric to his neighbors' eyes. Lima Barreto shows Quaresma's neighbors as pedant and mediocre people. There are several critics to the urban society of late 19th century. For example, the hollow relationships between the daughter of General Albernaz, Ismênia, and her fiance. She appears to be an disinterested girl who thinks that the only objective of a woman is to find a husband; and her fiance is a man who is lauded just because he finishes the college.
General Albernaz, who is a neighbor of Quaresma, is miserable man: beside his high title, he never fought a single battle - he lies about military deeds, and in fact, he just achieved the generalship because of his many years in service. Other characters are seen as purely mediocre: none of them has real value and are bureaucrats.
Quaresma's plan is soon put in action: he sends a requirement to the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies requesting a change in the official language of Brazil. He wanted the Tupi language, which is indigenous and pure Brazilian, in the place of Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, since Portuguese was imported from the European settlers. Quaresma was seen as crazy by the press and was harshly satirized. To worsen the situation, Quaresma accidentally sent a document in Tupi to the Ministry, and was fired.
The story continues in a asylum, where Quaresma was sent after these events. However, his friend Coleoni and his goddaughter Olga still believed him and his plan.
Second Part
Health and retired, Quaresma was convinced by Olga to sell his house and buy a countryside estate. He tries to prove the fertility and richness of Brazilian soil. This enterprise is countered by the pests and soon fails. Quaresma intended to improve the agricultural development of Brazil, but this is not achieved.During the Second Naval Revolt (Segunda Revolta da Armada) he shows support to the president Floriano Peixoto's side. He quickly came back to Rio, to help the president in the confrontation.
Third Part
The last part is the climax of the book. During the Naval Revolt, Quaresma is disappointed by the crude reality.Upon his arrival in the capital, Quaresma is received by Floriano Peixoto, and delivers to him a document on difficulties of the national agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. However, Peixoto gives no importance to that.
As a supporter of the regime, Quaresma was put in charge of a squad, albeit his lack of military experience. In his squad, many of the soldiers were forced to fight, including his friend and guitar teacher, Ricardo Coração-dos-Outros (in Portuguese, his last name is actually a nickname, meaning "Heart-of-the-others", "Heart-belonging-to-the-others").
Quaresma became deeply disappointed when he saw the violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
of the regime
Regime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
and its arbitrary acts. He soon realized Peixoto's contempt about him and became more disappointed when he killed one of the rebels.
When the revolt was subdued, Quaresma was put in charge of prisoners. At that time, all his illusions about Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
had vanished. After seeing the unfair executions and cruelties committed against the prisoners, he sent a letter exposing the situation to the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. The president, who actually had ordered those crimes, accused Quaresma of treason and arrested him.
His goddaughter and Ricardo tried to save him, but they couldn't. Quaresma was executed by the president whom he admired, and for the sake of the country he loved.
In the end, all his projects failed: his attempt to make Tupi language official, the agricultural enterprise and his defense to the Brazilian government.