The oppression in childhood seen from the perspectives of Mario de Andrade and Monteiro Lobato: analysis of the short stories “Piá não suffered, suffers?” and “Negrinha”

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to focus on the treatment of suburban children in the narratives of the 1920 to the 1940´s, more specifically in a short story by Mario de Andrade named “Piá não sofre, sofre?” from the book Contos de Belazarte (1934), comparing this child’s treatment to the one in the short story “Negrinha” by Monteiro Lobato, in the book Negrinha (1920). The study of the modernist author is relevant making us understand how he treated the social reality of São Paulo, more particularly the suburban reality, the wounds which afflicted the ones forgotten by society. Mario de Andrade´s short stories give voice to the dominated ones. A real miscegenation is what can be seen. In fact, through his stories it is possible to understand better his works. It could be said that his texts are innovative, reaching a formal perfection, expression used for his last book of short stories named Contos Novos (1947).