Do sertão do brabo à cidade. Obediência e liberdade, ousadia, coragem e a metafísica da vontade em O Sargento Getúlio

Abstract

Innovative novel-monologue due to its language, structure and revision of the figure of the militia gunman, Sergeant Getúlio brings together rural and urban aspects. Violent, cruel, dominated by the politician who elevated him to the status of sergeant, Getúlio fulfills his role: taking Paulo Afonso’s prisoner to Barra de Coqueiros. The narrative is a Bildungsroman, as Getúlio – invisible since the beginning – discovers and ends up asserting his identity – and freedom, which costs him his life. Or: the Author informs that it is an aretê story. Our task is to understand, verify and explain the nobility, moderation and self-control of a rude, extremely violent henchman – and how this is explained in the socio-economic context of Brazilian colonization and domination. The notion of Metaphysics of Will, a concept by Schopenhauer, helps us.