Brazilian writer (1882?1948)
Monteiro Lobato
|
---|
Lobato
c.
1920
at Companhia Editora Nacional
|
Born
| (
1882-04-18
)
18 April 1882
Taubate
,
Empire of Brazil
|
---|
Died
| 4 July 1948
(1948-07-04)
(aged 66)
Sao Paulo
, Brazil
|
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Pen name
| Monteiro Lobato
|
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Occupation
| Novelist, journalist, publisher
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Genre
| Fiction, Children's literature
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Literary movement
| Modernism
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|
Jose Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato
(18 April 1882 ? 4 July 1948) was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional
Sitio do Picapau Amarelo
(Yellow Woodpecker Farm) but he had been previously a prolific writer of fiction, a translator and an art critic. He also founded one of Brazil's first publishing houses (Companhia Editora Nacional) and was a supporter of
nationalism
.
Lobato was born in
Taubate
, Sao Paulo. He is best known for a set of educational but
entertaining
children's books
, which comprise about half of his production. The other half, consisting of a number of
novels
and short tales for adult readers, was less popular but marked a watershed in
Brazilian literature
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Most of his children's books were set in the
Sitio do Picapau Amarelo
("Yellow Woodpecker Farm" or "Yellow Woodpecker Ranch"), a small farm in the
countryside
, and featured the elderly ranch owner
Dona Benta
("Mrs. Benta"), her two grandchildren ? a girl,
Lucia
("Lucia") who is always referred to only by her nickname,
Narizinho
("Little Nose", because she had a turned-up nose) and a boy,
Pedrinho
("Little Pete") ? and a black servant and
cook
,
Tia Nastacia
("Aunt Anastacia"). These real characters were complemented by entities created or animated by the children's imagination: the irreverent
rag doll
Emilia
("Emilia") and the
aristocratic
and
learned
puppet
made of
corncob
Visconde de Sabugosa
(roughly "
Viscount
Corncob"), the cow
Mocha
, the
donkey
Conselheiro
("Counsellor"), the pig
Rabico
("Short-Tail") and the
rhinoceros
Quindim
(
Quindim
is a Brazilian dessert),
Saci
Perere
(a black,
pipe
-smoking, one-legged character of
Brazilian folklore
) and
Cuca
(an evil monster invoked by Brazilian mothers at night to convince their kids to go to bed). However the adventures mostly develop elsewhere: either in
fantasy
worlds invented by the children, or in stories told by Dona Benta in evening sessions. These three universes are deftly intertwined so that the stories or
myths
told by the grandmother naturally become the setting for make-believe play, punctuated by routine farm events.
Many of these books are educational, teaching things through the mouth of Mrs. Benta and by smart questions and remarks, by her young and attentive audience. They addressed subjects which children often do not like at school, such as mathematics,
grammar
, national and world history,
geography
,
astronomy
,
Greek mythology
, and so on. In other books, the author, who was a
skeptic
, a
rationalist
, an
internationalist
and had anti-war positions (but at the same time being strongly patriotic and conservative), passes his views on the world,
humanity
and politics to his young readers. In other books, he tells in an easy to understand way the classics of literature, such as
Aesop
's fables,
Don Quixote
and
Peter Pan
.
He created a rich
crossover
using elements from many sources, literature, movies, mythology and cartoons. He was widely imaginative, such as in his books
A Chave do Tamanho
("The Sizing Switch") and
A Reforma da Natureza
("Reforming Nature"), where he speculated on the consequences of all humans suddenly decreasing in size, and on what would happen if Emilia and Viscount would get hold of a
scientific method
to change the
genes
of animals and plants for
rational
or irrational purposes, with catastrophic results.
Monteiro Lobato's books were turned into widely popular TV programs ? including five series of Sitio do Picapau Amarelo adventures, one in 1952 on
TV Tupi
, another in 1964 on
TV Cultura
, one in 1967 on
Rede Bandeirantes
, another on
Rede Globo
in 1977, and the last version in 2001 also on
Rede Globo
. The last is known in other countries under the title "Pirlimpimpim". In 2012 "
Rede Globo
" and Brazilian producer "Mixer" was to produce an animated series inspired by Lobato's children's books.
Lobato was also an influential journalist and publisher, wrote regularly for several
newspapers
and
magazines
, and was a noted and respected
art critic
. In fact, he provoked a public controversy when he harshly criticized the writers, poets, painters and musicians who in 1922 promoted a Modern Art Week (
Semana da Arte Moderna
), which was also a watershed event in
Brazilian culture
in the 20th century. In 1919, he acquired the
Revista do Brasil,
one of the first Brazilian cultural magazines, and founded, in 1920, his own publishing house. Later, he helped to found and was a partner in two of the most important independent Brazilian publishing houses, the
Companhia Nacional
and the
Editora Brasiliense
.
Politically, Lobato was strongly in favor of a state monopoly for iron and
oil exploration
in Brazil and battled publicly for it between 1931 and 1939. For his libertarian views, he was arrested by the then dictatorial government of
Getulio Vargas
in 1941. This movement, called
O Petroleo e Nosso
(Oil Belongs to Us) was highly successful, and the same Getulio Vargas, after being democratically elected president, created
Petrobras
in 1952.
Lobato founded a cultural and literary magazine,
Fundamentos
, which existed between 1948 and 1955.
[1]
He died in
Sao Paulo
in 1948.
Political ideas
[
edit
]
- That English should be taught at schools because he believed it was more important
[
citation needed
]
than French or
Latin
. In one of his books, he depicted the child characters learning English.
- That Brazilian resources should be developed without foreign participation. Lobato advocated that ores and oil be managed by the state to prevent their control by international corporations not interested in developing Brazil but only in keeping it as a consumer market (Viscount's Oil). This is not to say that Lobato wanted a state monopoly over natural resources; in a letter in the Yale University archives, Lobato calls for oil exploration by Brazilian companies rather than international “Big Oil” (his main target was the onetime U.S.
Standard Oil
monopoly), while government should support local enterprises without creating a state-owned monopoly.
- That Brazilian folk traditions, as a cornerstone of national identity, should be preserved and cherished.
- That the world was changing fast and those who could not adapt to its pace would eventually be "eaten" (
The Size Switch
).
- That scientific research could eventually enable man to make deeper changes to nature, and that such changes, if not wisely directed, could result in disasters.
- That war exists only because of corporate greed, political alienation of the masses and racial prejudice (
The Size Switch
).
Racism in his work and thoughts
[
edit
]
Lobato has been posthumously accused of
racism
, due to the portrayal and treatment of black people in several of his works.
[2]
In 2010 a Brazilian educator attempted to legally ban
Cacadas de Pedrinho
from Brazilian junior schools for the prejudicial narrative and terms contained in the novel. For example, Lobato describes Aunt Nastacia (a
mulatta
), climbing up "the
pole of Saint Pedro
as an old monkey", and that "no one would escape" a jaguar's attack, including “Aunt Nastacia, of black flesh.”
[3]
[4]
[5]
An academic analysis made by the Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Sociais at the
Rio de Janeiro State University
characterizes Monteiro Lobato as a "dangerously influential
racist
working on the scholastic area", citing a letter Lobato sent to Toledo Neiva, in which he complains about "a country [Brazil] where men don't have strength enough to organize a
Ku Klux Klan
", and comparing it to the United States by mentioning
Andre Siegfried
, "glad that they're not a second Brazil. Some day, justice will be done to the Ku Klux Klan."
[6]
[7]
Tributes
[
edit
]
On 18 April 2011, Google celebrated the 129th Birthday of Monteiro Lobato with a Google Doodle.
[8]
[9]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
Children books
[
edit
]
- A Menina do Narizinho Arrebitado
(
The Girl With the Turned Up Nose
) (1920)
- Reinacoes de Narizinho
(
Adventures of Lucia Little Nose
) (1931)
- Viagem ao Ceu
e
O Saci
(
Voyage to the Sky
and
The Saci
) (1932)
- Cacadas de Pedrinho
and
Hans Staden
(
Pete's Hunting
and
Hans Staden
) (1933)
- Historia do Mundo para as Criancas
(
History of the World for Children
) (1933)
- Memorias da Emilia
and
Peter Pan
(
Emilia's Autobiography
and
Peter Pan
) (1936)
- Emilia no Pais da Gramatica
and
Aritmetica da Emilia
(
Emilia in the Grammar Country
and
Emilia's Math Book
) (1934)
- Geografia de Dona Benta
(
Mrs. Benta's Geography
) (1935)
- Seroes de Dona Benta
and
Historia das invencoes
(
Night Chatting With Mrs. Benta
and
Histories of Inventions
) (1937)
- D. Quixote das Criancas
(
D. Quixote of Children
) (1936)
- O Poco do Visconde
(
The Viscount's Well
) (1937)
- Historias de tia Nastacia
(
Aunt Anastacia's Tales
) (1937)
- O Picapau Amarelo
and
A Reforma da Natureza
(
The Yellow Woodpecker Farm
and
Reforming Nature
) (1939)
- O Minotauro
(
The Minotaur
) (1937)
- A Chave do Tamanho
(
The Size Switch
) (1942)
- Fabulas
(
Fables
) (1942)
- Os Doze Trabalhos de Hercules
(
The Twelve Trials of Hercules
) (2 vols) (1944)
Adult books
[
edit
]
- Urupes
- Cidades Mortas
- Negrinha
- Ideias de Jeca Tatu
- A Onda Verde
- O Presidente Negro
- Na Antevespera
- O Escandalo do Petroleo
and
Ferro
- Mr. Slang e o Brasil
and
Problema Vital
- America
- Mundo da Lua
and
Miscelanea
- A Barca de Gleyre
(2 vols)
Collections
[
edit
]
- Prefacios e entrevistas
- Literatura do Minarete
(*)
- Conferencias, artigos e cronicas
(*)
- Cartas escolhidas
(2 vols) (*)
- Criticas e outras Notas
(*)
- Cartas de Amor
(*)
(*) Published posthumously.
Translations
[
edit
]
- Kim
, by
Rudyard Kipling
?
undated translation
- Black Beauty
, by Anne Sewell ?
undated translation
- Madame Curie
, by
Eve Curie
?
undated translation
- Grimm's Fairy Tales
, by
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm
?
undated translation
- On Education, Especially in Early Childhood
, by
Bertrand Russell
?
undated translation
- The Story of Civilization ? Part III: Caesar and Christ
, by
Will Durant
?
undated translation
- Just Patty
, by
Jean Webster
?
undated translation
(probably 1942)
- Les Travailleurs de la Mer
, by
Victor Hugo
? 1925
- La main du defunt
, by Alfredo Possolo Hogan (wrongfully credited to
Alexandre Dumas
) ? 1925
- My Life and Work
, by
Henry Ford
? 1926
- Warhaftige Historia und beschreibung eyner Landtschafft der Wilden Nacketen, Grimmigen Menschfresser-Leuthen in der Newenwelt America gelegen
, by
Hans Staden
? 1927
- Andersen's Fairy Tales
, by
Hans Christian Andersen
? 1932
- White Fang
, by
Jack London
? 1933
- The Jungle Book
, by
Rudyard Kipling
? 1933
- The Sea-Wolf
, by
Jack London
? 1934
- The Black Doctor and Other Tales of Terror and Mystery
, by
Arthur Conan Doyle
? 1934
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
, by
Mark Twain
? 1934
- Dear Enemy
, by
Jean Webster
? 1934
- The Call of the Wild
, by Jack London ? 1935
- Cleopatra
, by
E. Barrington
? 1935
- Little Caesar
, by
W. R. Burnett
? 1935
- Scarface
, by
Armitage Trail
? 1935
- Alice in Wonderland
, by
Lewis Carroll
? 1936
- Tarzan at the Earth's Core
, by
Edgar Rice Burroughs
? 1936
- Towards the Stars
, by
H. Dennis Bradley
? 1939
- Rebecca
(in collaboration with Ligia Junqueira Smith), by
Daphne du Maurier
? 1940
- My Son, My Son!
, by
Howard Spring
? 1940
- The Story of the Bible
, by
Hendrik Willem van Loon
? 1940
- A Farewell to Arms
, by
Ernest Hemingway
? 1942
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
, by Ernest Hemingway ? 1942
- Sorrell and Son
, by
Warwick Deeping
? 1942
- That Day Alone
, by
Pierre van Paassen
? 1942
- Pollyanna
, by
Eleanor H. Porter
? 1942
- Pollyanna Grows Up
, by Eleanor H. Porter ? 1942
- Moment in Peking
, by
Lin Yutang
? 1942
- One World
, by
Wendell Willkie
? 1943
- The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind
, by
H. G. Wells
? 1943
- Robinson Crusoe
, by
Daniel Defoe
? 1945
- Lincoln
, by
Nathaniel Wright Stephenson
? 1945
- The Fate of Homo Sapiens
, by
H. G. Wells
? 1945
- The Bridge of San Luis Rey
, by
Thornton Wilder
? 1946
- A Daughter of the Snows
, by Jack London ? 1947
- Pinocchio
, by
Carlo Collodi
? 1955
- Moby-Dick
, by
Herman Melville
? 1957
- Tarzan the Terrible
, by
Edgar Rice Burroughs
? 1959
- A Leaf in the Storm
(in collaboration with Ruth Lobato), by
Lin Yutang
? 1959
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Daniel Balderston; Mike Gonzalez (February 12, 2004).
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Latin American and Caribbean Literature, 1900?2003
. Routledge. p. 369.
ISBN
978-1-134-39960-4
. Retrieved
May 29,
2016
.
- ^
:: Revista Emilia ::
- ^
G1 - Mais uma obra de Monteiro Lobato e questionada por suposto racismo - noticias em Educacao
Archived
2014-02-02 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Monteiro Lobato e o racismo - Integra da entrevista concedida a CartaCapitalnº 716, 21/9/2012, da qual a edicao da revista aproveitou trechos. Marisa Lajolo e doutora em Letra...
Archived
2014-02-01 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Discussao sobre racismo na obra de Monteiro Lobato continua hoje em reuniao no MEC - Noticias - UOL Educacao
Archived
2014-02-01 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Monteiro Lobato, racista empedernido ? CartaCapital
Archived
2014-02-01 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Feres Junior, Joao; Nascimento, Leonardo Fernandes; Eisenberg, Zena Winona (March 2013).
"Monteiro Lobato and political correctness"
.
Dados
.
56
(1): 69?108.
doi
:
10.1590/S0011-52582013000100004
.
ISSN
0011-5258
.
- ^
Desk, OV Digital (April 17, 2023).
"18 April: Remembering Monteiro Lobato on Birthday"
.
Observer Voice
. Retrieved
April 17,
2023
.
- ^
"129th Birthday of Monteiro Lobato"
.
www.google.com
. Retrieved
April 17,
2023
.
External links
[
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]
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International
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National
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Academics
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Other
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