The object of this thesis is to analyze the presence of the pedagogical ekphrastic elements in the novel The Story of The Predestined Pilgrim and his Brother Reprobate by Father Alexandre de Gusmmão. In the past this novel has been an obscure masterpiece outside the circle of those who study early Portuguese language works. In the last half century there has been a crescendo of the study of this novel as more scholars have taken an interest in the pilgrimage motif and in particular using this novel in comparative literature. A monumental contribution to bring this novel out of obscurity is the recent publication of its English translation by Christopher C. Lund. His efforts make this work more accessible to students and scholars who will become enlightened by its contents. His English translation has been used exclusively and is the enabling factor for this study of pedagogical ekphrastic elements contained in the novel. Pilgrimage is a frequent motif in seventeenth-century literature. His pilgrimage is the narrative of two polar opposite brothers whose journeys take them to six cities. As they traverse these cities, the brothers make choices that lead them to their final destinations of Jerusalem, the symbol of heaven, and Babylon, which depicts hell. Gusmmão emphasizes early on that their choices will cause them to be separated forever. Ekphrases are used to enrich and capture the reader's attention to the teachings of Gusmmão through the choices placed before each brother. Gusmmão employs whit, charm, characterization, ekphrases, vignettes, and allegory, with the poignant pedagogical objective to cause the reader to decide if he or she is a predestined or a reprobate and would be satisfied with the inevitable outcomes. I review the socio-historic presence of the Jesuits in Brazil as well as their remarkable pedagogical influence. Ekphrasis is studied as to its origins and its longevity throughout the centuries and how scholars have defined ekphrasis. The essence of this thesis is the extraction and examination of two hundred and forty-one ekphrastic passages from the novel and the analysis of their pedagogical value along with their pictorial elements. It is important to note that the findings of this study loudly affirm Gusmão's use of pedagogical ekphrastic elements as they were detected abundantly in all but ten of the sixty-three chapters included in his novel. The literary richness created by Gusmão's use of ekphrasis so predominantly throughout his novel is indicative of his stature as a pedagogical literary master.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-5293 |
| Date | 01 December 2014 |
| Creators | Fischer, M Cecilia |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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