Machado de Assis
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, more often known as Machado de Assis (June 21, 1839–September 29, 1908), was a Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and Short Story writer. He started his carreer as a proofreader on a small newspaper and died recognized by many as the most important Brazilian writer. Some of his works, which often display his witty, sarcastic attitude, are still read in Brazilian schools to this day. Machado de Assis was a polyglot, having learned French, English, German and Greek later in life.
Although he is mainly unknown outside Brazil, he has attrected some attention: Woody Allen admitted to being his fan and Harold Bloom called him "the supreme black literary artist to date".
Works written by Machado de Assis include:
- Esaú e Jacó
- Dom Casmurro
- Memorial de Aires
- Missa do Galo, one of his most famous short stories
- Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, also known in English as Epitaph for a Small Winner
- Quincas Borba, also known as Philosopher or Dog?
Machado de Assis provides examples of the following tropes:
- Breaking the Fourth Wall
- Character Title: Dom Casmurro, Quincas Borba
- Coming of Age Story: Dom Casmurro, in a sense.
- Deadpan Snarker: Prevalent in Machado de Assis' more famous works.
- Posthumous Narration: Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas.
- Tragic Mulatto: Himself.
- Unreliable Narrator: Dom Casmurro.
- Values Dissonance: Brazil has a different definition of race and ethnicity than the United States. Therefore, even though he's seen as one of the greatest "black writers", neither he nor other Brazilians would consider him "black".