Jorge Amado is one of the most popular Brazilian writers of the 20th century and his novels continue to draw a large readership both in Brazil and abroad. Amado’s first narratives reflect his political engagement in that they attempt to denounce the poverty of many of the inhabitants of his native state of Bahia, from the rural workers laboring in the large cocoa plantations of the region in
Cacao(
Cocoa, 1933) to the homeless children roaming the streets of Salvador in
Capitães de Areia(
Captains of the Sands, 1937). These texts are often programmatic in their aim to condemn social injustices, in their portrayal of class struggle and in their appeal for a socialist political arrangement. Yet, later in his career, the author abandons an openly politicized literature in order to…
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Citation: Vieira, Patricia. "Jorge Amado". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 April 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=98, accessed 09 October 2024.]