A reconstrução da identidade em A jangada de pedra, de José ...

ABSTRACT
The present study on A jangada de pedra, by José Saramago, is founded on
the Discoursive Semiotics Theory, Textual Linguistics, postulates from enunciation
theories regarding the category of person, as well as some principles from
Narratology. It also takes subsidies from Mythology, Portugal’s History, and
Portuguese Literature. The analysis is guided by the generative process of meaning,
whereby the semio-narrative and discoursive structure of the text is investigated in
terms of its syntactic and semantic components.
On the deep structure, we identify the basic semantic category and the
process of assertion and negation to which it is subjected. As far as the surface
structure is concerned, we describe changes in state which take place throughout the
narrative, and values inscribed upon objects of mode and value, which are related to
the actants through conjunction and/or disjunction. As for the discoursive structure,
the approach is enhanced in order to encompass: 1) description of the strategies for
inaugurating and enunciating a person in the literary text; 2) revelation of the
thematic roles played by the actors as well as the themes underlying the main
discoursive configurations.
The scope of the main objective is to apprehend the function of the person
category and the figurative paths in the process of constructing meaning.
Key words: Generative Process of Meaning; Category of Person; Figurative Path;
Discoursive Configuration; Metaphor; Identity / Otherness.
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