Visions of Family and Tradition in Dionne Brand’s Writing.

Resumo

O artigo tem como objetivo discutir as visões de família e tradição nas obras da escritora canadense, nascida no Caribe, Dionne Brand. São duas as principais obras analisadas: At the Full and Change of the Moon e What We All Long For. O enfoque teórico consiste em artigos e livros das áreas de estudos culturais e da crítica pós-colonial, levando em consideração o fato de Dionne Brand ser uma escritora imigrante, o que influencia profundamente a sua escrita. A análise das obras será feita com um enfoque comparativo e contrastivo, estudando assim as diferenças e as semelhanças entre as mesmas e, ao mesmo tempo, estabelecendo uma conexão entre ambas. Analisando os conceitos de família e tradição presentes nas obras, foi possível ver o papel dos valores tradicionais e familiares caribenhos e como eles são diferentes, não apenas no Canadá, mas no modo de viver da sociedade moderna.

Résumé: L’article présente une discussion sur les visions de la famille et de la tradition dans les romans de l’écrivaine canadienne/caribéenne Dionne Brand. Les romans analysés sont: At the Full and Change of the Moon et What We All Long For. Du point de vue théorique, on va s’appuyer sur des articles et des livres du domaine des études culturelles et post-coloniales, en tenant compte de la condition immigrante de Dionne Brand, ce qui caractérise son écriture. L’analyse de textes sera marquée par une perspective comparative et contrastive pour mieux observer les différences et les ressemblances entre les romans et pour établir une connexion entre eux. En analysant les concepts de famille et de tradition dans les romans, il sera possible de comprendre la fonction des valeurs traditionnelles des Caraïbes et de vérifier comment elles sont différentes, pas seulement au Canada, mais aussi dans la manière de vivre de la société moderne.

Mots-clés: tradition; famille; diaspora; modernité.

Abstract: The article aims to discuss visions of family and tradition in the work of Canadian writer, born in the Caribbean, Dionne Brand. The focus will be mainly on two novels: At the Full and Change of the Moon and What We All Long For. The theoretical focus consists of articles and books of the cultural studies and post-colonial criticism fields, taking into consideration the fact that Dionne Brand is an immigrant writer and that this characteristic deeply influences her writing. The analysis of the novels will be made with a comparative and contrastive focus, studying then the differences and similarities between the two novels and, at the same time, establishing a connection between them. Through the analysis of the concepts of family and tradition in the cited novels, it was possible to see the role of traditional and familial values in the Caribbean and how it differs from the one perpetuated, not only in Canada, but in the way of living of the modern society.

Keywords: tradition; family; diaspora; modernity.