“Sou caipira pira pora...”: representations of the provincial, from the parasite of the land to the paradigm of national reality (1889-1945)

Abstract

This paper is aimed at discussing the representations about the hillbilly, the national peasant based on visions of two intellectuals: writer Monteiro Lobato and painter José Ferraz de Almeida Jr. Therefore, both literature and iconographic sources will support an analysis of the living standards of the rustic, as found in the historical period covered – 1889 until 1945. Contributions from authors who work with image analysis will be used as method, such as Henry Silva’s and Ana M. Mauad’s, and authors who work with the said period and the provincial issue: Lilia Schwarcz, Glauco Barsalini and Antonio Candido.