The fragmentary narrative identity in Bildungsroman De onde eles vêm, by Jeferson Tenório

Abstract

Segments of public opinion have condemned identitarianism because it understands the subject as fragmentary. The notion of how identities are fragmented is grounded in a long theoretical tradition. It has been found in Paul Ricœur a demonstration that overcomes the denials of subjectivity, primarily through narrative identity. The self constitutes its identity by narrating itself through multiple intrigues. The Bildungsroman has always been a demonstration of narrative identity, but it deliberately assumed this possibility by assuming itself as identitarian. The new formation narratives exemplify how fragmented identities are constituted as discourse. They can therefore represent groups defined by race, gender, and social class, among others. The Bildungsroman assumes the forms of engaged narrative, primarily through modalities of the author’s return. Jeferson Tenório exemplifies the possibilities of a Bildungsroman being identitarian in De onde eles vêm, where he presents what could be a new group: the university quota students. The tendencies of sentimental education and preparation as an artist predominate in the novel, pointing out small aspects (samenesses) that make a quota student an identity. An engaged narrator-protagonist speaks about himself through aspects that are not totalizing, but that fragment him and indicate the mobility of his identities (ipseities).