Carolina Maria De Jesus
Encyclopedia
Carolina Maria de Jesus (1915–1977) was a Brazil
ian peasant
who lived most of her life in the favela
(slums) of São Paulo
, Brazil
. She is best known for her diary
, which was published as Child of the Dark in 1960, after coming to the attention of a Brazilian journalist
. This work remains the only document published in English
by a Brazil
ian slum-dweller from that period.
, a rural community
where her parents were sharecroppers. She was an illegitimate child, fathered by a man who was already married. Therefore she was treated as an outcast during her entire childhood, and her aggressive personality did nothing to alleviate the situation. When she reached the age of seven, Carolina’s mother forced her to attend school after a wealthy landowner’s wife paid for Carolina, as well as other poor black children in the neighborhood. However, she stopped attending school by the second grade, but she went long enough to learn how to read and write. Little did she know at the time, these things would play a very important role in her life as an adult. Since Carolina’s mother had two illegitimate children, her family was kicked out of the Catholic Church while she was still young. However, throughout her life she considered herself a devout catholic, even though she would never be accepted by the Catholic Church. In her diary she often made biblical
references, and overtures to God: "I dreamt I was an angel
. My dress was billowing and had long pink sleeves. I went from earth to heaven. I put stars in my hands and played with them. I talked to the stars. They put on a show in my honor. They danced around me and made a luminous path. When I woke up I thought: I’m so poor. I can't afford to go to a play so God
sends me these dreams for my aching soul. To the God who protects me, I send my thanks".
In 1937, her mother died, and she was forced to migrate to the metropolis
of São Paulo
. Carolina made her own house out of used plywood
, cans, cardboard
, and anything else she could find. She would go out every night to collect paper in order to get money to support the family. Once she got done collecting she would go and sell what she had collected and then go to the store and buy what little food that she could with the money. She would also find journal
s and old notebook
s which she would keep and use to write in. She began to write on her day to day activities and how her life was living in the favela
. This angered her neighbors to see her always writing. They weren’t literate so they could not read what she was writing; they just did not feel comfortable with the thought of her writing about them. Her neighbors were jealous of Carolina and tended to treat her as well as her children very poorly. As a young woman she was somewhat attractive and had many love affairs, although she refused to marry, having seen too much domestic violence
in the slum. She preferred to remain independent. Unlike many black women in that time and place, Carolina celebrated her race; she thought her skin and hair were beautiful.
All three of her children had different fathers, at least one of whom was a wealthy white man. In her diary, she details the daily life of the favela
dos, and bluntly describes the political and social
facts which order their lives. She writes of how poverty
and desperation can cause people of high moral
character to compromise their principles and dishonor themselves simply to get food for themselves and their families. There is no chance to save money, because any extra earnings must immediately go to pay off outstanding debt
s.
Carolina's story "electrified the town," and in 1960, Quarto de Despejo (The Garbage Place), was published. It became the most successful book in Brazilian publishing
history. Although written in the simple, inelegant language of a favela
da, her diary was translated into thirteen languages and became a bestseller in North America
and Europe
. It was published in the United States
and the UK as Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus, in 1962. The book was heavily edited by Dantas, and some critics suspected that the diary was a fraud; but the original manuscript
was preserved and reprinted whole in 1999, proving that not only did Carolina write it herself, but that she was a much livelier and more poetic writer than Dantas' edition seemed to present.
This came as a surprise to her town as well as the country. Many of Carolina’s neighbors knew about her writings before the publication and would tease and ridicule her. “Most couldn’t even read, but thought she should be doing other things with her spare time than writing and saving old writings”. Though as much as people poked fun at her writings, this publication “electrified” the town and she sold over 30,000 copies in the first three days. People demanded the shipment of more copies all across Brazil
. Along with the large amount of publicity
and popularity
that the diary created, Carolina became a social victim especially in her local town.
Carolina Maria De Jesus’ diary detailed her grim reality of life as well as the dreadful life around her. Carolina judged her neighbors for their ways of life and used their actual names and instances in the publication. “You wrote bad things about me, you did worse than I did” shouted a drunken neighbor. Many of Carolina’s neighbors despised her because she seemed to look down upon the town peoples’ way of life. One man “screamed at her that she was a ‘black whore’ who had become rich by writing about favelas but refused to share any of her money”. Along with the neighbors’ cruel words, people would throw rocks and full chamber pot
s at her and her children. People were also angry because she moved into a brick
house] in the suburb
s with the first proceeds of her diary. “Neighbors swarmed around the truck and wouldn’t let her leave. ‘You think you are high class now, don’t you’” they would scream. The local neighbors despised her even though the high achievement of her diary increased the knowledge of these favela
s around the world. To Carolina’s local neighbors this publication was a bashing of their way of life:
When I die I don't want to be reborn
It is horrible, to put up with humanity
That has a noble appearance
That covers up its terrible qualities
I noted that humanity
Is perverse, is tyrannical
Self-seeking egoists
Who handle things politely
But all is hypocrisy
They are uncultivated, and trickers.
Carolina also raised awareness of the favela
s’ conditions. Local politicians wanted to meet with Carolina and discuss some of her points. The governor of São Paulo
, Prestes Maia
, tried to begin the involvement of agencies to create poor relief. Most of these projects were dedicated to teach women how to sew, care properly of their children and teach good hygiene
. This was a step in the right direction though these projects quickly faded.
During the interview Vera clearly describes how her mother devoted herself entirely to her dream of becoming a writer
, without the help of others. Vera admired her mother’s aspiration to create a better life not only for herself but for her children. Although Carolina was a difficult person to live with, Vera stated “There is no one in the world I admire more than her”. Vera stresses how the success of her mother’s work quickly resulted in the family constantly traveling, attending parties, and living in large mansion
s that seemed almost prison
-like due to their great size. Constantly giving praise to her mother during the interview, Vera gives thanks to her life history completely to the work of her mother. Without the success of her mother, Vera would have never been able attend school.
Vera constantly mentions the dangerous lifestyle of living in the favela
and although she and her siblings were born poor through their mother’s suffering fought for a better life for her children. Violence in the favela
made it dangerous for Vera and her brothers to be on the streets with her mother, so most of their time was spent waiting and sometimes studying in their shack awaiting Carolina’s return. Carolina rarely let her children leave their shack in fear of their safety. Later on, leaving her children became too dangerous. Her own daughter, Vera Eunice professed that, "We didn’t have enough money
to buy proper food, but my mother wanted us to stay out of the favela! She disliked not only the favela, but the people who lived in it…my mother gave [João and Zé Carlos] money to stay away the whole day. They only returned at night, to sleep. Movie tickets ended up costing much of our money for food, but she preferred it that way. She preferred to leave at dawn, with her sack on her shoulders, to walk, walk, walk and to go to bed hungry, rather than to leave us alone in Canindé". "Hunger is the world plague of the favela
", Vera stated.
Socially, Vera made it clear that there was always a man in her mother’s life. Carolina simply loved being infatuated with men and adored love making
. She stressed how Carolina did not like the black men living in the favela
and that they did not favor Carolina too much either. When she lived in Sacramento
, she was sometimes called a witch, but in Canindé
she was merely regarded as eccentric
. They were less in awe of her writing, and more intimidated by it: “In the favela, they thought that she was crazy, walking with her notebook under her arm. There were people who laughed. The worst ones laughed at her piles of paper, but they stopped when they realized that it was neither a joke nor craziness” (103). It’s true that she threatened to write about people in her book if she got upset, and she most certainly did. Jealousy of her writing, men, and lifestyle resulted in other favela
das becoming her enemies. Despite her dislike of others and others dislike for her this did not stop her mother from continuing to write about what was happening in the favela
.
During this interview
Vera recalls an event specifically showing her mothers love and protection for her children. Here, she told about a time during her childhood where she was playing in the grass when a man approached her and asked her to help him find something. The two of them headed down towards a river and soon this stranger began removing Vera’s clothes and raping
her. A mother’s instinct warned Carolina that her daughter was in trouble, and soon she made her way down to the river, rescuing her daughter from this stranger.
Before the publication of her work Vera notices her mother’s obsession with Audálio, her publisher, and was constantly anxious about him sending word about her diary. Soon after her publication Vera found herself attending her mother’s book signing
s, wearing new clothes, and traveling all around Brazil
. Soon everything Vera, her brothers, and her mother wanted was at their fingertips. Vera stressed how her mother always wanted to be the center of attention, and aspired to become a singer and an actress. However, despite her efforts to do so, her publisher informed her that this would not benefit her and that she should continue writing her novel
s.
Soon after the family moved away from the favela
and into Santana the children quickly learned about prejudice. Here, Carolina and the family lived in a large brick house that seemed almost like a prison due to its size. Other children in the neighborhood were not allowed to play with Vera and her two brothers because other families considered Carolina “marked by the favela
,” (Levine, 107). This was unusual to Vera and her brothers because they were so use to playing outside, but here in Santana they remained in their home and did not interact with other children.
Despite her fame
and fortune Vera noticed her mother becoming impatient due to her lack of privacy
. Before her publication all Carolina wanted was to have her writing noticed, but now she started to regret this decision. Now that money was plentiful Carolina began to spend without paying attention to what she was spending her earnings on. She had intentions of sending both Zé and Vera to Italy
but soon changed her mind and decided to spend her money on the Parelherios where she and her three children moved. Here, the family loved their country
land and Vera saw her mother had become hard working again; growing crop
s, taking care of the household
once again, and tending to João as his health began to fail. The family could not seek medical help during the time where João was ill because they did not have a work card
, required by the INS
.
João eventually died of kidney failure four months after his mother passed from a respiratory attack. Vera Eunice, interviewed in 1994, married and became a teacher
, and at the time was a night-time student at a small public college. She wanted to be an English language
translator. On the other hand, her youngest son Zé Carlos was twice divorced, occasionally homeless, an alcoholic, but purportedly extremely intelligent like Carolina. Along with his intelligence he was simultaneously angry and erratic. Again, a trait of his mother.
was her unique perspective of life. Carolina was a woman who, although may have lived among the lowest classes of Brazil
ian society, had dreams and aspirations like those who lived most comfortably in Brazil
during the mid 1900s. Some would argue that all members of society, regardless of social
or economic status, have goals and ambitions of some sort. However, Carolina Maria de Jesus was a woman who believed that her dreams could be realized, and against great odds, many of them were. She created a paradigm
unlike any of her favela
do counterparts, and lived accordingly until she was finally able to move her family into the modest middle-class neighborhood of Alto de Santana
in São Paulo.
At no point in Carolina’s life did she accept the class of society she was born into. The activities that Carolina used to occupy her free time, her decision to avoid the many vice
s present in everyday favela
life, as well as her choice of sexual partner
s, all indicate that while she was physically in the favela
her mind was elsewhere. For instance, “what set Carolina apart in Canindé was her penchant for spending several hours a day writing” (Levine 41). Although writing may not seem like an extraordinary practice, among a highly illiterate neighborhood it was a particularly rare event. She wrote poems, novels, and stories. In the early 1940s, Carolina began taking many of her literary works to editor
s in an attempt to get them published (Levine 42). Carolina persevered until 1960, when Brazil
ian journalist Audalio Dantas published Carolina’s diary Quarto de Despejo (Garbage Room).
One of the many things that Carolina chose to write about in her diary were the other people living around her. Carolina describes herself as being very different from the other favela
dos that she writes about. For example, Carolina claimed that “she detested other blacks from her social class” (Levine 23). While Carolina watched many of the people around her succumb to drugs
, alcohol
, prostitution
, violence
, and robbery
, she chose to stay loyal to her children and her writing. Carolina was consistently able to provide for her children by recycling
used trash for money or foraging through garbage cans for food and clothing (Levine 40). By saving some of the paper she collected, Carolina had the material she needed to continue her writing.
Another atypical part of Carolina’s life concerned her choice of sexual partners. Although it was not unusual for favela
das to seek lighter skinned partners, because light skin was associated with a higher economic status, Carolina never used any of her relationships to better her own situation. The fathers of Carolina’s children were all white foreigners from places like Italy
, Portugal
, and the United States
(Levine 37-39). Many of her lovers offered to marry Carolina but she never accepted any of their proposals, even though they would have lifted her out of poverty. A possible explanation for this may be that Carolina did not want anybody to compromise her way of living. Regardless of the reason, Carolina stayed true to her beliefs and would not submit to the way of life that the favela
offered her.
s, none of which were ever published. In fact, her obituary
in a 1977 edition of Jornal do Brasil comments about her blaming herself for not being able to take advantage of her brief celebrity
status and that her stubbornness led her to die in poverty. We should rather consider how her story and descriptions provide insight to the Brazil
ian favela
condition. For example, the events of Carolina’s life can be seen as a sad story for one individual, or one can look beyond that and see the average Brazil
ian’s view of society
, family life, equality, poverty
, and other aspects of daily existence.
Her book was read extensively both in capitalist areas like Western Europe
and the United States, as well as socialist bloc countries, the Eastern bloc
and Cuba
. Such a wide range in audience suggests how many people her story affected outside of Brazil
. For the liberal
and capitalist West, the book portrayed a cruel and corrupt system which had been reinforced by centuries of colonial
ideals instilled on the people. In opposition, for the communist readers the stories depicted perfectly the fundamental flaws of the capitalist system where the worker is the most downtrodden part of the economic system
.
Many people, including Brazil
ian historian
Jose Carlos Sebe, find that, “many foreign specialists in Brazil
year after year used her translated diary in their classes.” This indicates her important role worldwide as providing one of the only primary direct factual accounts and stories of what was going on in these favela
s. Carolina’s story was a desperate cry for help to the whole world from a very backwater, unknown, mistreated, and misrepresented group of people. Author Robert M. Levine describes how, “Carolina’s words brought alive a slice of Latin American reality rarely acknowledged in traditional textbooks.”
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
who lived most of her life in the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
(slums) of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. She is best known for her diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
, which was published as Child of the Dark in 1960, after coming to the attention of a Brazilian journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. This work remains the only document published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian slum-dweller from that period.
Early life
Carolina Maria de Jesus was born in Minas GeraisMinas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, a rural community
Rural community
A rural community is a type of municipality in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.There are five rural communities: Beaubassin East, Saint-André, Upper Miramichi, Campobello Island and Kedgwick.....
where her parents were sharecroppers. She was an illegitimate child, fathered by a man who was already married. Therefore she was treated as an outcast during her entire childhood, and her aggressive personality did nothing to alleviate the situation. When she reached the age of seven, Carolina’s mother forced her to attend school after a wealthy landowner’s wife paid for Carolina, as well as other poor black children in the neighborhood. However, she stopped attending school by the second grade, but she went long enough to learn how to read and write. Little did she know at the time, these things would play a very important role in her life as an adult. Since Carolina’s mother had two illegitimate children, her family was kicked out of the Catholic Church while she was still young. However, throughout her life she considered herself a devout catholic, even though she would never be accepted by the Catholic Church. In her diary she often made biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
references, and overtures to God: "I dreamt I was an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. My dress was billowing and had long pink sleeves. I went from earth to heaven. I put stars in my hands and played with them. I talked to the stars. They put on a show in my honor. They danced around me and made a luminous path. When I woke up I thought: I’m so poor. I can't afford to go to a play so God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
sends me these dreams for my aching soul. To the God who protects me, I send my thanks".
In 1937, her mother died, and she was forced to migrate to the metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
. Carolina made her own house out of used plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
, cans, cardboard
Cardboard (paper product)
Cardboard is a generic term for a heavy-duty paper of various strengths, ranging from a simple arrangement of a single thick sheet of paper to complex configurations featuring multiple corrugated and uncorrugated layers....
, and anything else she could find. She would go out every night to collect paper in order to get money to support the family. Once she got done collecting she would go and sell what she had collected and then go to the store and buy what little food that she could with the money. She would also find journal
Journal
__FORCETOC__A journal has several related meanings:* a daily record of events or business; a private journal is usually referred to as a diary....
s and old notebook
Notebook
A notebook is a book or binder composed of pages of notes, often ruled, made out of paper, used for purposes including recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing, and scrapbooking....
s which she would keep and use to write in. She began to write on her day to day activities and how her life was living in the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
. This angered her neighbors to see her always writing. They weren’t literate so they could not read what she was writing; they just did not feel comfortable with the thought of her writing about them. Her neighbors were jealous of Carolina and tended to treat her as well as her children very poorly. As a young woman she was somewhat attractive and had many love affairs, although she refused to marry, having seen too much domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
in the slum. She preferred to remain independent. Unlike many black women in that time and place, Carolina celebrated her race; she thought her skin and hair were beautiful.
All three of her children had different fathers, at least one of whom was a wealthy white man. In her diary, she details the daily life of the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
dos, and bluntly describes the political and social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
facts which order their lives. She writes of how poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and desperation can cause people of high moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
character to compromise their principles and dishonor themselves simply to get food for themselves and their families. There is no chance to save money, because any extra earnings must immediately go to pay off outstanding debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
s.
Local effect of the diary
Carolina Maria De Jesus’ diary was published in August 1960. She was discovered by journalist Audalio Dantas in April 1958. Dantas was covering the opening of a small municipal playground. Immediately following the ceremonies, a street gang moved in and claimed the area, chasing the children away. Dantas saw Carolina standing at the edge of the playground shouting "Leave, or I'll put you in my book!" The intruders departed. Dantas asked what she meant about her book; she was shy at first, but took him to her shack and showed him everything. He asked for a small sample and ran it in the newspaper.Carolina's story "electrified the town," and in 1960, Quarto de Despejo (The Garbage Place), was published. It became the most successful book in Brazilian publishing
Brazilian literature
Brazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...
history. Although written in the simple, inelegant language of a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
da, her diary was translated into thirteen languages and became a bestseller in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It was published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the UK as Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus, in 1962. The book was heavily edited by Dantas, and some critics suspected that the diary was a fraud; but the original manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
was preserved and reprinted whole in 1999, proving that not only did Carolina write it herself, but that she was a much livelier and more poetic writer than Dantas' edition seemed to present.
This came as a surprise to her town as well as the country. Many of Carolina’s neighbors knew about her writings before the publication and would tease and ridicule her. “Most couldn’t even read, but thought she should be doing other things with her spare time than writing and saving old writings”. Though as much as people poked fun at her writings, this publication “electrified” the town and she sold over 30,000 copies in the first three days. People demanded the shipment of more copies all across Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Along with the large amount of publicity
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
and popularity
Popularity
Popularity is the quality of being well-liked or common, or having a high social status. Popularity figures are an important part of many people's personal value systems and form a vital component of success in people-oriented fields such as management, politics, and entertainment, among...
that the diary created, Carolina became a social victim especially in her local town.
Carolina Maria De Jesus’ diary detailed her grim reality of life as well as the dreadful life around her. Carolina judged her neighbors for their ways of life and used their actual names and instances in the publication. “You wrote bad things about me, you did worse than I did” shouted a drunken neighbor. Many of Carolina’s neighbors despised her because she seemed to look down upon the town peoples’ way of life. One man “screamed at her that she was a ‘black whore’ who had become rich by writing about favelas but refused to share any of her money”. Along with the neighbors’ cruel words, people would throw rocks and full chamber pot
Chamber pot
A chamber pot is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and...
s at her and her children. People were also angry because she moved into a brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
house] in the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s with the first proceeds of her diary. “Neighbors swarmed around the truck and wouldn’t let her leave. ‘You think you are high class now, don’t you’” they would scream. The local neighbors despised her even though the high achievement of her diary increased the knowledge of these favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
s around the world. To Carolina’s local neighbors this publication was a bashing of their way of life:
When I die I don't want to be reborn
It is horrible, to put up with humanity
That has a noble appearance
That covers up its terrible qualities
I noted that humanity
Is perverse, is tyrannical
Self-seeking egoists
Who handle things politely
But all is hypocrisy
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
They are uncultivated, and trickers.
Carolina also raised awareness of the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
s’ conditions. Local politicians wanted to meet with Carolina and discuss some of her points. The governor of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Prestes Maia
Prestes Maia
The Prestes Maia, was the largest squatted highrise building on the South American continent. Originally, 468 families, united through the Downtown Roofless Movement of São Paulo, lived in the 22-storey highrise since 2002.The building had been closed and left in a rundown condition for years,...
, tried to begin the involvement of agencies to create poor relief. Most of these projects were dedicated to teach women how to sew, care properly of their children and teach good hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
. This was a step in the right direction though these projects quickly faded.
Children
To really understand the life of Carolina Maria de Jesus it is best to examine Carolina through the eyes of her children Vera Eunice, Zé Carlos, and João Jose. The book entitled The Life and Death of Maria de Jesus provided vital information about the character of Carolina through interviews from both her second eldest son Zé and her daughter Vera.During the interview Vera clearly describes how her mother devoted herself entirely to her dream of becoming a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, without the help of others. Vera admired her mother’s aspiration to create a better life not only for herself but for her children. Although Carolina was a difficult person to live with, Vera stated “There is no one in the world I admire more than her”. Vera stresses how the success of her mother’s work quickly resulted in the family constantly traveling, attending parties, and living in large mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
s that seemed almost prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
-like due to their great size. Constantly giving praise to her mother during the interview, Vera gives thanks to her life history completely to the work of her mother. Without the success of her mother, Vera would have never been able attend school.
Vera constantly mentions the dangerous lifestyle of living in the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
and although she and her siblings were born poor through their mother’s suffering fought for a better life for her children. Violence in the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
made it dangerous for Vera and her brothers to be on the streets with her mother, so most of their time was spent waiting and sometimes studying in their shack awaiting Carolina’s return. Carolina rarely let her children leave their shack in fear of their safety. Later on, leaving her children became too dangerous. Her own daughter, Vera Eunice professed that, "We didn’t have enough money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
to buy proper food, but my mother wanted us to stay out of the favela! She disliked not only the favela, but the people who lived in it…my mother gave [João and Zé Carlos] money to stay away the whole day. They only returned at night, to sleep. Movie tickets ended up costing much of our money for food, but she preferred it that way. She preferred to leave at dawn, with her sack on her shoulders, to walk, walk, walk and to go to bed hungry, rather than to leave us alone in Canindé". "Hunger is the world plague of the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
", Vera stated.
Socially, Vera made it clear that there was always a man in her mother’s life. Carolina simply loved being infatuated with men and adored love making
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. She stressed how Carolina did not like the black men living in the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
and that they did not favor Carolina too much either. When she lived in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, she was sometimes called a witch, but in Canindé
Canindé
The Canindé goat breed, from northeastern Brazil, was selectively bred for its characteristic coloration from the Chué goat of the same region. It is predominantly black with light stripes on its face, chest, and lower legs....
she was merely regarded as eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
. They were less in awe of her writing, and more intimidated by it: “In the favela, they thought that she was crazy, walking with her notebook under her arm. There were people who laughed. The worst ones laughed at her piles of paper, but they stopped when they realized that it was neither a joke nor craziness” (103). It’s true that she threatened to write about people in her book if she got upset, and she most certainly did. Jealousy of her writing, men, and lifestyle resulted in other favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
das becoming her enemies. Despite her dislike of others and others dislike for her this did not stop her mother from continuing to write about what was happening in the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
.
During this interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
Vera recalls an event specifically showing her mothers love and protection for her children. Here, she told about a time during her childhood where she was playing in the grass when a man approached her and asked her to help him find something. The two of them headed down towards a river and soon this stranger began removing Vera’s clothes and raping
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
her. A mother’s instinct warned Carolina that her daughter was in trouble, and soon she made her way down to the river, rescuing her daughter from this stranger.
Before the publication of her work Vera notices her mother’s obsession with Audálio, her publisher, and was constantly anxious about him sending word about her diary. Soon after her publication Vera found herself attending her mother’s book signing
Book signing
Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. A book signing is an event, usually at a bookstore or library where an author sits and signs books for a period of time....
s, wearing new clothes, and traveling all around Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Soon everything Vera, her brothers, and her mother wanted was at their fingertips. Vera stressed how her mother always wanted to be the center of attention, and aspired to become a singer and an actress. However, despite her efforts to do so, her publisher informed her that this would not benefit her and that she should continue writing her novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s.
Soon after the family moved away from the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
and into Santana the children quickly learned about prejudice. Here, Carolina and the family lived in a large brick house that seemed almost like a prison due to its size. Other children in the neighborhood were not allowed to play with Vera and her two brothers because other families considered Carolina “marked by the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
,” (Levine, 107). This was unusual to Vera and her brothers because they were so use to playing outside, but here in Santana they remained in their home and did not interact with other children.
Despite her fame
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
and fortune Vera noticed her mother becoming impatient due to her lack of privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
. Before her publication all Carolina wanted was to have her writing noticed, but now she started to regret this decision. Now that money was plentiful Carolina began to spend without paying attention to what she was spending her earnings on. She had intentions of sending both Zé and Vera to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
but soon changed her mind and decided to spend her money on the Parelherios where she and her three children moved. Here, the family loved their country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
land and Vera saw her mother had become hard working again; growing crop
Crop
Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
s, taking care of the household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
once again, and tending to João as his health began to fail. The family could not seek medical help during the time where João was ill because they did not have a work card
Work card
A work card is like an Identity Card which verifies that a person has been given work, or is eligible to perform work in a given profession or jurisdiction...
, required by the INS
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
.
João eventually died of kidney failure four months after his mother passed from a respiratory attack. Vera Eunice, interviewed in 1994, married and became a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, and at the time was a night-time student at a small public college. She wanted to be an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translator. On the other hand, her youngest son Zé Carlos was twice divorced, occasionally homeless, an alcoholic, but purportedly extremely intelligent like Carolina. Along with his intelligence he was simultaneously angry and erratic. Again, a trait of his mother.
Perspective
One of the characteristics that differentiated Carolina Maria de Jesus’ from her neighbors in the Canindé favelaFavela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
was her unique perspective of life. Carolina was a woman who, although may have lived among the lowest classes of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian society, had dreams and aspirations like those who lived most comfortably in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
during the mid 1900s. Some would argue that all members of society, regardless of social
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
or economic status, have goals and ambitions of some sort. However, Carolina Maria de Jesus was a woman who believed that her dreams could be realized, and against great odds, many of them were. She created a paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
unlike any of her favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
do counterparts, and lived accordingly until she was finally able to move her family into the modest middle-class neighborhood of Alto de Santana
Alto de Santana
Alto de Santana is a name commonly used, especially by business, to refer to a Upper middle class area of Santana district in São Paulo city, Brazil...
in São Paulo.
At no point in Carolina’s life did she accept the class of society she was born into. The activities that Carolina used to occupy her free time, her decision to avoid the many vice
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...
s present in everyday favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
life, as well as her choice of sexual partner
Sexual partner
Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners can be of any gender or sexual orientation. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis...
s, all indicate that while she was physically in the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
her mind was elsewhere. For instance, “what set Carolina apart in Canindé was her penchant for spending several hours a day writing” (Levine 41). Although writing may not seem like an extraordinary practice, among a highly illiterate neighborhood it was a particularly rare event. She wrote poems, novels, and stories. In the early 1940s, Carolina began taking many of her literary works to editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
s in an attempt to get them published (Levine 42). Carolina persevered until 1960, when Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian journalist Audalio Dantas published Carolina’s diary Quarto de Despejo (Garbage Room).
One of the many things that Carolina chose to write about in her diary were the other people living around her. Carolina describes herself as being very different from the other favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
dos that she writes about. For example, Carolina claimed that “she detested other blacks from her social class” (Levine 23). While Carolina watched many of the people around her succumb to drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
, alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, and robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, she chose to stay loyal to her children and her writing. Carolina was consistently able to provide for her children by recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
used trash for money or foraging through garbage cans for food and clothing (Levine 40). By saving some of the paper she collected, Carolina had the material she needed to continue her writing.
Another atypical part of Carolina’s life concerned her choice of sexual partners. Although it was not unusual for favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
das to seek lighter skinned partners, because light skin was associated with a higher economic status, Carolina never used any of her relationships to better her own situation. The fathers of Carolina’s children were all white foreigners from places like Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Levine 37-39). Many of her lovers offered to marry Carolina but she never accepted any of their proposals, even though they would have lifted her out of poverty. A possible explanation for this may be that Carolina did not want anybody to compromise her way of living. Regardless of the reason, Carolina stayed true to her beliefs and would not submit to the way of life that the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
offered her.
Global impact
She wrote four additional books after Child of the Dark which were published without success. She rose and fell from the public eye rapidly. This was probably because of her strong personality that kept her from getting along with a lot of people. She also dabbled in poems, short stories, and brief memoirMemoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s, none of which were ever published. In fact, her obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
in a 1977 edition of Jornal do Brasil comments about her blaming herself for not being able to take advantage of her brief celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
status and that her stubbornness led her to die in poverty. We should rather consider how her story and descriptions provide insight to the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
condition. For example, the events of Carolina’s life can be seen as a sad story for one individual, or one can look beyond that and see the average Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian’s view of society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
, family life, equality, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, and other aspects of daily existence.
Her book was read extensively both in capitalist areas like Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and the United States, as well as socialist bloc countries, the Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Such a wide range in audience suggests how many people her story affected outside of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. For the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and capitalist West, the book portrayed a cruel and corrupt system which had been reinforced by centuries of colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
ideals instilled on the people. In opposition, for the communist readers the stories depicted perfectly the fundamental flaws of the capitalist system where the worker is the most downtrodden part of the economic system
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
.
Many people, including Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Jose Carlos Sebe, find that, “many foreign specialists in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
year after year used her translated diary in their classes.” This indicates her important role worldwide as providing one of the only primary direct factual accounts and stories of what was going on in these favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
s. Carolina’s story was a desperate cry for help to the whole world from a very backwater, unknown, mistreated, and misrepresented group of people. Author Robert M. Levine describes how, “Carolina’s words brought alive a slice of Latin American reality rarely acknowledged in traditional textbooks.”
External links
- Unexpurgated Diaries of Carolina de Jesus (Amazon.com link)
- I'm going to have a little house Review of Carolina's second published book.
- The Life and Death of Carolina de Jesus