Lords of the Beach
Men of the Beach ( Portuguese : Capitães da Areia ) is the sixth novel by the Brazilian writer Jorge Amado , which was published in Rio de Janeiro in 1937 .
The Beachcombers - a gang of thieves , consisting of orphaned street boys - live in the early 1930s on the beach of Bahia in the ruins of a memory from the colonial era .
content
- Under the moon in an old attic
- The memory
Pedro Bala has been a member of the beach gentlemen's gang for ten years and has risen to become its leader. The gang is made up of nine to sixteen year old boys who mainly steal jewelry and sell it in pawn shops.
- The night of the lords of the beach
Almost every boy is a specialist. For example, the lame boy Hinkebein, who hates the rich of Bahia, sneaks into their houses with a pitiable scam before every major robbery by the gang and spies on valuables and escape routes. Hangover, however, prefers to be endured by the prostitute Dalva. And the mulatto Volta Seca has completely different interests. He tries to join the Lampiao gang . Almost each of the boys has their own particularity. Pirulito prays to God.
- Ponto das Pitangueiras
Not all stolen goods can be silvered at the pawnbroker. Sometimes God's favorite, the fisherman, helps out with his Saveiro.
- The lights of the carousel
There are parasites in the gang. Boa Vida is one. He likes to roam the city; knows every corner of Bahia. Now and then he has to contribute to the gang's livelihood. When Boa Vida tries to steal a relic box in the church, Father José Pedro catches him. The thief is lucky. He is spared the beating in the reformatory. The father knows the lord of the beach and wants to convert the boys. Neither Boa Vida nor the other boys can do that. There is one exception, however. According to the Father, Pirulito could become a priest.
- The harbor
Pedro Bala is drawn out into the world. He would like to become a sailor one day. Boa Vida, this job is too strenuous. He strives for a comfortable, entertaining trampoline life in his native Bahia. While walking through the harbor, Pedro Bala and Boa Vida meet João de Adão. The stevedore greets Pedro Bala with "Captain Pedro". João de Adão has weathered many port workers' strikes. In conversation, the boys learn that Pedro Bala's father was killed as a strike leader by a bullet from mounted police officers. Pedro wants to avenge his father.
- An adventure with Ogun
Iemanja and Xangô are angry overnight. Out at sea, a terrible winter storm has broken out because Ogun has been insulted. His portrait is no longer in its place in the temple, but on the police station. The priestess Dona Aninha asks Pedro Bala for her statuette. The leader of the lords of the beach manages to bring them home by a ruse.
- And God smiles like a Negro lein
José Pedro railed against homosexuals in the mansion of the beach . The terrified Pedro Bala casts the pederasts out of the community. Preparing Pirulitos for the priesthood turns out to be more difficult than expected. This recidivist steals the baby Jesus from a statue of Our Lady in front of a small shop selling relics.
- In the lap of the family
Boa Vida gets around a lot in Bahia; learns about the art collection of law professor Raul. Pedro Bala sends Hinkebein to the villa. The disabled man sneaks into Dona Ester, Raul's wife, as poor little Augusto. Hinkebein is torn to and fro by the long-missing maternal affection that was unexpectedly shown. When Pedro Bala urges him to hurry, Hinkebein's innate hatred of the rich in Bahia finally prevails. The break-in can begin when the lawyer is on business in Rio de Janeiro.
- A morning like in the picture
On the street, the poet Dr. Dantas from Rio de Janeiro the drawing talent of the book thief João José. The keen young reader João José is called the professor by the gentlemen of the beach.
- smallpox
When the next smallpox epidemic occurs, the rich in Bahia will be vaccinated. In the attic, little Almiro fell ill with the contagious disease. Pedro Bala is currently absent. Hinkebein takes the lead; wants to kick the sick person out of the attic. The boys are overwhelmed and call José Pedro. The priest helps, but is reported because he has circumvented the legally required admission of sick people to the hospital. José Pedro is summoned to the archbishop's palace and receives a reprimand from the canon .
When Boa Vida fell ill, he went to the hospital - according to the men of the beach, to certain death. But Boa Vida survives.
- fate
An old man in the harbor bar says that God has scourged the poor of Bahia with smallpox. João de Adão and Pedro Bala do not want to accept that. Fight is on.
- Night of great peace, of great peace in your eyes
- The leaf patient's daughter
The lords of the beach take Dora into memory. When Pedro Bala wanted to send the girl away, she had prevailed against the leader. Dora wants to cook, sew, and wash.
- Dora, the mother
Said and done. Jorge Amado writes: “They had finally found a mother, tenderness and care from a real mother.” Only for Pirulito is a woman in memory the sin.
- Dora, sister and bride
Pedro Bala and Dora affirm their love, see themselves as bridegroom and bride. Holding hands, the two fall asleep like siblings.
- The reformatory
During a raid into a villa in the Ladeira de São Bento, what had to come comes. The gentlemen of the beach end up at the police station. Pedro Bala succeeds in a feint. João Grande, the professor and Hinkebein can escape. Dora is detained in the orphanage. The police turn Pedro Bala over to the director of the reformatory. In the institution, the boy is beaten up and held in a narrow dungeon under a staircase for eight days. The prisoner then has to do field work. The gentlemen of the beach smuggle a long rope into the institution. Pedro Bala managed to escape at night.
- The orphanage
Four weeks after the unsuccessful raid mentioned above, João Grande, Kater, the professor and Pedro Bala free Dora from the hospital ward of the orphanage.
- Night of great peace
Dona Aninha's mantra does not work against Dora's fever.
- Dora, lover and wife
Of course, Pedro Bala and Dora cannot marry as two minors. But before Dora dies of the fever, she performs the promised marriage with her lover.
- A star is rising
Gottesliebing drives the corpse far out to sea in his Saveiro and hands it over to the sea. Pedro Bala imagines her deceased lover as a new star that shines over Bahia at night.
- The song of Bahia. The song of freedom
- vocation
The professor had also secretly loved Dora. Nothing keeps him in Bahia anymore. He accepts Dr. Dantas and becomes a painter in Rio de Janeiro. Pirulito no longer steals, but hires out as a shoe cleaner, porter and newsboy; works almost simultaneously in the three jobs. José Pedro finally gets his parish. It is in the middle of the Sertão with the rangers, but the Capuchin prior announces good news to him when he leaves Bahia. Pirulito can become a Capuchin. Pedro Bala and Hinkebein experience Pirulito in a church as catechists for poor children. The friends punish the old comrade with slight contempt. Boa Vida has changed too. As a tramp in Bahia, he plays guitar and composes sambas .
- The old maid's love song
Hinkebein continues as before. He sneaks in on the maid Joana. The young lady lets the boy in her bed, but shies away from possible pregnancy. Hinkebein - in a rage - does not get a chance once and leaves Joana - the howling maiden - after the obligatory theft.
- The stowaway
Four years have passed since the beginning of the novel. Dalva takes tomcat to Ilhéus . There, the crook couple fleecs rich landowners.
After a failed wallet theft, Volta Seca is beaten as soft as a diaper at the police station. After he was let go, he fulfilled a long-cherished heart's desire: to kill police officers. Volta Seca says goodbye to Pedro Bala and board the train to Aracaju . On the way, the Lampiao train is ambushed. Volta Seca is taken into his gang and is allowed to kill two police officers - security guards during the train journey.
- Like a circus acrobat
After a daring break-in on Rua Rui Barbosa together with João Grande and Pedro Bala, Hinkebein is not quick enough to escape. When a police officer tries to reach for a limb, the boy falls into an abyss and does not survive.
- Newspaper news
Volta Seca is caught and given thirty years in prison for fifteen murders.
- Enjoyed
Led by João de Adão and Alberto, Pedro Bala, who loves riots, takes part in the tram strike. Pedro Bala disperses scabs with his men.
Quote
Alberto: "The strike is the festival of the poor."
Self-testimony
In the afterword, Jorge Amado acknowledges the weaknesses of this early work several times, but emphasizes - also several times - his "unconditional solidarity and a deep love for people" in the book.
characters
Age information relates to the main story. In the view at the end of the novel, the characters are now four years older.
| Surname | comment | Age [years] |
|---|---|---|
| Pedro Bala | leader | 15th |
| Dora | Pedro Bala's mistress | 13 |
| professor | Book thief João José becomes a painter | |
| João Grande | Negro; the strongest in the gang | 13 |
| Limped | aka Augusto | 13 |
| Male cat | Stutzer | 14th |
| Volta Seca | Mulatto from the Sertão | |
| Boa Vida | mulatto | |
| Barandão | Negroes | |
| Almiro | Fat boy | 12 |
| Pirulito | embarks on the priestly career | |
| Zé Fuinha | Dora's brother | 6th |
| Surname | comment |
|---|---|
| God's darling | Fisherman, capoeira fighter |
| José Pedro | Father, has no parish , used to work in the textile factory |
| Dona Aninha | Priestess of the Afro-Brazilian religion |
| João de Adão | Negro, dockworker, revolutionary, communist |
| Alberto | Student at the University of Bahia |
| Surname | comment | Age [years] |
|---|---|---|
| Ezequiel | Mulatto, leader of an opposing gang | |
| Gonzales | Owner of the pawn shop "Vierzehner" | |
| Dalva | prostitute | 35 |
| Ranulfo | Overseer in the reformatory | |
| Joana | lustful maid | 45 |
shape
The loose episode structure of the novel can already be seen from the sketch of the content above. The plot runs for four years. The text is easy to understand. Prayer wheel-like repetitions, especially in the back of the text, disturb. Jorge Amado writes carefree. Almost every minor character is allowed to think; even the policeman on the corner. The last 14 pages in the edition used describe the class struggle of the comrades . On November 19, 1937, 808 copies of the book were burned as communist ideas in front of the Bahia Marine School. Jorge Amado was then imprisoned, but was released the following year and went into exile in Argentina and Uruguay , from which he returned in 1942.
Film adaptations
motion pictures
- October 7, 2011, Brazil: Capitães da Areia by Cecília Amado and Guy Gonçalves with Jean Luis Amorim as Pedro Bala, Ana Graciela as Dora and Roberio Lima as professor.
TV
- 1989, Brazil, 11 parts on ARD : The gentlemen of the beach by Walter Lima junior with Leandro Reis Souza as Pedro Bala.
German-language literature
First editions
- Jorge Amado: Lords of the Beach. Novel. German by Ludwig Graf von Schönfeldt . Volk und Welt, Berlin 1951. 374 pages
- Jorge Amado: Lords of the Beach . Rowohlt, rororo, Hamburg 1963. 202 pages
expenditure
- Jorge Amado: Lords of the Beach. From the Portuguese. Transfer from Ludwig Graf von Schönfeldt. With a comment “The Novels of Bahia” by the author . Reclam, RUB 622 4th edition (text based on the above-mentioned Volk-und-Welt edition 1959), Leipzig 1987, 254 pages, ISBN 3-379-00101-5 (used edition)
Secondary literature
- Erhard Engler : Jorge Amado. The magician from Bahia . edition text + criticism. Pp. 66–79 (series of letters elsewhere , ed. Renate Oesterhelt) Munich 1992, 180 pages, ISBN 3-88377-410-3 .
Remarks
- ↑ In the afterword of the edition used (p. 251) Jorge Amado writes (June 1937): “'Lords of the Beach' is the last work of the cycle 'The Novels of Bahia'. The five novels O País do Carnaval , Cacau (German: In the South ), Suor (German: The Tenement House ), Jubiabá (German Jubiabá ) and Mar Morto (German: Dead Sea ) belong to him . "
- ↑ Sailing cutter ( Portuguese Saveiro ).
- ↑ A good week earlier, Vargas had installed a military dictatorship in Brazil ( Ursula Prutsch : Der Estado Novo 1937–1945 ( Memento of the original from May 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original - and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Engler, p. 168, 6th entry
- ↑ Edition used, p. 170, 13. Zvu
- ↑ port. Ladeira de São Bento (Eng. Street of September 7th )
- ↑ Edition used, p. 241, 15. Zvu
- ↑ Edition used, p. 253, 15. Zvu
- ^ Port. History of the University of Bahia
- ↑ Edition used, p. 132, 6. Zvo
- ↑ December 5, 2012, Margrit Klingler-Clavijo on Deutschlandfunk : Plea for the mixing of cultures, races and religions. Jorge Amado: The workshop of miracles
- ↑ Engler, p. 79, 14. Zvo
- ↑ Lords of the Beach in the IMDb
- ↑ The Lords of the Beach as a TV film.