In the center of the impasse: reading and rewriting Machado de Assis with high school students

Abstract

For various reasons, reading classical authors by young people has been questioned. This paper intends to reflect upon literature teaching in High School using Machado de Assis’ works. It presents and analyzes an activity of literary reading and writing that resulted in retellings of Machado’s tales, more specifically, of “Noite de Almirante” (1884) [‘Admiral’s Night’] and “Missa do galo” (1894) [‘Midnight Mass’]. In order to do so, the Machadian short stories are presented, as well as students’ textual productions. Such analyses are carried out in the light of theories dedicated to the issue of literary literacy, which results in an exposition of reasons for reading and discussing authors such as Machado de Assis, who serves as an inspiration for the exercise of literary writing in the classroom.