"Afinal de contas, que é um gaúcho?" : Erico Verissimo e as identidades regionais do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This dissertation intends to study the perception of Erico Verissimo about himself, his literary production and his relation with the political and social context of his time and space, from that to verify the relation he established with his homeland, Rio Grande do Sul. The objective of this analysis is to outline the conception of the writer about the regional identities present in the southern state, trying to answer the question: “what is a gaúcho?”. Therefore, this research is based, largely, in the non-fictional writings of the novelist, as his interviews, letters, essays, memories and other statements of this nature. Besides, this analysis verifies some books and characters of the writer, because it is understood that also in the fiction the thought of Erico Verissimo is represented, mainly the aspects concerned to the question of the identities. Along the way, it is also discussed categories like memory, region, regionality, regionalism, (regional) identity and homeland.