Representações distópicas em "A máquina de Joseph Walser", de Gonçalo Manuel Tavares

Abstract

This Master‘s thesis proposes an investigation into the dystopian universe built by Portuguese writer Gonçalo Manuel Tavares on "A máquina de Joseph Walser", second novel that makes up the tetralogy "O Reino". Starting from a theoretical framework marked by thinkers such as Hannah Arendt, Martin Heidegger, Paul Virilio, Giorgio Agamben, Walter Benjamin and Bernard Stiegler, among others, we deal with issues such as the loss of individuality – the starting point for defining the identity of the characters – the overvaluation of the technique, the automation of productive processes and the mechanization of man and his relations with the surrounding world, in a movement of dehumanization and alienation imposed by the centers of power in favor of a simulacrum of progress. To this end, we begin by presenting an overview of the place occupied by dystopia in postmodern literature, and then highlighting the Tavarian concept of "technique" as a constituent and defining element of man. Finally, we present a study about the use of the technique as an instrument of domination by the biopower, comparing, in opportune moments, "A máquina de Joseph Walser" to the other volumes of the series "O Reino".