Machado de Assis is one of the few Brazilian authors who helped Brazil to become what it is today with his books, poems, chronicles and articles. Machado’s writing changed Brazil’s culture and history from head to toe. Machado de Assis not only changed the point of view of many brazilians but also gave new eyes for those who used to look at Brazil and don't see its tremendous cultural universe, from poems to chronicles, from books to journal articles and from black to white.
Background
Machado was born on June 21, 1839. His certificate of baptism does not include mention of his color, but rather, that he was the legit son of a black father and a white mother who had emigrated to Brazil from the Azores (de Seixas 13). Machado de Assis ancestries was a big question mark which the only who could give some information was the author himself until…show more content… His books are still teached at schools and colleges around the Nation (Monteiro 3). Machado de Assis' books are not only studied in Brazil, for example, countries as the United States and others in Europe study Machado de Assis' books because of its controversy topics (Monteiro 6). Even that Americas firsts glances at Machado's work was not of big public interest, United States had just get out from the war against Nazi Germany. America's only interests was rebuilding Europe, the United States had little interest in writers who dissented or who advocated revolutionary ideas, whether in theme or form (Fitz 17). Machado de Assis even after WW1 was not considered important, after the 50's and the harsh 60's the brazilian artist never had a chance in the american literature. In the american mind, he did not have anything to add to the culture. However Machado de Assis has been appreciated by critics like Susan Sontag, Harold Bloom, and Michael Wood. (Fitz
