Back to the origins

“Mondo” by J. M. G. Le Clézio and the resignification of the current order

Authors

  • Felipe Guimarães Gonçalves UFMG – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Faculdade de Letras – Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras – Estudos Literários – Pós-LIT. Belo Horizonte – MG – Brasil.

Keywords:

J. M. G. Le Clézio., Postcolonial literature, City, Nature, Ethics of hospitality

Abstract

This article proposes an analysis of the novel “Mondo” present in the collection Mondo et autres histoires, by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, published in 1978. It focuses on the experiences lived by the protagonist which question and resignify Eurocentric culture. With the support of Bhabha’s reflections, Le Clézio brings influences from the cultures of the peoples who were silenced in the past, notably the indigenous culture, to value them in the present time. It is noticeable, therefore, that the protagonist, dissatisfied with the Eurocentric culture, lives, like the native peoples, in perfect union with nature. Based on Derrida’s reflections about the ethics of hospitality, the way that Mondo’s arrival in the city questions the current legal-moral hospitality was also analyzed.

Published

30/03/2022

Issue

Section

Postcolonial literatures and the shapes of the contemporary