Manuel Antônio de Almeida was an important writer of the first romantic generation, a phase marked by the binomial nationalism-indianism.
He was Patron of Chair No. 28 and still practiced as a teacher and journalist.
Biography
Of Portuguese descent, Manuel Antônio de Almeida, was born in Rio de Janeiro, on November 17, 1831.
Son of Lieutenant Antônio de Almeida and Josefina Maria de Almeida, Manuel had a childhood marked by financial difficulties and at the age of only 10 he lost his father.
He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and, at the age of 17, entered the Medicine Course at the Faculty of Medicine of the Court, graduating in 1855.
When he was around 20 years old, his mother died and, therefore, he took a job at the Correio Mercantil in 1852.
Years later, in 1958, he was appointed Administrator of the National Printing Office, where he met the writer Machado de Assis (1839-1908), who worked as a printing assistant and with whom he became a friend and protector.
The following year, he was appointed 2nd Officer of the Secretariat of Finance; and, in 1861, he ran for the Provincial Assembly of Rio de Janeiro.
He died in Macaé, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, on November 28, 1861, at the age of 30, a victim of the shipwreck of the steamboat “Hermes”, a fact that killed about 30 people.
To learn more, visit the link: First Generation Romantic
Construction
A man ahead of his time, the writings of Manuel Antônio de Almeida, despite belonging to the romantic style, have realistic tendencies, full of humor and sarcasm, marked by a colloquial, direct and uncommitted.
He wrote a single book “Memoirs of a militia sergeant” (1853) and a play entitled “Dois Amores”, in 1861.
In addition, he wrote essays, chronicles, literary reviews and articles, however, he was ignored by critics, as he addressed more realistic themes, which went beyond romantic excesses.
To learn more, visit the link: Brazil Romanticism
Memoirs of a militia sergeant
Considered one of the best Brazilian novels, “Memories of a Militia Sergeant” (1852) was published for a year (1852-1853) anonymously in the weekly supplement called “Pacotilha” of the Correio Mercantil newspaper, in which Manuel was editor.
These prose publications were gathered in two volumes, in 1855, whose author used the pseudonym “Um Brasileiro”.
The novel, which deviates from the romantic standards of the time, relates in a more popular language, the involvement of the rogue Leonardo with Luisinha.
Therefore, it is noted that Manuel was concerned with presenting characters with a personality closer to reality, demystifying the idealized romantic hero figure.
Thus, the author approaches the regionalist prose (which would emerge in modernism) where he highlights the everyday, the customs and behaviors of common characters in society, which he criticizes and mocks many times.
