O Auto da Compadecida is a celebration of the Brazilian gift for turning poverty into poetry and suffering into satire. It reminds us that heaven, if it exists, is not a place for saints. It is a place for rogues, cowards, and hungry tricksters who finally get a hot meal.
The Survival of the Shrewd: A Critique of Power in "O Auto da Compadecida" o auto da compadecida
Suassuna, however, sought to elevate the culture of the sertão (the Brazilian backlands). He did not want to write a social realist drama that simply highlighted suffering. Instead, he drew inspiration from the medieval European tradition of morality plays—specifically the mystery plays of the Middle Ages—and fused them with the oral storytelling traditions of the Brazilian Northeast. O Auto da Compadecida is a celebration of