- Os Velhos Marinheiros ou o Capitão de Longo Curso
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Home is the sailor Author(s) Jorge Amado Original title Os velhos marinheiros ou o capitão de longo curso Country Brasil Language Portuguese Genre(s) Novel Publication date 1961 Home Is the Sailor, in Portuguese Os velhos marinheiros ou o capitão de longo curso, is a Brazilian modernist novel. It was written by Jorge Amado in 1961, and translated into English by Harriet de Onís in 1964.
Plot
Arriving in Periperi is Vasco Moscoso Aragão, Master Mariner. With his stories of the sea, distant and exotic ports and women both exotic and sensual, all the town's inhabitants become envious of the commander, with the sole exception of Chico Pacheco—who does not believe him, and thinks that he is a braggart. After some investigation in Salvador, Chico returns with his version of events: Vasco is a wealthy businessman who lived a bohemian life in his youth with a group of friends, and who then took the title of commander to satisfy his desire to have a title and not simply be known as "Mr. Vasco".
The friends of Vasco give him the title of sea captain with the rank of commander, and even award him a medal, obtained illegally. Vasco identifies herself so strongly with his role that he starts to wear official uniforms complete with medals, smoking his pipe, and collecting sea objects. In old age he moves to Periperi.
Now the two versions of Vasco's life, the commander's and Chico Pacheco's, divide the town into those who believe in the commander and those who believe him to be a boastful liar.
Fate leads Vasco Moscoso to command a ship sailing from Salvador to Belém, stopping in various ports along the coast. The commander also decides to show his friends of Periperi that he is a real sea captain.
The trip takes place without incident; in fact, Vasco leaves the management to the second officer. But upon arrival in the state of Parà in Belém, the second officer makes fun of the commander, asking him how many ropes are required to moor the vessel in port, saying it is a maritime tradition that the master decides how to moor the ship.
Undecided, the commander says all the ropes, and laughter erupts on the ship in the port and across Belém. Realizing his mistake, Vasco takes refuge in a cheap boarding house, gets drunk on cachaça, and falls asleep deeply saddened and disappointed.
But that night the city of Belem endures the most violent storm that anyone has ever seen, leaving roofless houses, corpses, destroyed plantations, and a ruined port. All ships are damaged or drifting except for the ship of Captain Vasco Moscoso Aragão, which remains intact and durable, just as it docked.
The commander returns victorious to Periperi, honored by awards and acclaimed by all the newspapers; the citizens who had previously defamed him are now his most ardent fans. The dream of the commander can continue.
References
- Amado, Jorge (in Italian). Due storie del porto di Bahia. Garzanti. Trans. Elena Grechilocation.
- Home Is the Sailor: The Whole Truth Concerning the Redoubtful Adventures of Captain Vasco Moscoso de Aragão, Master Mariner. New York: Knopf, 1964.
Related voices
Novels by Jorge Amado O País do Carnaval (1931) • Cacau (1933) • Suor (1934) • Jubiabá (1935) • Mar Morto (1936) • Capitães da Areia (1937) • Vida de Luis Carlos Prestes (1942) • Terras do Sem Fim (1943) • São Jorge dos Ilhéus (1944) • Seara Vermelha (1946) • Os Subterrâneos da Liberdade (1954) • Gabriela, Cravo e Canela (1958) • A Morte e a Morte de Quincas Berro Dágua (1959) • Os Velhos Marinheiros ou o Capitão de Longo Curso (1961) • Os Pastores da Noite (1964) • Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos (1966) • Tenda dos Milagres (1969) • Teresa Batista Cansada da Guerra (1972) • Tieta do Agreste (1977) • Farda Fardão Camisola de Dormir (1979) • Tocaia Grande (1984) • O Sumiço da Santa (1988) • A Descoberta da América pelos Turcos (1994) • Navegação de Cabotagem (1992) • O Compadre de Ogum (1995)Categories:- Brazilian novels
- Novels by Jorge Amado
- Portuguese-language novels
- 1961 novels
- Novels set in Brazil
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