Between life and death, the search for survival - an analysis of the short story Maria by Conceicao Evaristo

The present text discusses the intertwining between literature and necropolitics using the short story Maria from the collection Olhos d'agua by Conceicao Evaristo (2016). The short story is analyzed based on the model of the generative path of meaning of discourse semiotics, expanding the understanding of how the text says what it says and leaves effects of meaning that invite reflection, building theses about the human being from fiction. It is observed that literature plays an important role in uncovering meanings through narrated facts and describes characters that offer diverse perspectives of the world and their relationships. The connection between fiction and reality helps to guide a past that is still present and needs to be overcome, since that otherwise more lives will be lost.