Uma Viagem à Índia as an Art of Living

Abstract

 Uma Viagem à Índia by Gonçalo M. Tavares is an epic text that parodies Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões, the source-text of the portuguese identity. However, Tavares’ work that doesn’t focus on the issues related to the portuguese identity. Bloom is portuguese, but the book investigates what is geographically invariable in human behaviour. Bloom’s fate, as a young adult who takes an initiatory trip after a tragic event, allows one to reflect on the ethical use of the body’s potentiality, which we will do by rehearsing intertextual connections with O Osso do Meio. He didn’t devote his time to an occupation, nor did he assume responsibility for the crime he committed. At the end of the work, he will reveal a dangerous ethical and moral indifference.