Jorge Amado The Violent Land

After reading The Violent Land by Jorge Amado it was clear to see that not only were the people of Bahia violent, but the land that they lived on was also violent as well. The land left not only the colonels with a different perspective on ethical reasoning, but created a new world of horrors. Aside from the unpredictable weather, as stated in our book the land was filled with poisonous snakes, jaguars, and other animals that scared any newcomers (Amado 36) that would come to the forest in hopes of money and a better life. In order for these men to get the plantation, they were going to be working on they had to go through thick virgin brushes to get to their designated work area. As stated by Amado “They have crossed rivers, made their way through all but impenetrable thickets, blazing trails, tramping through swamps; and one of them had been bitten by a snake and had buried at the side of the newly opened road (Amado 38). Upon completing the book, it was evident that many men that wondered to this land would belong to the forest even after they have passed.

Throughout the book, Amado states how dangerous this land is, one of the most important examples I believe there is in the book to prove this statement is when Horatio's wife Ester talks about raising her family on the plantation but fears for the baby's sake as

well as her own. On page 52, Amado explains Ester's enormous fear of not only the forest but the forest at night. "Ester always had the feeling that one day the snakes would end up by coming up on the veranda and making their way on a stormy night until they reached her and her child's throat". The unpredictability of the weather left her not only afraid of the natural elements that she and her family were exposed to on a daily basis that also left her accustomed to the horrors of the land. "She had become used to shots in the night, along the highway, and the corpses that from time to time went by in a hammock, to the mournful accompaniment of weeping women" (Amado 51). In a sense, the land was changing everyone as a person. For example, Horacio often left Ester in heavy silence and changed his personality in ways such as making him more violent and outrageous that “left the fiercest of jaquanços huddled in fright” (Amado 51).

Social relationships also played a big role as to who had the most power over the people that worked for the cocoa plantation owners. Having the right relationships allowed some of these powerful colonels to get away with heinous crimes. Some that left them not only with a bad reputation to their names, but left them with power that allowed them to continue to conduct business in ways that benefited themselves, and allowed them to gain more control over the production of cocoa. Throughout the book, it is clear that the Colonels want to gain as much land as possible no matter the consequences that it may bring to other people. Their main goal was to cheat their way through as much as they could and even resorted to killing people that stood in the way of their plan. It’s almost as if the ethical thinking that would normally be within a society did not apply to the lives of the colonels throughout the course of the book.

One of several examples of power would be Juca Badaró, who was first introduced in the book as a man who was to be feared. He does this by showing the men that had recently arrived in the forest as someone who should not be crossed. For example, as stated in the book “I did not shoot to kill, but only to show you that I mean to be obeyed” (Amado 40). From here the audience, as well as the men in the book, got a sense of how Juca initially establishes his power and is able to control the behavior of the men who came to the forest in hopes of a different life, but end up slaves to the forest and the men that operate this business.
As the book progresses it was also clear to see that Sinhô Badaró had to the power and the resources to hire men that would be willing to kill for so little. One reoccurring theme that presented itself in this book is the value that they put on people’s life. One example in the book being Damião. As stated in the preface of our book “it was worth exactly the price of a swig of rum, sufficient pay for the hired gunman who hid behind a guava or breadfruit tree, waiting for his designated victim to come into sights of his repeating rifle” (Amado xxi). Not only is Sinhô Badaró able to pay so little for his hired gunman to kill someone for him but he does it many times throughout the book. The power that he displays throughout the course of the book shows that he is able to manipulate Damião into believing that there is no better killer out there besides himself. Damião views his "work" as something normal, for example; "For him, an order of Sinhô Badaró was something that admitted no discussion. If Sinhô sent him to kill, he had to kill. Just as, when Sinhô sent him to saddle the black mule for a journey, Damião had to saddle it as quickly as possible” (Amado 66). The ways in which the violent land changed these men sense of humanity is evident throughout the early introduction of Damião.

For example; as stated by Amado “They say there is no better killer in the region than Damião, Sinhô Badaró’s boy”. This passage in the book along with several others goes to show that the Badaró’s were able to use a false sense of pride in front of him and use it to their own will. It is here that we are able to see to the full extent the power some men had over other people that had very little education. As the book gets further along it is also clear to see that Damião did not fully understand what it was that he was hired to do. In his mind, Damião viewed himself as some who was courageous, brave and the best there was. It is not until Damião is alone at night with his thoughts that colonel words “Do you enjoy killing people? Do you feel anything at all? Nothing on the inside” (Amado 67). It is here where he realized what he has been doing for so many years was actually a product of the violent normality of this land.

Another example of how far a social relationship with the right people could be of value to the men in power during this time period is Colonel Horacio da Silveira. There are several instances where Horacio’s persona is described but the one that stood out to me the most was the way Horacio’s wife Ester describes him. She describes him as someone who is “immortal, a master, [and] the boss” (Amado 56). Not only is he able to establish this kind of reputation amongst other people that work on his plantation, but his wife, his own family sees him as someone that has an enormous amount of power and control amongst people.

One prime example of having the right relationships with the right people is Horacio’s relationship with Lawyer Ruy.

Previously in the book, it was stated that there had been rumors circulating about Horacio that he has committed three murders. Where "he cut off the man's ears, nose, and tongue and has castrated him "(Amado 41). Lawyer Ruy was able to publicly speak in Horacio’s defense as not only a successful plantation owner but as someone that has been able to contribute to the town with the building of chapels in two cities (Amado 42). Horacio was able to get the right things to be said in his name that lead him to dismissed of those

chargers.

The colonels saw the production of cocoa as something that could be equated to gold. With the cost of exporting the cocoa being high, they viewed the violent land as something beautiful. What they saw was "[the] black earth, the best in the world for planting cocoa. Before him, he saw no longer a forest shot with lightning gleams, and full of weird sounds what he saw was a cultivated field of cocoa trees, trees in regularly planted rows, laden with their golden fruit, the ripe, yellow chocolate nuts" (Amado 39). It seemed to me that what the colonels viewed as normal or beautiful was what the working men viewed as violent and mysterious.

Another claim that supports the authors' statement about Latin American being born in blood and fire throughout the book is crosses being set into the ground where the fallen men took their last steps. Men who would wander into the forest for what they believed would only be a couple of months to a year, but would end up as slaves to the forest as well as the colonels. With the colonels providing them with small huts for them to live, a place to work, and tool these men were essentially attempting to paying off a debt that would be never-ending. The book talks about how the thick cocoa slime stuck to all of the workers as well as the other people that lived for the forest. As well as stating that no matter how much you washed it off of your body it was something that could not be removed from you. These men grew so accustomed to the way they were living, that when they returned to their former lives it seemed indifferent.

One early example that proves as evidence is at the beginning of the book where Joao is saying goodbye to his significant other. It is here where João promises her to be back within a month, but she knows that he will not be seen again. For example; “the young woman’s voice was full of pain, and João shared her anguish as he heard her say: I know very well that I’m going to die, I will never see you or the children again” (Amado 4). The state of Bahia in Brazil was not only a land that was born in blood and fire but was a treacherous land that was full of deception and one that was built by the revenge of the most powerful colonels of this time.