Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis was a Brazilian author ahead of his time. Born from a house painter of mixed race and a white Portuguese woman, Machado became a prestigious man of color against all odds. With limited education, Machado was a self-taught man that became one of the most ingenious writers of his time. Machado is a man known specifically for his novels and short stories that broke the mold, as he did not follow any previously established schools or styles of writing. This is the archival timeline of the story “The Cane” by Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis. Here you will find blog posts dedicated to understanding the history of the story and its dark connections with Brazil’s slavery in the 1800s. Detailed in these posts you will also find primary sources to help you better understand what Machado De Assis wanted to convey and teach his readers.
When looking at a variety of writings throughout history, it is easy to see that Machado was beyond his time during the 1800s. As he became a well established man, even though he had a variety of obstacles to overcome, Machado gave us today a rare and refreshing insight to the world of Brazil in 1800. As a descendent of a slave himself, it is interesting to read his take on slavery in his writing “The Cane”. Through his experiences, Machado was able to create a fascinating story that could have easily been true in his world. It is interesting to see how slavery was perceived, but also how corruption and human kinds innate need to safeguard themselves only compels society to continue the pattern of slavery. Machado used his knowledge of this to demonstrate and exploit some of the hidden factors that propelled slavery further and postponed the abolition of it in 1888.
The Cane 