O Cortiço
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O Cortiço (titled The Slum in English) is an influential Brazilian novel written in 1880 by Aluísio Azevedo. The novel depicts a part of Brazil's culture in the late Nineteenth century, represented by a variety of colorful characters living in a single Rio de Janeiro slum.
Azevedo's The Slum tells the stories of Portuguese and other European immigrants, mulattos, and former African slaves living and working together in a single community. The novel explores the division between the lackadaisical, yet passionate, mulattos and the hard-working, driven Portuguese immigrants. The novel explores how the climate and culture of Brazil can slowly transform these immigrants' behavior in atavistic ways. In addition the role of women is a key theme, with all female characters in one way or another revealing their purpose in the slum.
