José Saramago: biography of the writer who told us about social blindness

Biography of a scholar with humble roots

José de Sousa Saramago was born on November 16, 1922 in Golegã, Portugal. His parents were José de Sousa and María da Piedade, a couple with humble roots who made a living with their work on the land. When little José was two years old, they decided to emigrate to Lisbon in search of economic improvement.

Established in the Portuguese capital, they enjoyed a certain stability. His father started working as a police officer and he had the opportunity to pursue basic studies. He entered an industrial school for a few years until his parents could no longer afford to pay for more advanced training.

Thus, he had no choice but to start working in a mechanical blacksmith shop. Now, beyond that professional activity with which to earn a living, José Saramago led another life: that of a scholar. She did not stop reading, learning on his behalf and, above all, writing. Thus, at the age of 25 he published Terra do Pecado (Land of Sin). In that year, 1947, her daughter, Violante, was also born, the result of her first marriage.

The maturation of a committed writer and journalist

Starting in 1955, José Saramago began to translate the works of Hegel and Tolstoy into Portuguese. At the same time, he strives to give adequate maturity to his style, to have some chance of achieving success with his writings. Now, despite his talent, no publisher dares to put his work on the market.

After the rejection of his work Clarabóia (Skylight) José Saramago took several years to try again. In fact, it was not until 1966 when he tried again with Provavelly joy and later with The year 1993. Both achieved the recognition of the publishers, so he began to collaborate with the Portuguese publisher Cor Studies.

Once literary success arrived, José Saramago felt the need to embark on journalism. He began working at the “Diario de Noticias” and, later, at the “Diario de Lisboa”, becoming deputy director and political commentator.

Now, after the arrival of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, on April 25, 1974, he decided to dedicate himself exclusively to writing. He was a recognized and respected figure, and he longed to give the world more jobs, more books. In 1976, he published The notes, plays like At night (The Night, 1979) and story books such as almost an object.

The Nobel Prize

In the 80s, José Saramago is a world-known author. He achieved literary consecration with convent memorial. Later they would arrive The Stone Raft1986)the controversial Gospel according to Jesus Christ (1991) and above all, Essay on blindness, (nineteen ninety five).

His writing is more refined, his books more committed, with which, In 1998, the Stockholm Committee (Sweden) awarded him the highest recognition: the Nobel Prize in Literature. At that time, he already lived between two lands, Lisbon and Lanzarote (Canary Islands). In the latter he shared his life with his last wife, María del Pilar del Río Sánchez, a Spanish journalist and translator.

José Saramago died on June 18, 2010 due to leukemia. He was 87 years old and had started a new novel, of which he left a beginning of 30 pages.

Essay on blindness

They are not blind, “they are blind.” With these words José Saramago gives shape to one of the most disturbing argumentative metaphors in his work. In Essay on blindness It tells us about the inability of human beings to recognize their neighbors. It suddenly turns us into infamous beings, creatures that need the guidance of others to understand and survive.

This work is a deep reflection on the human soul. It is a dystopian novel, to which no one remains indifferent, upon discovering how the human being has been suspended in a kind of white blindness that spreads like an infection.. The government then decides to quarantine the sick, subjecting them to harsh regulations.

Among that group of people who star in the narrative, only one can see: a woman who decides to accompany her husband in that confinement, being, in turn, the eyes and that helpful look that tries to help the rest. However, the whole scenario is oppressive. There is no hygiene, the soldiers do not hesitate to shoot when someone gets too close and decomposition begins to take over the place. Everything suddenly takes on the tinge of a true dictatorship. Chaos reigns and hope is slowly consumed.

We are, therefore, before a work in which we are shown, above all, the blindness of the human soul. That inability to recognize each other that evokes selfishness, loss of reason, conflict and fear. A scenario where José Saramago invites us to a brave moral reflection.

Essay on blindness It is a book, without a doubt, impressive, which stands as one of the great works of contemporary literature, to which it is always worth returning (or discovering for the first time).

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