In The Hour of the Star, Clarice Lispector includes a page preceding the story providing alternative titles she was considering for the book. These titles are significant in the analysis of the novel because several of them come from references in the text, and the chosen title emphasizes these aspects of the story. If The Hour of the Star had been titled The Right to Scream or She Doesn't Know How to Scream, the interpretation of the novel would have changed; rather than culminating the story at the end of Macabea's life - his star hour - these alternative titles emphasize themes of expression and creation. The idea of ​​Rodrigo speaking for Macabea and telling his story provides insight into his troubled and taciturn personality; the one who has truly earned the right to scream is incapable of expressing herself. In The Hour of the Star, Lispector incorporates the themes of creation and perspective as well as the sound motif to demonstrate how Rodrigo's narration of Macabea's life forms an entity that serves to represent much more than a simple individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout the novel, Lispector incorporates the theme of creation, suggesting that Rodrigo creates the character of Macabea and that the idea that writing can form an existence represents how Rodrigo's narrative serves to expose his life in a way she couldn't do herself. Although Rodrigo is the narrator, he does not reveal much about himself; the aim of his novel is to tell Macabea's story of poverty and misfortune in an absolutely authentic and truthful way. Lispector demonstrates the extent to which he considers his writing to be more than simple fiction when he declares: "It is not only a story, it is above all the primary life which breathes, breathes, breathes" (5), and later, “this story will be made of words”. which come together in sentences and from these emanates a secret meaning which goes beyond words and sentences” (6). It's almost as if the story was writing itself and Rodrigo was just the outlet; he is only the source that exposes Macabea and the entire social class she represents. When he says "the story is true although invented" (4), he insinuates that although Macabea's individual character may not exist, his story is true, because it embodies a difficult life within of his social class. At the beginning of the novel, Rodrigo talks about how he is afraid of idealizing Macabea's life; since Rodrigo is upper/middle class, it is difficult for him to see the world from his point of view. When he says: "To talk about the girl who I can't shave for days and who must have dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, who puts me to sleep from simple exhaustion, I am a manual worker" (11), Lispector demonstrates how Rodrigo reduces himself to his level in order to correctly tell his life. Rodrigo's obsession with telling Macabea's story in the most honest way suggests that she has a story to tell, but couldn't tell it herself, and this ties directly into the two alternate titles ; Macabea has suffered a lot throughout her life and has therefore earned "the right to shout", but because of her ignorance and passivity she does not know how - and Rodrigo, the intellectual, must therefore, through her writings, cry out for her; he writes: “It is my duty to speak of this girl among thousands like her. And my duty, even if naively, to reveal his life. Because there is the right to shout. So I scream” (5). However, Rodrigo doesn't just tell Macabea's story to give him a voice - he also does it for himself - he searches for meaning in his life and, bymetaphorically transfiguring into her and allowing her to "scream", he embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Rodrigo describes Macabea as having virtually no self-awareness and no thoughts, saying, "She was incompetent. Incompetent for life. She never understood how to understand things” (17). He suggests that Macabea's ignorance is a psychological consequence of her poverty, as she is too uneducated and weak to stop and think about existence: "Maca, however, never uttered sentences, firstly because She was a person of few words. And it turns out that she had no self-consciousness and did not complain at all, she even believed herself happy” (60). However, when he describes himself, he seems unsure of the nature of existence; he is desperate and cynical: “Am I a monster? Is this what it means to be a person? » (7). So, by trying to see the world through the perspective of the opposite of itself, a woman who never questions anything but rather "lives simply, inhales and exhales, inhales and exhales" (15), can- be he finds a sense of relief. . He demonstrates this desire when he says, “Why should I write about a young girl whose poverty is not even adorned? Perhaps because in it there is an isolation and also because in the poverty of body and spirit I touch holiness, I who want to feel the breath of my beyond” (12). Through Macabea, Rodrigo is able to achieve something he does not have in his personal life, something "beyond", and Lispector connects this to the theme of creation, because perhaps by creating the character of Macabea, Rodrigo is able to access a larger entity. than life itself. Lispector develops this idea when Rodrigo says: "I am fully conscious of her: through this young person I cry out my horror of life" (25). Upon becoming fully aware of her, he screams, referencing the alternate titles, and in doing so he finds an outlet for his own pain while exposing her own. Thus, by proposing these alternative titles consistent with Rodrigo's narration, Lispector changes the effect of the novel by emphasizing the character's relationship of dependence - she needs him to exist and he needs her to settle for it – a dynamic not as evident in the title The Hour of the Star. In the novel, Lispector incorporates the motif of sound and music to demonstrate that the nature of the story goes beyond words and sentences, and perhaps the melody that seems to accompany the storyline is an expression of emotions repressed from Macabea, because "She doesn't know how to scream." Rodrigo expresses the importance of music in his story when he says: “I forgot to say that everything I do not write is accompanied by the emphatic sound of a drum beaten by a soldier. The moment I begin my story, suddenly the drum stops” (14). It demonstrates not only the importance of sound but also its absence; silence is extremely significant throughout the novel, as Macabea is described as "a struggling mute" (71). Rodrigo must speak for her and he incorporates music to help him do so. Additionally, the word "explosion" in parentheses is used consistently throughout the novel after each momentous event in Macabea's life. The use of this word is linked to the idea of ​​the drum that accompanies the text, and Rodrigo further supports the idea that the music serves to provide insight into Macabea's emotions when he says: "I hear the chords of a joyful piano - could this be the symbol that the girl's life could have a splendid future? (22). By incorporating several instruments into the motif of the music, Rodrigo escapes from a symphony, a work of art.