Interlocutions Between Literature, Childhood And Territory

A Reading of “A Ilha dos Gatos Pingados”

Abstract

This essay proposes a reflection on territorial relations in childhood, based on the short story
“A Ilha dos Gatos Pingados” by José J. Veiga, in dialogue with Walter Benjamin’s writings
on childhood, experience, and space. The objective was to observe how literature can express and problematize the spatialities experienced by children in contexts of conflict and
exclusion. To this end, a breakdown of the short story was performed, accompanied by a
critical reading of the bibliography, with an emphasis on Benjamin’s concepts of experience
and delicate empiricism. The analysis revealed, in the narrative, a childlike perspective
on territory, which is configured as a symbolic microcosm marked by tensions between
domination and resistance. Children, through their sensitive relationship with space,
reveal their own ways of inhabiting the world, constructing meanings from experience.
The conclusion is that literature proves to be an effective tool for investigating spatial and
subjective relations, offering support for understanding how children inscribe themselves
and act within the territory.