Ceci and Peri
O Guarani is a literary work by Brazilian genius José de Alencar. It is about the adventures of the eponymous Guarany as he battles his way for the hand of his beloved Ceci, as a war between indians and whites burns on Colonial Brazil.
The work is considered a great classic of Brazilian literature, read in schools to this day. It has received several adaptations, including an Opera in 1870, three movies (one in 1912, 1979 and 1996), a mini-series adaptation in 1991 and a comic book adaptation. All adaptations use music from the first Opera.
This work has examples of:
- The Ace: Peri (again.)
- Always Chaotic Evil: How the Aimoré are depicted, and how Loredano is, despite mistaking who doesn´t know his true self like Peri.
- Badass Native: Peri.
- Barbarian Tribe: The Aimoré. Peri comes from one, and in the Aimoré's POV, the white people who shoot one of their own without a formal war declaration.
- Batman Gambit: What Peri tries against the Aimoré, in the form of Taking You with Me.
- Big Damn Heroes: Álvaro organizes a party to rescue Peri from being ritually eaten by the Aimoré.
- Blood Knight: The Aimoré in relation to their revenge.
- Cannibal Tribe: Both the Guarani and the Aimoré, but the Aimoré´s are shown to be more fondly of this. Of course, they are the secondary villains of the history.
- The Chief's Daughter: In a curious inversion, Ceci and Isabel. Not so much of an inversion in Isabel´s case. Ceci then survives for becoming the Jungle Queen for Peri, who´s already the Forest King. Later, more literally, the Aimoré chief´s daughter gets enamored of Peri when he lets himself be caught for poisoning them, and gets in the way of an arrow when Álvaro comes to rescue of Peri. She dies.
- Dastardly Whiplash: Some depictions of Loredano in later adaptations, tend to border on this. In the book, he´s a little more complex.
- Determinator: Peri and Loredano stand out in respectively their will to serve Cecília, and of taking posse of her.
- Deus ex Machina: Peri vows and gets to be the embodiment of this trope against the bad Europeans plans, despite it not being enough to counter the sheer number of Aimoré.
- Dying Momentof Awesome: What Peri somewhat planned for himself. What Dom Antônio, his family and the survivors accomplish in the end, blowing themselves up with the attacking indians.
- Evil Colonialist: Loredano and his goons. In fact, they consider even the other Europeans as utterly expendable in their own goals.
- Faith–Heel Turn: How Angelo de Luca becomes Loredano.
- Freudian Trio: Somewhat stated by the own author, but not in these exact terms, as he predated Freud's ideas.
- Id: Álvaro, as he acts more driven by passion and chivalric instinct.
- Ego: In the bad side, Loredano, a cold, conniving, and ruthless bastard. Loves Cecilia sexually, in a bestial sense. In the good side, D. Antônio, whose plans always need Álvaro and Peri to be getting done.
- Superego: Peri, who besides being a badass, is also a step or two ahead of the bad and good guys.
- The Horde: The Aimoré, of course.
- Ideal Hero: Again, Peri. A little less, Álvaro.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Peri, Ceci, and also Álvaro. Isabel does not count as she perceives the prejudices around her birth, in spite of not resenting Cecília about this. Peri also appears out for voluntarily making himself almost a golem in relation to everything which Cecília desires.
- Jungle Opera: And how. Later became a literal example when composer Carlos Gomes composed the famous ''Il Guarany''
opera. - Jungle Princess: In the ending, Ceci vows to become something like that in order to be able to survive together with Peri in the Jungle.
- The Last DJ: Dom Antônio de Mariz in relation to the vacant Portuguese throne.
- Magical Native American: What Peri's abilities border on to be, and, on the bad side, what he is at best considered to be by Dona Lauriana.
- Noble Savage: Peri. The Guaranis and Aimorés should also count for, depending on how sympathetic is the reader´s interpretation.
- Proud Warrior Race: All featured peoples, even the Europeans, qualify as such. Dom Antônio basically fled to the midst of the jungle for keeping the racial pride of the Portuguese after their king died in battle and their empire was absorbed by Spain.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: More strikingly, Peri, albeit most of the Europeans - with the exception of the villainous ones - also qualify.
- Retired Badass: Dom Antônio.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Loredano in the ending.
- Rule of Symbolism: As a novel from a Romantic writer trying to do a Wagner-like epic set in Colonial Brazil, the book exudes this trope in almost every page to the point of needing a page of its own.
- More strikingly, in the ending, when Peri and Ceci are engulfed by the rising water, as to mean their (sub)merging to form the Brazilian race.
- The treasure (silver mine location) coveted by Loredano: the legend is based in a series of historical facts and rumours set in Brazil and Colonial America, one of them a very sad one of a bandeirante who departed from São Paulo looking for emeralds in the jungle and who ended dying of thirsty, tiredness and sickness nearby to a riverbed containing green stones which were, in fact, almost worthless lookalikes. The treasure backstory and final destruction in the stronghold explosion could mean that, as the indians were too savage to understand it´s true value, and the Europeans to impure to have it, it´s better fate should be get lost in the land for Peri and Ceci descendants eventually find it themselves. The actual treasure being, of course, Brazil itself.
- Taking You with Me: Peri has a vial of curare which he plans to use as a last resort suicide weapon against the cannibalistic Aimoré. The plan almost works but is unknowingly foiled by Álvaro.
- The Three Faces of Adam:
- The Hunter: Álvaro.
- The Lord: Peri.
- The Prophet: Dom Antônio.
- The Three Faces of Eve:
- Wife: Dona Lauriana.
- Seductress: Isabel.
- Child: Ceci.
- Tonto Talk: Not so much, but Peri still has his own way of expressing in Portuguese.
- Warrior Prince: Peri, of a kind.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The killing of a Aimoré civilian by Dom Antônio´s son while hunting. Álvaro´s rescuing of Peri which impeded the Batman Gambit which could have saved most of the Europeans.
