Imagens da morte: um estudo do gênero policial-fantástico em Poe, Wilde e Christie

The mirror has always been related to different symbols, usually connected to self-knowledge and truth. This is due to the fact that this object shows whoever looks oneself in it an image as close to reality as it is possible. On the other hand, the mirror is also associated to mysticism and to the supernatural for it can magically duplicate one who looks into it. This ambiguous characteristic turns the mirror into an element that is fantastic in itself and places it in the central position of our discussion. Therefore, in this study, we analyze the texts In a Glass Darkly, by Agatha Christie, The Oval Portrait, by Edgar Allan Poe, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, giving special attention to the study of the images and artificial representations of men: the mirror, as an ephemeral representation; and the portrait, as an attempt to eternize an ephemeral image. We also discuss themes such as jealousy, the double, and death in the several forms in which it appears in the texts: suicides, homicides, attempted murders, death in life (mourning, separation, and developmental phases) all of which are, somehow, related to the specular representations. The narrative resource of using a mirror to introduce the supernatural event, along with the theme of death in all the narratives we have studied, and the difficulty to place these texts within the pre-established genres led us to categorize them as being part of a hybrid genre that presents characteristics both of the fantastic and of the detective story which we have named fantastic-detective story

Obtenção e caracterização físico-química de blendas poliméricas, baseadas em POE e PMMA, dopadas com dióxido de titânio

The study of polymer blends has been an alternative method in the search field of new materials for obtaining materials with improved properties. In this work blends of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) doped with titanium dioxide (TiO2) were studied. The PEO is a polymer semicrystalline structure varying between, 70 and 84% crystallinity, while the PMMA exhibits behavior amorphous in their structure. The use of TiO2 is related to corrosion-resistant of titanium as well as good heat transfer and other characteristics. The study of these polymer blends doped TiO2 gives the properties junction organic (polymer) and inorganic (oxide) which leads to modification of the properties of the resultant material. The blends were doped TiO2 (POE/PMMA/TiO2) in different proportions of the PMMA with the PEO and TiO2 fixed. The ratios were: 90/10/0,1; 85/15/0, 1; 80/20/0,1, 75/25/0,1 and 70/30/0,1. The resulting material was obtained in powder form and being characterized by Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The infrared spectra (IR) for the blends in different ratios showed a band at 1744 cm-1, characteristic of the C=O stretching, which increases in intensity with increasing PMMA composition, while in the spectrum of pure PEO this band is absent. This may suggest that the interaction is occurring between the polymers. In the micrographs of the blends also observed change in their surfaces with variation of the composition of PMMA, contributing to the change of the electrical properties of the material. The EIS data showed that the material exhibited conductivity of the order of 10-6 S.cm-1. The blend in the ratio B2(85/15/0, 1) showed better conductivity, σ = 1.56 x 10-6 S.cm-1. It was observed that the diffusion coefficient for the blends, B5(70/30/0, 1) was the largest, 1.07 x 10-6 m2.s-1. The XRD data showing that, with the variation in the composition of the PMMA blend crystallinity of the material is decreased reaching a minimum B3(80/20/0,1), and then increases again. Thermal analysis suggests that blends made from the material obtained can be applied at room temperature