This essay analyses the mesh of dreams, wishes and reality of a family of migrants from the Northeast of Brazil who, when treated like animals, dream of eventually being able to assert their condition as human beings. Though permeated by the doubt and the uncertainty imposed by the obstacles of an inhuman reality, the narrative also deals with the persistency of dreams and wishes that keep the characters' as well as the author's utopian - even if vague - hope of a humanized world alive.
Graciliano Ramos; Vidas secas; Family relationships; Dream and reality; Utopia
