Writing this thesis has been the most challenging endeavor I have experienced in my life thus far. As I toiled in enforced solitude to stitch my academic progeny together, several individuals have been instrumental in both rendering the writing process pleasurable and making it possible for me to complete my work with relative ease. My Brazilian supervisor, Dr. Fernanda Aquino Sylvestre, has provided me with both invaluable feedback on my writing at every stage of its course and the necessary support to fulfill my many academic and bureaucratic requirements. Dr. Ivan Marcos Ribeiro, Director of the Graduate Program in Estudos Literários at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, has been a source of great support in the course of my stay at UFU. Ms. Maiza Maria Pereira, Lead Administrative Associate at our Program, has kindly offered her prompt assistance whenever necessary. My friend and namesake Guilherme Augusto da Silva Gomes, Administrative Associate at our Program, has both come to my assistance and offered his feedback countless times. My American supervisor, Dr. Dale Knickerbocker, who has kindly agreed to oversee my work for a semester spent at East Carolina University, has provided me with insight and academic support, which has greatly shaped the development of this thesis.