Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Portugal, Jose Alberto

Keywords

The Feast of the Goat, Power, Vargas Llosa, Mario, Literature, Corruption

Area of Concentration

Humanities

Abstract

The Feast of the Goat is a novelistic depiction of the lasting and detrimental effects that one particular individual, in this case the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, has on the people of the Dominican Republic. The novel creates a portrayal of this individual through which we can see the effects of corruption on his own mind and the unprecedented consequences of his power. With this novel we take a close look into the mind of power and examine the ways in which Trujillo constructed himself up to be an essential aspect of Dominican public and private life virtually without any opposition. Through careful analysis we break down the novels essential themes and mechanisms to better understand Vargas Llosa’s intent with the creation of this novel. We look into the author’s own political points of views as well as his views on literature to understand what this particular novel meant for him. With this novel, Vargas Llosa makes us aware of an aspect of history that is overlooked. The novel makes its core focus the dualities between the private and public life of the Dictator and through this depiction we become aware certain things that were sacrificed for the sake of progress. Vargas Llosa made this novel with the purpose of illuminating certain truths whose impact is heightened through the novelistic interpretation, with this Vargas Llosa indicates that novels are equally as important as factual documentation for the understanding of history.

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