The Indigenous Vision of Ecology in The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa

Abstract

The contributions of Mario Vargas Llosa, along with other “boom” writers, to Latin American literature have drawn attention to Third World literature. His novels, apart from functioning on multidirectional social issues, create an awareness of the environmental issues of the Amazons. Concerning ecological issues, postcolonial countries face more crises compared to developed countries. Literary works focusing on environmental degradation emerge from these countries. Llosa’s The Storyteller is an ecocritical novel that can provoke a revaluation of man-nature interactions through an exploration of Indigenous culture. This article is an attempt to bring out the Indigenous vision of ecology as present in the novel The Storyteller by Llosa. It also advocates the need for critical analysis of postcolonial novels, which will reveal connections between imperialism, environmental degradation, capitalism, and cultural hegemony.