ლეონსიო პრადოს სამხედრო სასწავლებელი, როგორც პერუს მიკროკოსმოსი და მისი ძალადობრივი სამყარო, მარიო ვარგას ლიოსას რომანის „ქალაქი და ძაღლები” მიხედვით

Abstract

Mario Vargas Llosa’s first novel, „The City and the Dogs“ (1963), portrays two spaces: the military school and the city. The action takes place in Lima’s main military academy, Leoncio Prado, which represents a microcosm of Peru. Within this metaphorical educational space, people from all social classes, races, and backgrounds of Peruvian society come together. Military discipline dominates there, reflecting the same hypocritical, machista, and hierarchical world that prevails in Lima.

The novel is considered a literary work in which violence strongly dominates. It is not a novel about a dictator. Although a dictator is not the central character, the author clearly demonstrates the consequences of dictatorial rule for both society and the individual. In this harsh and violent reality, survival becomes a necessary condition for the individual. Despite their wishes, the novel’s main characters, the cadets, are pushed toward violence by their environment. The writer depicts both the historical and contemporary reality of Peru and presents, through the perspective of adolescence, his understanding of respect, discipline, and honesty. He also describes institutions such as the family, politics, and the military system. The novel portrays isolation, conflict, and contrasts between different social classes.

The violence described in the novel reflects the regime that existed in Peru during the author’s adolescence, the so-called Odría “Eight-Year Rule” (1948–1956), the eight-year dictatorship of Manuel A. Odría. At the time of writing the novel, the author’s inclination toward socialism naturally implied a critical attitude toward the established conservative system, which was characterized by repression, violence, social and racial inequality, and machismo. In the novel, the author depicts precisely this violent world, which has a decisive influence on the formation of the individual. The article analyzes the Leoncio Prado Military Academy as a microcosm of Peru and examines the forms and significance of violence in the novel, which the author uses as a means of expressing personal protest.