THE ISSUE OF POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM IN THE NOVELS OF MARIO VARGAS LLOSA

Abstract

This article explores the interrelation between political consciousness and individual freedom in the novels of Mario Vargas Llosa. As one of the central figures of the Latin American literary “Boom,” Vargas Llosa consistently examines the tension between oppressive political systems and the individual’s struggle for autonomy. Through close textual analysis of selected
novels-particularly The Time of the Hero, Conversation in the Cathedral, and The Feast of the Goat-this study demonstrates how the author constructs complex narrative structures to reveal the mechanisms of authoritarian power and the
psychological consequences of political repression. The article argues that Vargas Llosa’s fiction not only critiques dictatorship and corruption but also proposes a liberal-humanist vision in which individual freedom is inseparable from civic
responsibility and moral awareness. By integrating narratological and socio-political approaches, the study highlights the writer’s contribution to political modernism and contemporary debates on democracy and personal agency.