The Feast of the Goat

Feast is a work of historical fiction, a genre which blends true, factual events with creative, imaginative ones; works in the genre sometimes make claims about the eras they depict, or they may simply use the eras as backgrounds. To what extent does Feast make specific claims about the Trujillo Era? What are those claims?

Discuss the relationship between fictional and nonfictional elements of the work. In what ways do the fictional elements strengthen or undermine the true events of the era? In what ways is this novel different than a pure history, and what value, if any, does this approach have as a literary device?

Choose a character who existed in real life, either exactly as named (Balaguer) or as a stand-in (Manuel Alfonso). How does the actual person differ from the character? To what extent is Vargas Llosa’s depiction accurate? Why do you think he made the changes he did (or did not), and why would he represent some people by name while creating stand-ins for other characters?

Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer, and it has been suggested that elements of the novel share parallels with a similar period in Peru’s more recent history under the government of Alberto Fujimori (e.g., Henry Chirinos is based not on a member of Trujillo’s government, but Fujimori’s). What are these parallels? Using research on the Fujimori era, consider how the events depicted in Feast reflect, or depart from, Fujimori’s regime. 

One of the central tensions of the novel is between military strength and bookish intellectualism. Trujillo values the former, though he uses the latter in order to achieve his ends. What statement does the novel make about these qualities and the ways they both differ from and complement one another? Which one has a higher value in the novel, and why?

Building on the previous question, choose two character foils who represent opposing ends of the strength/intellect tension. How do these characters embody each quality? In what ways might the characters be alike, despite their differences?

Heavily patriarchal, Feast associates power with masculinity; except for Urania, the principal characters are all men. In what ways does Vargas Llosa undermine or critique the patriarchy of Dominican society during the Trujillo Era? In what ways does he reinforce it, either directly or unwittingly?

Feast is known in part for its graphic depictions of the more horrific excesses of the Trujillo Era, e.g., the scenes of torture and interrogation following Trujillo’s assassination, or the graphic depiction of Urania’s rape by Trujillo. Some critics argue that these depictions distract from the larger point. Do you agree? Why or why not? How do these scenes affect the reader?