The Old Man Who Read Love Stories

While animals and the cruelty they endure as victims of encroachment is a motif throughout the story, the most notable animal symbol in this story is the snake. In many cultures, the snake has long enjoyed a reputation as cunning, clever, and deadly. But snakes are also symbols of transformation and fertility, especially in native cultures. When a snake sheds its skin, it’s an invitation to give up old ways of thinking and behaving. Additionally, the ouroboros symbol of the snake biting its own tail is generally known to represent eternity and the continual renewal of life. This symbolic creature appears throughout the book to embody change, revival, and death.

When Antonio miraculously survives the snake bite, his life changes. Only after this symbolic transformation does Antonio receive an invitation to the full spectrum of Shuar culture, which includes participating in festivals and dancing, taking hallucinogens, forming a deep friendship with another man, and receiving the gift of a woman with whom he falls in love. The snake bite is therefore a symbolic moment that precedes Antonio’s complete transformation from white settler to honorary Shuar Indian. However, while Antonio is granted these gifts and is welcome among the Shuar, he is not, nor will he ever be, a true member of their tribe.

Snakes return as a key symbol when Antonio hunts them to sell their venom, which brings in good money that the tribe uses to trade for goods. To capture the snakes, Antonio learns how to be a snake, mimicking their movements to hypnotize and then kill them. In one such killing the snake is described as too weak to hate and aware that hatred is futile. In this regard, Antonio becomes a snake and, in some ways, is killing and resurrecting himself each time he kills a snake. After the snake is dead, Antonio throws it in the underbrush with contempt, as if he himself is contemptible. He repeats this ritual over and over again, perhaps to purify himself and repent for his old ways.

Finally, as a totem animal the snake represents both good and evil, and thus metaphorically embodies Antonio’s two competing sides. He is both a product of white culture—as an encroacher and helpmate of the colonizing government—and a man who respects and honors his adopted Shuar culture and the jungle. He adopts a way of life that centers on the jungle and its animals. But later, when he wants to buy books, he traps animals in cages, where they will remain forever, to suit his own purpose (e.g., to earn money to buy books). This act symbolizes Antonio’s return to white culture. Thus, Antonio embodies both sides of colonization—loss and gain—just like the snake.