The Storyteller

People judge others by their physical appearances, everyone does. Some do it purposely and some do it without even knowing. Admit it or not, almost everyone judges people by the first impression. We certainly know nothing about someone when we first encounter this person. Thus, we use all the imagination, to frame a background, a story, or an assumption upon this pure figure. We often cast the scenes from the movies on someone we don't know. This is what happened to Saul and the Machiguengas culture he loved.

"But I was really thinking about his birthmark. Why had he suddenly alluded to it while explaining to me his feelings about the Amazonian Indians? (Llosa 29)"

Many can't really understand Saul's act of leaving a good job to be a professional "Storyteller". Maybe as his father says, one of the reasons is the fact he is Jewish. Maybe he understands the importance of a non-mainstream culture; a culture that has been doubted and unaccepted in history. He could connect with the Machiguengas. Maybe deep down, Saul pities himself for being born the way he is. Saul is a kind-hearted person who never gets angry at anyone or anything, yet always being misunderstood because of his ugliness. And the Amazonians are often misunderstood because of the clothes they wear, their beliefs, and their rituals. People in the "real world" only recognizes that the Machiguengas are different, but don't realize they are just normal people like them.

"A picture sque horro, an aberration that other people ridiculed or pitied without granting is the respect and dignity deserved only by those whose physical appearence, customs, and beliefs were 'normal.' (Llosa 30)"

Even though Saul himself denies it, but I suppose that is why Saul wants to help these people who are being misunderstood as monsters like him. By doing so, maybe he hopes the society and history doesn't repeat their mistakes.

However, in my opinion, culture is a complicated thing mixed with good and bad. There are various dimensions to each culture. A custom doesn't have to lose its purity to civilization, and traditions are not necessarily burdens to the modern world. There has to be a compromise in order to keep a culture a live and  to keep up with the progress of the times.

(Sorry if I misunderstood anything, this book was way hard for me to read...)