Chiasmus Resources

This article attempts a reading of the final form of Amos within the framework of the literary tradition of the novels of dissent in Latin America. Works by the Colombian Gabriel Garcia Márquez and the Cuban Guillermo Cabrera Infante are presented in order to demonstrate how literary strategies can take apart the pretense and cruelty of the militarism so endemic to Latin American history and society. The reading of Amos shows how pervasive militarism is in the world of the prophetic text and highlights how that text ridicules and condemns it through literary technique. Amos, therefore, echoes many of the concerns of Latin American texts. As the scripture of the Christian church, however, Amos not only can be read alongside of other protest literature but can also make a particular contribution to help the people of God on that continent confront the harsh realities of life.