Gerald Elias

Prince of the Leaf Cutters Gerald Elias

"Prince of the Leaf Cutters" calls into question the long held belief that humans are the culmination of evolutionary progress. In the midst of an endless ethnic war, Pavlovic, a simple factory worker, flees his homeland for what he hopes will be a new life in America. However, he is disappointed to find the same animosities he thought he had left behind and a society that is uncaring and indifferent. In desperation, he makes his way to Costa Rica, which by earlier accounts he imagines will be paradise on earth. Pavlovic's initial optimism for the future is soon replaced by despair. Trapped in this never-ending downward spiral of ethnic warfare, indifference and, ultimately, degradation, Pavlovic loses everything, including his mind. The notion of joining a Utopian society of jungle ants, in this dystopian tale reminiscent of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and "An Outcast of the Islands" becomes his one remaining, euphoric hope.