They still feel the pangs of territorial appropriation, the constraints of being a victim of the colonial project: "You are no a de writer," the Chief responds, "you are de espider, and we shoota de espiders in Mejico" (Lowry 371). Thus, the police in the cafe are not merely symbolic of fascism - they are fascists themselves. The logic of state-based nationalism, as depicted by Lowry in this scene and throughout Under the Volcano, thus serves as a metaphor for the postcolonial desire for states to assert their sovereignty while still under colonial pressure.

From a contemporary perspective, one cannot help but consider Under the Volcano from a post-9/11 standpoint. In an era when the borderlands between the United States and Mexico are once again the scene of tremendous controversy, and the American national identity is being asserted in the wake of such threats as terrorism, the threats proffered by...
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