Whereas in the case of El examen and Los premios, ideological criticism of a specific political hegemony, namely, Peronism, is undertaken through an allegorical representation, in the case of Rayuela, the political element is present within a very broad sense of the meaning of politics, as opposed to the specificity of a given political ideology. This political element is primarily located in the ethical dilemmas of the novel's protagonist, Horacio Oliveira. As he reflects upon ethical, ideological and political concerns, and as he sinks into an attitude of passive acquiescence towards life, the reader – who thanks to Cortázar's constant jibes at the lector hembra via Morelli's theories and through the novel's structure has already been prodded into a less passive state than the reader of El examen or Los premios – is simultaneously confronted by the same questions. This is part of a process that could be seen as Cortázar's attempt to contribute towards a change within the ideological consciousness of his readership. Although other political elements manifest themselves explicitly in the text, Oliveira's action versus inaction quandary, with regard to his individual social commitment as well as political involvement in general, is the most prominent political consideration within the novel.