Chiquiting Moreno: Gay hairdresser to Delores Gonzaga. He engages in numerous affairs with his female servants and even Lolita Luna, the celebrity actress, much to his wife, Isabel's, dismay. How would you summarise the plot ofthe novel Miguel Street? He is an aristocrat, a self-made businessman who owns several companies. He flies his own helicopters and owns everything anyone would ever need. She sweats profusely and must use mens deodorant. 2023 . The normally composed Isabel completely loses her composure over this impending marriage. His home is a mansion, and he smokes expensive cigars. Freddie eats and drinks too much. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. Severo Alacran and Isabel Alacran Many of the characters in the novel also serve as embodiments of Philippine culture that the author wants to criticize; case in point Severo Alacran, given the moniker The King of Coconuts because he has a monopoly on the coconut industry. At the end of the novel, she still has not resolved her identity. He beats her and accuses her of being unfaithful. Structure of answer: There are many characters contributing to the development of the plot of Dogeaters, which is set in the Philippines. Log in here. He is patterned after Benigno Aquino, a popular leftist leader who challenged the authority of the Marcos Regime. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. She is apolitical and does not play golf. providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a Not affiliated with Harvard College. At the heart of the book is an all-purpose motto for the characters: Food is the center of our ritual celebrations. In the beginning, she reveals her thoughts and fantasies as a ten-year-old girl. She enjoys being the center of attention and craves a glamorous life. This Study Guide consists of approximately 30 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Dogeaters. Is Popo a realistic character? It was made into a movie in 1993. I set aside a study of Hagedorn's exhaustive array of minor characters and focus on the representational sig Joeys narrative may not be trustworthy. He is the son of a Black GI and a desperate, half-crazy whore of a mother who sold him to a pimp named Uncle for fifty pesos when she could no longer feed him or herself. The last quarter of the book is proliferated with chapters from sympathetic characters, which begs the . Freddie is Rios father. Lolita Luna: She is a movie star and the mistress of General Ledesma. Senator Domingo Avila: A popular, left-leaning Philippine senator, leader of the opposition movement against the government; Daisys father; he is assassinated. After you claim a section youll have 24 hours to send in a draft. She represents her country in the sense that she is oppressed, controlled, and violated. Written by people who wish to remainanonymous. He is gay. At the other extreme is the despairing poverty of colonial oppression, illustrated by Joeys diet of powdered coffee while he hides out from the authorities. Also mentioned is Club Coco Rico where Joey Sands works as a waiter and where Boomboom Alacran is shot by police officers who mistake him for an armed robber. In a novel as abrasive and controversial as this, the author uses an engaging and sympathetic character, Rio Gonzaga, to hook the readers sympathy. Hers is a marriage made in heaven and hell. Like the Gonzagas, she has fierce fights with her husband complete with broken glass, flying objects, and shouting. She cannot eat or sleep. Everything is mauvedrapes, bedspread, walls. Sergeant Planas: works for Pepe Carreon and is Uncle's contact in the government. Ed. Cora Camacho, the Barbara Walters of the Philippines, interviews Senator Alacran for her television show, and a journalist named Steve interviews the first lady. With chapter narrative by five different characters offering an individualized perspective on what it means to live under the thumb of a right-wing dictator ruling with a strong authority over the Philippines, fragmentation of the singular coalesces to form a portrait of the collective. General Ledesma is the sadistic and powerful chief of the Philippine military. His character serves as a symbol of Philippine resistance. Their affair is high on the tsismis (gossip) list. Grown up, Joey works as a disc jockey at CocoRico, a club owned by Andres Alacran, a relative of the wealthy and influential businessman Severo Alacran. 2023 , Last Updated on March 1, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Log in here. What are the main themes in the novel Miguel Street? Pepe Carreon: A lieutenant in the army, and General Ledesmas protg; marries Baby Alacran. She has designed it herself. Esteban Gonzaga: Another of Freddies brothers. He has no choice but to entrust his life to the protection of his fellow hustler and childhood friend Boy-Boy, who arranges for him to be secretly transported to the guerrillas jungle hideout, where he joins Daisy Avila and morphs from passivity into part of the opposition. Who is the main character in Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn? Like Freddie and Delores Gonzaga, his fights with his wife are legendary. Mimi Pelayo: Delores Gonzagas rich friend; her son is in a mental institution. He fantasizes about Lolita when he is having sex with Trinidad, talking to her with lines he has memorized from the movies and from his favorite actor, Nestor Noralez. They quickly get a divorce. Pucha acknowledges that Boomboom is a bit gordito (chubby), but he is rich, and that makes him cute enough for [her].. In the beginning, she reveals her thoughts and fantasies as a ten-year-old girl. She has a second lover, a mysterious Englishman who never appears in the novel. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Last Updated on March 1, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. The last date is today's Rio describes him as a man of connections who can always find money and can always find a way out. Andres Alacran: the homosexual owner of CocoRico, a prestige bar that attracts many foreigners and famous people. Write a 650-1000 word paper using standard essay structure (including an introduction with a thesis, body paragraphs, and conclusion) that answers the prompt below. He is an Afro-Filipino bisexual teenager and DJ who also works as a sex worker. Freddie loses all his money. He invents his own movie-like fantasies in which he exploits the sexual aberrations of his wealthy male clients. Here, she escapes her husband and gossips with Panchito and Salvador. His assassination becomes a great mystery since it is unclear who shot him. Spanish influence can be found in the theme of power. Read more Previous page Print length 136 pages Romeo writes to and visits his mother when he can. Carding: One of Uncles protgs; petty criminal and male sex worker; grew up with Joey Sands. Tito Alvarez: A popular actor; childhood friend of Romeo Rosales. General Nicasio Ledesma (nee-KAH-see-oh leh-DEHS-mah) is an army chief who runs torture camps for subversives. fender american professional ii vs ultra. Daisys character is a foil to the gender-oppressed and apolitical characters such as Delores Gonzaga, Isabel Alacran, the first lady, and Cora Comacho, who all buy into the patriarchal view of women as objects, useful in social situations. She becomes another spectator in a country of spectators, using the unreality of movies to remove her from the pain of her life. He proudly proclaims, Im nobodys slave, but this is mostly wishful thinking. Moving to San Francisco in 1963, Hagedorn received her education at the American Conservatory Theater training program. Minor Characters [ edit] Andres Alacran: the homosexual owner of CocoRico, a prestige bar that attracts many foreigners and famous people. There are no real issues, she protests. Lolita Luna: a famous movie star known for her sexuality and magnificent body. How could you do this to me? she asks Baby. When her husband has a heart attack, she accusingly tells him that it is because he eats too much and his only exercise is fooling around and sitting on his ass, gambling long hours at the poker table. It is going to kill him, she complains, and she is too young to be a widow. Delores is dependent on her husband for her social status yet trapped by the marriage that allows her this status. Freddie loses all his money. Rio is often embarrassed by the way her cousin treats the servants and waiters. T he main characters in Dogeaters include Rio Gonzaga, Joey Sands, General Nicasio Ledesma, and Senator Domingo Avila. I love the feel of the sun toasting my skin, she explains. Babys character is symbolic of the deformities of the postcolonial Philippines, and her parents represent the leaders of the country who are unsure of what to do about these deformities. He has a short relationship with Joey Sands. She pessimistically chuckles, imagining what her mother would say if she knew she spent her days in such sad and vulgar pursuits. Deloress husband, Freddie, detests Panchito and Salvador, calling his wife and her two pals The Three (dis) Graces.. The tsismis (gossip) account is that Romeo is a Communist. As opposed to the poor, marginalized characters such as Joey Sands and Romeo Rosales who can barely survive, the country club set is wasteful and extravagant, throwing parties where tons of food. Daisy Avila: a beauty pageant queen. Baby elopes with Pepe on her way to school one day. In her narration, she recalls her early life up until she was fifteen years old. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. He was orphaned when his mother took her life; his father is unknown except that he was an American soldier of African American descent. Pepe has planned the whole thing. This is Babys small triumph, her only revenge, but Baby is unhappy. She nibbles. Hagedorn creates many such marginalized Filipino characters to illustrate the hypocrisy of the Marcos regime, which was a time of not only political corruption but also of the worst moral decay. In an interview, she explains that during this period, pornography was part of life even though you had this regime that was trying to present itself as being squeaky clean. Characters like Joey Sands are the people who nobody cared about and nobody thought about because they were too easily dismissed, she explains. He is both exploited and an exploiter. 4 Mar. By chance Joey witnesses the murder of Senator Avila at his club one day. Her cousin Pucha accuses her of purposefully mixing things up. Joey is the byproduct of American colonialism. She was an incredible beauty but lacked talent, so she improved her social standing by marrying the wealthy Severo. Pucha finally divorces Boomboom but keeps the surname Alacran., Rios account of these events is very dramatic, almost like an American movie, but all very untrue, according to Pucha. He is obsessed with dying of cancer and worries that drugs might not be enough to alleviate his pain. Besides being driven by fantasy, the characters are driven by appetite and greed. Consequently, Daisy is arrested, raped and tortured by General Ledesma and his military men. Pucha Gonzaga She's Rio's cousin and the life of the party. This suspicion is confirmed the deeper she searches until at last she renounces her title and denounces the contest. "Dogeaters - List of Characters" eNotes Publishing When her father, the senator, is assassinated during the contest for Miss Philippines, she loses faith in the integrity of the contest. They include Rio Gonzaga, Pucha Gonzaga and Freddie. She is a habitual drug user. General Ledesma: a powerful figure who cheats on his wife with the famous movie star Lolita Luna. Uncle teaches Joey to steal at the age of seven and arranges for Joey to have sex with a sex worker at the age of ten. She uses her fame to manipulate powerful men like General Ledesma. Romeo (Orlando) Rosales (rho-MEH-oh roh-SAHL-ehs) is a waiter at the exclusive Monte Vista Golf and Country Club. He has a reputation for enjoying the torture. After that, his mother, Zenaida, drowned herself, and Joey grew up owned and controlled by Uncle. Its how I feel.. Severo even tells the president what to do. A Close Reading of Kundiman in Jessica Hagedorns Dogeaters: Character Portrayal through Religious Symbolism of the Stigmata, Unable to Break Free of Him: Sexuality and Postcolonialism in Dogeaters. I will render the walls another coat of paint, after the first coat dries. Free Shipping on all orders over $15. Sympathy, Protagonists, and Dogeaters. Pucha is Rios cousin. "Who are the main characters in the plot of Dogeaters?" She dates Romeo. This is a complex novel with many characters contributing to the development of the plot. They run away to a secret location and send a note to her parents setting out terms. They announce that Baby is pregnant. Joey Sands: a gay prostitute who works as a DJ at CocoRico. While Rio belongs to the upper class, she has compassion for the lower class. When Daisy is captured, tortured, and raped by General Ledesmas men, she takes on the punishment of the resistance movement that she now represents. General Nicasio Ledesma: He is a powerful army general who runs a camp where people opposed to the dictator are kept and often tortured. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn. Her novels include Toxicology, Dream Jungle, The Gangster Of Love, and Dogeaters, winner of the American Book Award and a finalist for the National Book Award.She is also the author of Danger And Beauty, a collection of poetry and prose, and the editor of three anthologies: Manila Noir . Hagedorn, juxtaposing racial and national influences, feels most sympathy for the dispossessed: orphans, guerrillas, exiles, the alienated, and the suffering. Baby is the pathetic daughter of Isabel and Severo Alacran. She languishes in bed watching Filipino soap operas and talent shows in Tagalog. If people knew the truth, they would not want to be her. Her wedding is described in a chapter titled The Weeping Bride. Baby wears a spectacular white gown of silk and Chantilly lace. The president and first lady are honored wedding guests. As a child of ten, when the sweating was really bad, she feigned illness so she would not have to go to school and confront the stares of the nuns and her classmates. The doctor blamed it on stress. The reason for this is that most of the female-characters, mentioned in this . Rio Gonzaga (RREE-oh gohn-SAH-gah) is a first-person narrator. Rios story begins when she is ten years old. Expensive powders and ointments were ordered from Europe, but they caused Baby to break out in an extreme case of nonspecific tropical fungus. Baby was unable to go to school for a year and had to spend her time in bed or in a wheelchair. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Unlike others in her upper-middle-class family, Rio is respectful of the servants and does not treat them as if they were invisible. She perpetuates the myth that women are valuable national symbols when they participate in beauty pageants. Also like Delores, she is an asset to her husband at social functions, a manicured, oiled, massaged, exercised, pampered woman who invented another self, denying her past and focusing on the present. His character longs to become part of the movie that is the Philippines, but he cannot achieve this on a personal level. Hagedorn takes pleasure in cataloging names of foods, particularly street foods, and the characters seem always to be hungry. A Close Reading of Kundiman in Jessica Hagedorns Dogeaters: Character Portrayal through Religious Symbolism of the Stigmata, Unable to Break Free of Him: Sexuality and Postcolonialism in Dogeaters. Joey is effectively orphaned in early childhood when his mother, a beautiful sex worker named Zenaida, drowns herself. He believes in dual citizenships, dual passports, as many allegiances to as many countries as possible. Although Freddie is Filipino, born and bred, he describes himself as being a visitor in his own country. She says he is a good son. Pepe Carreon (PEH-peh kah-rreh-OHN) is an ambitious man with a bad complexion who elopes with Baby Alacran, daughter of the wealthy Severo and Isabel Alacran. Last updated by Cat on 31 May 04:51 Answers: 1. She can barely read! Babys fathers only response is, Youre her mother!. He is married to a deeply religious woman but is having an affair with Lolita Luna, the movie actress. He is at the assassination scene, the SPORTEX department store, to break up with his girlfriend, Trinidad Gamboa, who works there as a clerk. Pucha symbolizes the aspect of colonial Philippine culture that mimics the United States in that, like many Americans, she wants to forget the past. Rio Gonzaga is a young Filipina woman who grows up in a middle-class family. We do He feels guilty and in need of confession, not because he has had any part in the death but because symbolically he has not had any part in the life of his country. Oscar Avila: Domingos brother; Claritas father; he does not get along with his brother Domingo. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. Rio is conflicted. She is captured and raped byGeneral Ledesma's men. eNotes Editorial. In an interview in last part of the book, the First Lady discusses her shoes, likely a direct reference to Imelda Marcos's extensive shoe collection. She is often under the influence of drugs when the general visits her, and she uses these drugs, which she calls vitamins, as a way of coping with his violent and demeaning sexual demands. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Rio enjoys eating the traditional Filipino food that her grandmother and the servants eat with their hands in the tiny incense-filled room. Isabel has had her tubes tied after having one child, her homely daughter Rosario (Baby), whom she dislikes and almost admits it. When Baby announces her plans to marry Pepe Carreon, a soldier and protg of General Ledesma, Isabel is horrified and will not allow it. She appears on TV and relinquishes her title. Romeos character illustrates the interplay of personal fantasy, political control, and truth versus reality in the Marcos-era Philippines. Structure of answer: Pucha has married Boomboom right after high school, a terrible marriage that does not even last a year. Like the Gonzaga and Alacran women, the men share the same characteristics and are symbolic of the patriarchal Philippine society that objectifies women. Non-Filipino readers may feel lost because of the hundreds of unglossed Tagalog words and phrases. She has a chronic case of eczema, seborrhea and God knows what else, her mother complains. For obvious reasons, characters of lower social power often resent this and try to overcome it by whatever means possible (sex appeal, becoming famous, marrying up, human rights rallies, blackmail, etc.) Now, she can only stand erect and dry-eyed at her daughters wedding, the rage on her face plain for all to see. In Puchas version of events, Isabel dies of cancer in 1967. He watches the spectacle from the dark corner, the symbol of a government that allows others to rape the country while it remains aloof in an effort to hide its own guilt. Pepe never calls her stupid, whereas her mother shouts to her father, Your daughter is dimwitted! His great-grandfather came from Spain, he informs his wife. They pride themselves on being safe men, not fools and not cowards, men who, no matter what they are discussingreal estate or politicswant to stay alive at all costs. Somehow, Freddie is always able to know which side is winning. He is an opportunist who comes from a family of opportunists. Later, Rio leaves Manila for the United States with her mother and only revisits her childhood home as an adult. Religion is depicted as a stultifying and demeaning force, and Hagedorns final word in her novel, a blasphemous parody of the Lords Prayer, is her attempt to wrench free from imposed religious sanctions and from imposed foreign influence. In Dogeaters, why was the Avila family considered "Communist"? He is both feared and revered. The general does not seem to mind, perhaps because he keeps a mistress, film actress Lolita Luna, who is always out of money and usually high on drugs. She only goes to the country club to watch her lover play tennis. Ed. Joyce Goldenberg: Wife of the American consul; she is mentally unstable; she is Jewish and from California. Asked by bookragstutor. Hagedorn has passed this hurdle. As Rio matures, she moves into the modern age but maintains respect for the traditions of the past. She marriesBoomboom Alacran but the marriage falls apart. She is the daughter of an American father and a Filipina mother, a beautiful woman who is nevertheless ashamed of her mixed race ancestry. Why is the poet worried about the appearance of the night in the poem to the evening star? Boomboom threatens to kill himself on Puchas front lawn. He has many mistresses including Lolita Luna and sleeps with many of his servants. She ends up marrying Boomboom Alacran for his wealth and prestige, but he ends up being a terrible husband. She spends hours watching her mother dress and undress, talk in hushed tones on the telephone and give orders to the servants. 1998 eNotes.com Ironically, through no effort of his own, Romeo has become a national star. He has been politically passive. She is Miss Philippines, a wildly successful beauty queen. Unconvinced, she begs the general to help her escape to America. Set in the Philippines, Dogeaters has several narrators; one being Rio Gonzaga, the representative of her family. Her husband is never home. She finds the fact that she can weep without shame over the soap operas and Tagalog songs a delicious tradition rather than something that appeals to the lowest common denominator, as Rios father states critically behind his mother-in-laws back. Dogeaters essays are academic essays for citation. nike nationals track and field backpack; 0 comments. Her room illustrates the value Lola places on the old ways. Rio refers to her mother as my Rita Hayworth mother. Delores is a former beauty queen whose goal in life is to maintain her beauty. Rio reminisces about her family and the Philippines while Joey tries to survive after witnessing an assassination during Martial . Spanish influence can be found in the theme of power. The President and The First Lady: a corrupt dictator and his wife. Characters dream of escape to the West: the actress Lolita Luna begs for it, Joey Sands tries to sell his body to get it, and Rio Gonzaga breezily accomplishes it. Returning to her home country as an adult, Rio once more narrates for readers. What would life be like without movies?, "Dogeaters - Characters" eNotes Publishing Ed. She is contemptuous of the Filipino servants, either treating them with disdain or as if they were invisible. The impact of the four-hundred-year rule of the Philippines by Spain and the forty-year colonization by the United States is symbolized by Hagedorns references to Spanish Catholicism and American films. At one point he says, Maybe Im lying and then brags that he is a born liar and even lies in his sleep. Socorro Pertierra Gonzaga: Rios paternal grandmother and a widow; she is a Filipina but lives in Spain; her deceased husband Don Carlos Jose Maria Gonzaga was also Filipino but, like his wife, considered himself Spanish. He's also gay. Please use your Joey naively believes he is in control of his life until one day fate intervenes and shows him he is not. Pucha is happy to ignore the Philippines colonial past and embrace the future as long as she can afford to go to Chiquiting Morenos. 4 Mar. Jessica Hagedorn was born and raised in the Philippines and came to the United States in her early teens. Delores has a sexless relationship with her husband, and they fight often. The general plays a soap opera in the background while his men rape Daisy. She describes the shock of seeing her homeland from such a mature perspective. Her mother thought she had leprosy and refused to go near her. In this respect, the situation with Dogeaters, is slightly different. By subverting the referentiality of fiction, Dogeaters completely undermines "the . Joey Sands: A teenage Afro-Filipino hustler and DJ; young male sex worker, one of the three main narrators. The results: DJs in . The main characters in Dogeaters include Rio Gonzaga, Joey Sands, General Nicasio Ledesma, and Senator Domingo Avila. The novel intersperses her story among a wide spectrum of diverse and unrelated characters to give the boisterous, noisy, and fast-paced sense of a crowded, corrupt, and decaying metropolitan center that the author both loves and hates, both feels compelled to embrace and longs to escape. The characters and the novel are thoroughly Filipino, and obviously the readers appreciation of the book would be heightened by knowledge of stormy Manila politics and history and familiarity with Spanish and Tagalog, the languages spoken in the book. Joey does not want to wind up an old junkie like Uncle and boasts that he deserves something better, yet he is a young drug addict who does not seem to want to kick the habit. The timeline is disjointed and unstable, making use of flashbacks and flash forwards. She is a commodity that can be bought and sold at the whim of those in charge. Leonor Ledesma: Deeply religious wife of General Ledesma; she is forced to marry the general by her elderly parents and her parish priest; constantly performs acts of penance hoping to absolve her husband of his sins. He was once asked to run for the presidency himself. An American Novel Of The Philippines "Dogeaters" (1990), the first novel of Jessica Hagedorn, was nominated for the National Book Award. She and Severo are exemplary Catholics, however, and donate huge sums of money to the church. Ed. This kind of wealth is extreme in any country but especially so in such an impoverished place as Manila which means Severo is a lonely man. His wife, Leonor, has devoted herself to a sacrificial life of praying on the cold cement floor of her tiny bedroom, fasting on water, and on good days doing charity work for the Sisters of Mercy orphanage. During the assassination scandal, Boy Boy helps Joey escape from Uncle and the police. His character is a symbol of the money, power, and corruption that exists in postcolonial Philippine society. These add authentic flavor, however, and the confusion that results reinforces the novels sense of overcrowding, ruin, and even assault.