For Hau, this "predominance of the trope for stagings" (116) is an anathema. Andres Alacran: the homosexual owner of CocoRico, a prestige bar that attracts many foreigners and famous people. Intrigued by this rumor, his mistress, Lolita, questions him about it, but he warns her not to ask such dangerous questions. Dogeaters: A Play about the Philippines Kindle Edition Their arguments are shouting matches with flying objects, breaking glass, and shattering plates. not consider this content professional or citable. Not affiliated with Harvard College. 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. General Nicasio Ledesma: The cruel and powerful chief of the Philippine military; married to Leonor but having an affair with Lolita Luna; rumored to be either a half-brother or cousin to Senator Avila. Joey Sands: He is the son of an unknown black American soldier and a Filipino prostitute. 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 poses for pictures with a smiling face that turns stern as soon as the camera is pointed away. 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. Celebrated novelist and playwright Jessica Hagedorn effortlessly shifts from the capital's elite to the poorest of the poor. Freddie eats and drinks too much. Lolita Luna is a film actress, a Bomba (soft porn) star. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. She defies her mothers warning to stay out of the sun, which will ruin her skin. She has a chronic case of eczema, seborrhea and God knows what else, her mother complains. Consequently, she enjoys the company of her grandmother and all the servants. The general pays for her expensive apartment and living expenses, but he complains that she is high maintenance. Briefly, characters include Imelda herself, who is delightfully impersonated by Ching Valdes-Aran in some of Hagedorn's most tartly satirical and strongest scenes; the country's merciless. Although she marries Boomboom Alacran, a wealthy man with good connections, the marriage doesn't last. Pepe Carreon: works with General Ledesma. Trixie Goldenberg: Daughter of Joyce and Howard; Pucha and Rio think she is gay, but she marries twice and does not have any children. GradeSaver, 5 January 2019 Web. In real life, she is owned and controlled by General Ledesma. The Widow Rosales: Romeos mother; she encourages Romeo to marry Trini, get a job, and forget about becoming a movie star. Rio is both an eyewitness and a dreamer, however. Rosario Baby Alacran: Severos daughter; his only legal child. There are no real issues, she protests. 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. What does Sportex and Monte Vista CC represent? - eNotes.com He enjoys the sexual power he has over them and often steals from them afterward just to keep alive the element of danger that energizes him. Baby is a burden to her parents but in turns bears the burden for their hypocrisy. 4 Mar. He is a successful businessman who works for the Alacran family conglomerate. Andres Alacran is Joey's boss and owns CocoRico. She dates Romeo. She is not always sure where she belongs and complains of having to reconstruct her genealogy. In this sense, her character is symbolic of the uncertainty of the postcolonial Philippine national identity. Surrender and Movie Star are the two chapters that represent the dual nature of Lolitas life. He is patterned after Benigno Aquino, a popular leftist leader who challenged the authority of the Marcos Regime. Dogeaters - Wikipilipinas Rio describes her as an overripe flirt with overdeveloped 36B breasts who enjoys the attention of boys. Dr. Emilia Katigbak: A doctor and Ernestos wife. Severo Alacran: a self-made man who owns corporations such as TruCola Soft Drinks and SPORTEX. She resents her father's wealth and treatment of her mother. She is a commodity that can be bought and sold at the whim of those in charge. Chiquiting Moreno: Gay hairdresser to Delores Gonzaga. She is thin because she does not eat. The first lady spends her entire life trying to foster and maintain beauty, encouraging beauty pageants and movie star lifestyles; meanwhile her country is falling apart. "Dogeaters - Characters Discussed" Great Characters in Literature This content is from Wikipedia. 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. She is captured and raped byGeneral Ledesma's men. It challenges the concept of melancholia as. Puchas version claims this is not so, that Freddie and Delores are still together and Freddie still has money. Father Jean Mallat: Nineteenth-century Jesuit priest, explorer, and author; snippets from his writings about the Philippines are included for realistic effects. Romeo is constantly trying to convince Tito to fulfill his promise and make Romeo a star as well. Asked by bookragstutor. After reading Novel Dogeaters by jessica hagedorn. T he main characters in Dogeaters include Rio Gonzaga, Joey Sands, General Nicasio Ledesma, and Senator Domingo Avila. For example, the First Lady's "cultural center"[2] has similarities to the Cultural Center of the Philippines commissioned by Marcos. 2000 eNotes.com General Nicasio Ledesma: He is a powerful army general who runs a camp where people opposed to the dictator are kept and often tortured. nike nationals track and field backpack; 0 comments. Despite her contempt for her husband and their stormy relationship, she watches his salt intake, reminding him about doctors orders. Like Delores Gonzaga, she does not want to become a widow; that would ruin everything. Severo Chuchi Alacran: Suave, powerful, and ruthless tycoon; considered the richest man in the Philippines. He's also gay. By then, she has moved to America, still anxious and restless, at home only in airports, living in a limbo between where one comes from and where one is going. 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. Everything is mauvedrapes, bedspread, walls. characters in dogeaters As Rio matures, she moves into the modern age but maintains respect for the traditions of the past. 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 an attempt of pursuing an acting career, he decides one day to end his amorous relationship with Trinidad. During the assassination scandal, Boy Boy helps Joey escape from Uncle and the police. Her husband is never home. The First Lady (or Madame): The Philippine dictators wife, a former beauty queen, modeled after Imelda Marcos. Buy a cheap copy of Dogeaters book by Jessica Hagedorn. General Nicasio Ledesma (nee-KAH-see-oh leh-DEHS-mah) is an army chief who runs torture camps for subversives. The sorrow of this disappearing Filipino culture is symbolized by the radio soap opera Love Letters, which Lola Narcisa loves to listen to with Rio. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn. Asked by bookragstutor. 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. With her background, a Scots-Irish-French-Filipino mother and a Filipino-Spanish father with one Chinese ancestor, Hagedorn adds a unique perspective to Asian American performance and literature. Pepe never calls her stupid, whereas her mother shouts to her father, Your daughter is dimwitted! The marriage founders, and Malcolm returns to England. He must entirely submit control of his life to others. When her father, the senator . Pucha Gonzaga: Rios flirtatious cousin; narrates one chapter at the end of the novel. Her cousin Pucha accuses her of purposefully mixing things up. Ed. Unlike her mother, she is plump, shy, and awkward. Belen Garcia Gonzaga: Rauls first wife; they have three girls and she leaves him. 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. Below are my class instructions. She perpetuates the myth that women are valuable national symbols when they participate in beauty pageants. Sands is a DJ and works as a male prostitute at night. In a chapter titled Epiphany, Daisy experiences a political epiphany. The reason for this is that most of the female-characters, mentioned in this . They have violent fights. The second is the date of Mimi Pelayo: Delores Gonzagas rich friend; her son is in a mental institution. She languishes in bed watching Filipino soap operas and talent shows in Tagalog. Rio is not interested in boys and loses patience with her cousin Puchas constant flirting. Another narrator is an all-seeing third person, who introduces other Filipino families. When they return, her parents give them the wedding of the century, no doubt part of the terms of the note. 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. 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. His explanation that he is just biding his time does not ring true. Senator Domingo Avila: A popular, left-leaning Philippine senator, leader of the opposition movement against the government; Daisys father; he is assassinated. Other prominent characters are General Nicasio Ledesma, Senator Domingo Avila and Daisy Consuelo Avila. Uncle Panchito: Delores Gonzagas gay dressmaker. Senator Domingo Avila: He is the leader of the party opposing The President. She wishes to leave the Philippines for the United States.[3]. Sympathy, Protagonists, and Dogeaters - The Postcolonial and the Postmodern One day, however, fate intervenes in his life as it does with Joey Sands. Carding: One of Uncles protgs; petty criminal and male sex worker; grew up with Joey Sands. After her marriage, Baby is miserable and uncomfortably pregnant. Eddie, Ricky, and Claudio Gonzaga: Rios grown-up Spanish cousins; sons of Esteban and Tita Menchu. 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. Rios story is all wrong. The general uses Lolita for sex, but Lolita uses him to support her and her young son, who lives with his grandparents. Like Rio, one of the main characters in her novel Dogeaters , Jessica Hagedorn grew up in an educated upper-class family in the Philippines and came to America with her mother as a teenager. He has many mistresses including Lolita Luna and sleeps with many of his servants. 4 Mar. 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. How does the power network reported on p. 58 reflect the basis of Philippine political culture? Freddie is a successful businessman. 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. Their relationship is mutually exploitative. He proudly proclaims, Im nobodys slave, but this is mostly wishful thinking. Pucha would never be caught eating Filipino food with her hands. An original, raw, and wild novel that has held its power and demands to be read. The plots are always sad and almost always, someone dies. He becomes a scapegoat for Avilas murder. When her Freddie Gonzaga. Hagedorn has passed this hurdle. These add authentic flavor, however, and the confusion that results reinforces the novels sense of overcrowding, ruin, and even assault. He's murdered right around the same time as Senator Avila. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel.