The story revolves around the character Bobby/Candido Heredia. It all began when Mr. Henson called the Heredia residence in the morning and informed them that Bobby had stowed away and was in the Henson’s. Ineng, Bobby’s mom, agreed that Bobby’s father, Totong, will receive them as Mr. Henson will take Bobby home. Bobby’s parents were worried because he was acting strange in the past days. During a conversation with other women in the bakeshop, Ineng brought up the incident in their home where Bobby pointed a gun at Pompoy Morel and fired three warning shots. He also said things that angered his teacher, the principal, and the prefect before they lost track of where he is. He also humiliated his girl’s best friend. People do not understand what’s happening until Bobby narrated the events in his point of view.
The gun incident happened while Bobby and his friends, who call their band the Vultures, were rehearsing at the piazza while Pompoy Morel was there to replace Pete on the actual performance. They were preparing for the birthday party of Bobby’s sister, Sophie. When Ineng came into the room to ask if they want snacks, Bobby saw his mother naked and immediately realized that he was the only one who can see through her clothes because no one was reacting as he did. When Pompoy looked at his mom as if seeing her nakedness, he grabbed his father’s gun and the incident happened. Right away, Ineng decided to take Bobby to church for confession, but Bobby jump out of the confession room when he saw the priest naked, in state of excitement, after confessing a girl. Then one by one, he began seeing people’s clothes melt away and reveal their secrets. Not just their nakedness but also what they try to conceal. He realized that he is no longer Bobby but Candido, his ideal self who disdains pretensions and overacting of teens.
The revelations place a contrast on how we portray ourselves compared to who we really are. There is so much pretense and hypocrisy that Bobby began speaking to other people about what he sees. Knowing that these are true, they can’t help getting frustrated on how he got to know too much about them. Thus, the incident with the teacher, the principal, and the prefect. Totong was called by the school because of what happened, but Bobby left even before his father reaches school. When he went to his girl, Minnie, he saw Glo, her girl’s best friend, and commented on her body which humiliated Glo so much.
Bobby decided to leave as he will continue to offend people for saying the truth he sees. He witnessed the filth and the nakedness of everyone in the streets. He couldn’t stand seeing people naked with all their flaws, deformities, and filth. Alas, he thought of a place where he belongs. He went to her Grandma’s. He has always loved visits at Grandma. It was permanent, warm, and a break from all the routine. He has always felt that it is home. But when he was waiting for his Grandma to finish her rosary, he suddenly got scared if all of it are just pretense and his Grandma would also be as naked as the others are. He left right away even before knowing the truth. Then, he saw politicians and their supporters at Plaza Miranda, naked and filthy. He couldn’t stand how these people can interact with such filth and pretension.
Suddenly, the nakedness of his barkada was preferable. Theirs is a familiar kind of nakedness and somehow clean. He decided that he just wanted companions, so he went to the billiards hall to find his friends, Pete, Willie, and Rene. They convinced Bobby to make amends with Pompoy at the back of the church. He agreed. However, upon seeing Pompoy’s smirk, Bobby remembered how he looked at his mom’s nakedness, and he immediately hit his face. Pompoy got back at him and he blacked out.
Upon recovering, Bobby decided to hunt Pompoy and get back at him. When he didn’t get to find him, Pete invited him to join the barkada to celebrate that he is now a stowaway. They cooked a dog and drank until they were all struggling to move around. Pete and Bobby found their way to Pete’s place, in the apartments. Surprisingly, Mr. and Mrs. Henson were dressed! He thought, they didn’t have anything to hide. Bobby felt at ease in their home. He had always thought that Pete’s dad is the coolest. In the morning, when he heard Pete and Mr. Henson’s disagreement, he knew that Mr. Henson is just as naked as the other dads. As expected, he went down for breakfast to naked people.
Mr. Henson dropped Bobby to his place where he found not naked bodies but skeletons and innards moving around. People began shedding off not just clothes, but also their skin. Bobby found it difficult to identify people without faces. He then realized that the flesh, no matter how imperfect, makes us distinct. It is part of who we are. It is in our imperfections where our identity lies. Bobby saw the skeletons as mere mechanical moving things with parts. He couldn't find emotions for things. He prayed for naked people instead of skeletons so he won’t feel alone. Yet, people remained as they were.
During the preparation for Sophie’s birthday, Bobby went out of the house and tried to find his friends. He wanted company. However, he couldn’t feel companionship with three skeletons playing billiards. When something lurked as if a shadow that wants to be caught, Bobby contemplated on what he had to learn from all these. He realized that from the person who thinks he is above everyone else, he is now lost in the world of skeletons. This contemplation made him realize that God melted the faces of everyone so that he seeks His face. He chased the black thing he thinks is God until they reached the Heredias where the party is taking place. He cornered “God” and Bobby was shot by a thunderbolt “God” raised.
At the hospital, it was revealed that it was Pompoy who crashed the party and when he was cornered, he shot Bobby. He was sent to New York to avoid going to jail. Bobby stayed in the hospital for ten days, and woke up seeing normal clothed people again. He knew that everything is changed then. Candido went out of him and bid him goodbye when they left for home.
Analysis
Mimicry
It is notable that the women in the story mimic the western behavior of women. They offer themselves for a kiss. They pursue a guy. They leave the bedroom wrapped only with bed sheet. They engage in promiscuity. Another notable mimicry are those of the teenagers in the novel. They were all tagged “overacting” by Candido for portraying Americanized preferences, images, and popular culture. This mimicry is so natural among teens that majority of the generation wants to be part of that normalcy except for Candido. The clothes, the combos, the fanaticism, the motorcycles with leather jackets, the vest, everything that is American that Filipinos try to adopt in their culture, Candido disdains. He thinks that these are pretensions that people should drop. Unfortunately, this is not pretension since after the war, the Americans are the colonizers that these children grew up with, adopting their culture as their own, and setting their minds as how the Americans think. This mimicry was brought by universalism.
Universality
Universalism is reflected among the parents of these teenagers who raised children in American culture. They have seen America as the hero who saved the country, even if we are their colony. With that kind of fanaticism, they began accepting that the American culture speaks of social status, elitism, better quality of life, and the best this world could offer. This is what happened to the Heredias who had a grand modern house built but can’t afford to be lavish on the family needs. They would throw a big party for Sophie to keep the image they are preserving, even if they are struggling with the issues of Bobby. Also, Pete wanted to live in the house like the Heredias, thinking that staying in a village is better in apartments. People preferred drinking scotch over beer or gin. Everything American became a status symbol. Everything colonial became associated with better, and so people raised their children in this mentality, and produced children that mimic the colonizers in violence, in rebellion, in preferring to leave the country, in everything that the Americans feed the Filipino culture with.
Hybridity
Hybridity is recurring among the characters as Candido is disgusted by the American popular culture though he settles his conflicts through fights and guns just like the Americans. Also, he celebrates with friends on his sense of rebellion which is American, but they cooked a dog which is Asian. Another instance is his reverence for the culture that his Grandma was able to preserve in the middle of American influence, without realizing that all of those are Spanish influences, also of another colonizer. Candido identified with his roots and the cultures of colonizers that came before. This is also evident with women characters where they speak their mind yet remained within the gender roles set to them. Such is Ineng who had been a dominant character yet sees herself only within the bounds of her role as wife and mother. She doesn’t even see herself qualified for a "man to man" talk. Sophie knows what she wants and what she doesn’t yet she sticks with the woman’s role to host.
Orientalism
Orientalism was shown as contrast to Universalism. This was reflected in the simple living of the Hensons where they stayed in the apartments. Even Ineng who struggles to pay for her luxurious house look down on apartments. Pete does not want to stay within the family tradition and wanted to be everyone else, which is Americanized. Even Bobby thinks Mr. Henson is odd for the dislike he has shown towards the people who stays in the village, not fully understanding the conflict of culture. Being part of local and Filipino was an immediate indicator of poverty. Money mattered so much that many strive to put on a show as if they do have the money. Those who know better choose to live within their means, yet they are tagged as orientals. Looking down on other Filipinos boosts the false validation that one is part of the universal.
The Ruling Class
The ruling class was clearly determined by colonial mentality, money, and status symbols. The richer you are, the more Americanized you are, the higher your status is. That was a concept embraced by many, and so people began valuing things for the money and not their importance. You don’t really need a white marble floor, like the Heredias, instead of a common wood if you can’t pay them. Both floors function the same anyway. In the case of Pete, one doesn’t really need to be like the Heredias to be part of a family. However, they determine who the ruling class is. Many would want to be part of that. They feel safer from abuse. They feel more accepted. They feel more superior than the other Filipinos who can’t afford the same kind of living. However, even those who can’t afford pretend that they can, exhaust everything, just so to keep up with the ruling class.
The colonial history and the post-colonial literature of the Philippines remind us of the identity that we developed as a people, bearing the flaws and the beauty of multiple cultures. This uniqueness made the Filipino a nation that holds roots from various influences, yet never the same mix as compared to our Southeast Asian neighbors. This also reminds us of continuous vigilance towards people who gain enough power to take the role of the colonizer. In the end, what matters is that we do not become the monsters that we defeated.
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