kristinberry

Lopez's "Literature and Society" is an interesting piece of background about writers not only as artists, but as people responsible for bringing worldly issues to those who would not have been otherwise exposed to them. Reading Lopez's theories that authors become somewhat disillusioned with their surrounding societies, and this is reflected in their writings can be applied to almost every document we have read so far in class. There has been either hint or overriding sentiment of pain and sorrow in our selections, and Lopez argues that this is because these writers were going through tough times during the occupation of the Philippines; the writers' art transformed from works of happiness, to reflect the trauma Filipinos experienced in society in this time period.
"Caps and Lowercase" seems much more obvious after reading Lopez's essay. Unlike some works during this time period that were hopeful and full of revolutionary optimisim, the main character in the story was spineless, and not an activist whatsoever. The author paints an appropriate picture of low class life because he has been affected by his surroundings and the disappointments that his people have suffered through even when they did stand up for themselves.
The four poems by Jose Garcia Villa also convey similar emotions. While they are laced with some hope, the overshadowing feeling is one of despair, and mostly helplessness with Villa turning to God most of the time, realizing the situation is out of his mortal hands. However, in Lyric 22, this helplessness gets a little extreme when he calls upon the equivalent of the devil to take control, and make some difference in the world, because it is clear his efforts (probably for the rights of Filipinos) have gone unnoticed.