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112819 Mr. Vincenz Serrano Literature 14 02 May 2012 The Fettering Freedom: A Literary Analysis on Federico Licsi Espinos Manila Espinos poem is a metaphor of the Philippine society after its colonial years. The Philippine-capital, Manila, is taken as the poems title as a synecdoche signifying the whole country. This is because Manila became the seat of power during the Spanish colonization, accommodating the central churches, monasteries, government institutions, plaza and schools. In fear of uprisings, the Spaniards preserved one city with walls that gave Intramuros (within walls) its name. Yes, Intramuros, Manila was the citys deepest inside, innermost sanctum, holy of holies a tribal altar (Joaquin), but it was also where the Philippines tragic flaws began. The truth that Intramuros, like the rest of the Philippines, has lost most of its appeal and relevance, wowing few but the kitsch-inclined (Alcazaren), gives the poem its sympathetic mood. This is evident in words such as, dust, hungry quest, raucous seagulls cry, shriek, mocks, crawls, deserted, creeping, crabbing, and tragic flaws. Manila, written by a Filipino, has this persona expressing his disappointment of what Manila and the Philippines as a whole have become since colonial independence. Manila generally compares the Philippine society to a hermit crab. First, its position beside the tide of times implies the countrys isolation from the changing environment outside it. The word beside was used, rather than along with or against, to emphasize that the Philippines lays stagnant, merely observes and chooses to avoid the waves of world progress.

More specifically, in Blueprint for a Citys Soul, Alcazaren associated Manilas development with master plans continually being abandoned as regimes changed. This is why the city has always looked haphazard and why its future has always been in question. Like a crab that safely stays in the shore to save itself from the strong tides, the Philippines chooses to be immobile, still bearing the traces of her former homes. These former homes refer to the crabs abandoned shells that once housed its soft, vulnerable abdomen. The further description of these homes as shells of foreign cultures gives a clearer resemblance between these shells and the Philippine colonizers. As a hermit crab outgrows its current shell, it looks for a more fitting one but brings with it traces of the former and their slime. In the same way, the colonization history of the Philippines will forever be in its identity. Espinos use of the sticky, squalid slime stresses the countrys daunting

experience from one colonizer to another. Thirdly, the crabs hungry quest is a mirror of the endless pursuit of poor Filipinos for a living. The simple search for food becomes a quest due to the fast growing population of hermit crabs that pushes them to survive the scarcity of food and even shells. The same happens with poor Filipino families who live by the clich, Isang kahig, isang tuka (To live from hand to mouth). While it is unfortunate that crabs cannot eat wood, the bits of driftwood lying upon the shore can be associated to the Filipino poors habit of going after the remains of the privileged, whether food or other material necessities. Moreover, adding to the burden of limited resources is the raucous seagulls cry, which is a metaphor of the unchangeable poor-rich division in the Philippine society. As the Filipino poor struggles to survive each day of poverty, the presence of the upper class will always be a mocking truth to them. The rock-ribbed nest

of the seagull resembles the firm and concrete houses of the rich, which directly opposes the nomadic life of a hermit crab that likens the life of Filipino squatters. In connection with the previous metaphor is the allusion to Nick Joaquins dust and crabs. This epigraph literally refers to the natural attribute of a crab to crawl and live in the dust. Metaphorically however, this points to the miserable condition of the Philippines since independence. Before the Spanish colonizers first settled in the Philippines, Filipino natives lived a simple life, depending on the resources nature can give them. Communalism was

apparent in the society and the natives deep connection with nature maintained a balanced environment. However, the colonizers exploited the rich resources of the country for their own interests. Filipinos, then, are left with none but the dust of these invaders exertions (trade, infrastructures, etc). Another interesting and complex metaphor is the sidewise movement of the hermit crab in allusion to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas who frequently mentioned crabs in his poems. The crabs natural inability to crawl forward and back reflects, again, the Philippines resistance to progress. Filipinos choose to stagnate themselves in their present situation keeping them from development and leading them to the same mistakes of the past. On the other hand, since no one is certain of the meaning of crabs in Dylans poems, I rather see this allusion suggesting that somehow, the international world outside still gets something out of the sidewise moving Philippines. For instance, Nick Joaquins Sa Loob ng Maynila showcased Philippine pride such as Filipino painters and their art, the Moriones and Ati-atihan festivals, the beautified Intramuros churches for the international Eucharistic congress in 1973, the prominent alumnae of the biggest universities in Manila and more. Despite the damned fate of the Philippines, there are still valuable objects that throb with life in the eyes of foreigners.

Besides these, the sidewise movement can also relate to the crab mentality apparent among Filipinos. This mentality denotes the habit of crabs, all in one container, to pull the others for a common goal: to get out of the container. However, the ceaseless pulling makes it impossible for any of them to come out. Similarly, opportunist Filipinos, regardless of social class, want to get to the top all at the same time, stepping down on others; thus, contributing to the enduring poverty of the Philippines. Lastly, the final lines of Manila present appealing metaphors too. Manilas description as a pair of claws can be associated to the citys enticing features. Besides being the capital of the Philippines, there is always this notion among Filipinos, especially those from the provinces, that Manila will take them out of poverty. Without knowing what awaits them in the city, Manila seem to snatch people like a crabs pair of claws, trapping them and later makes up the large mob of squatters and wandering beggars in Manila. Ending the poem, the creeping, crabbing movement of the crab along with all its tragic flaw is a heavy summary of the whole poem. The words creeping and crabbing of the crab is a metaphor of the Philippines crawling its way to dreamed progress. The tough comparison of Filipinos to a crab and

crabbing indicates how inferior, to the level of a crab, the Philippine society has become after colonization. The crabs tragic flaws its natural tendency to crawl through the dust, to scramble for a shell, to inflict pain with its claws and to move sideways is a metaphor of the tragedy in Philippine history. Behind the countrys poor state lies the fixed truth that no one is in control of but fate. It is as simple as saying that only God can alter the biological features of a crab and so as the history of a country. What makes Manila different is the use of metaphor to pose a single suspended image in the mind of its reader. Starting from the title, the whole poem then continues to talk about a

crab (the metaphor) set in a single place at a single time; thus, giving its reader a solid grasp of the image that will lead him to unlocking the metaphors of the poem in relation to the title. In contrast to Pounds instantly changing images in A Station in the Metro and William Carlos Williams cinematographic images in Nantucket, Manila holds a single image. However, it requires ample knowledge on the history of the Philippines and some literary pieces to come up with deeper interpretations of the poem. In brief, Espinos Manila is a metaphor, a more intricate description, of the Philippine state since its colonial independence. Through the criticism of the natural flaws of a hermit crab, the persona in the poem speaks with sympathy for what has become of a land and its people seeking for progress. It is rather disappointing that albeit the long time that has passed since Espino wrote Manila, it is still the exact mirror of the pitiable Philippine society today.

Nicole Patricia H. Nuguid

Word Count: 1, 396

WORKS C ITED Alcazaren, Paulo. Blueprint for a City's Soul. 2 October 2004. 1 May 2012. Web. <http://pcij.org/stories/blueprint-for-a-citys-soul/>. Joaquin, Nick. "Sa Loob ng Maynila." The Likhaan Book of Philippine Literature in English. Ed. Gemino Abad. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1998. 445-460. Print.