The document summarizes the analysis of the short story "Wings" by Carlos Ojeda Aureus using three literary theories: postcolonial theory, romance mode, and subjectivity. [1] Postcolonial theory, specifically hybridity, is evident as the main character holds both Christian and non-Christian beliefs that have blended due to colonial influence. [2] Romance mode is present as the character creates an ideal fantasy world to escape harsh realities, like being single. [3] Subjectivity is shown through the character's overlapping and contradictory beliefs in both religion and superstition.

1. Charmaine C. Carpio AB English 4
Prefinal and Final Examination in Literary Criticism
The Bicol Region is one of the 17 regions in the Philippines. It is found at the
southeasterm end of Luzon Island. It consists of six provinces – Albay, Camarines Norte,
Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon.
Even before the Spaniards came, the ancient Bicolanos had already their own rich
culture (http://www.wowbicol.com/profile.htm). Since the Philippines had been colonized by
different colonizing powers, it did not escape the effects of the colonization. This is also true to
Bicol Region since Bicol is part of the Philippines. Evidences of the colonizers can be found
almost everywhere. Some people are against the effects of the colonization and created
movements to revitalize those have been affected by the colonial process especially the
literatures of the third world countries. Many critics formulated theories to criticize different
literary pieces. Therefore, this paper will try to criticize one literary piece using three literary
theories.
The literary poces that this paper will try to criticize is Wings. Wings is one of the stories
from the book Nagueños. Nagueños is written by Carlos Ojeda Aureus in 1997. Nagueños is a
collection of stories in which characters are comples and varied as stained glass. It has different
characters that Aureus portrays with sympathy, affection, wit, irony, compassion,
understandinf, humor yet never pronounces judgment
(http://www.kabayancentral.com/book/up/mb5421466.html).
Before criticizing the text, we must first define what literature is and what is considered
as literature.

2. Literature is any form of language that reflects a group of individuals’ daily life
experiences. It mirrors the kind of culture a certain group has. It also gives us a glimpse of what
they believe in so we are able to experience to be part of their culture. Literature is not only
limited to the positive ones, it has also its negative counterpart. To be called literature, it must
be valued by a group of individuals (Lecture notes, Conde 2010).
The theories to be used in criticizing the literary piece, Wings, are Post-colonial theory
particularly Hybridity, Romance Mode and Subjectivity. To give us an idea of what each theory
means, each theory will be defined.
Postcolonial theory is a movement to give honor to the literatures and cultures that have
been affected by the colonial process. It puts a high value on the native pure literatures and
cultures. Among the different theories under the Post-colonial Theory, this paper will focus on
using Hybridity.
According to Bhabha (1994, 1996) defined hybridity as a process by which the colonizer
undertakes to transform the identity of the colonized within a singular universal framework,
but fails producing something familiar but new. Furthermore, Hoogvelt (1997) as stated in
Meredith (1998) stated hybridity is a celebrated and privileged as a kind of superior cultural
intelligence owing to the advantage of in-between ness, the straddling of two cultures and the
consequent ability to negotiate the difference. More importantly, Bhabha (1994) stated that the
“new” culture formed represents the cultural difference of the colonizer and the colonized.
Rutherford (1990) claimed that hybridity does not aim to trace two different cultures from
which the hybrid culture emerges; rather hybridity enables other cultures to emerge.

3. The second theory is the Romance Mode. According to Conde (2011), Romance mode is
a pattern in literature and life which fuses metaphoric fantasy and empirical reality and
emphasizes the triumph of the positive over the negative. Literatures in the Romance Mode
deals with the hero’s quest for another person, or a precious object, and in the process he arrives
at a deeper insight into his identity and the motif of the journey into some unknown world,
whether the idyllic or demonic, frequently frames the narrative. Also, in the romance mode,
characters often create an ideal world where they can escape the harshness of reality.
The third theory that this paper will use is Subjectivity. Sousa (2002) defined subjectivity
as theme common to many of those philosophers eager to reduce the ambitions of cognitive
science. He argued that persons differ from all other things in that they cannot be exhaustively
described in the third person. Belsey (1985) stated that subjectivity is the condition of being a
subject in discourse. It is “a matrix of subject positions which may be inconsistent and even in
contradiction with one another. Subjectivity means that a subject or individual has overlapping
beliefs.
Thus the three literary theories can be used in criticizing the text Wings. The following
are evidences that the three literary theories can really be used in criticizing Wings.
Postcolonial Theory
Wings contains both Christian and non-Christian elements. According to Karnow (1989)
and Constantino (1974) as mentioned in Yango (2009), Christianity has largely evolved and
accommodated itself to the local culture which primarily practices folk religion. It has altered
the forms but barely touched the deep-level meanings of culture of the belief-system of the
people by controlling religious institutions.

4. The main character in the story is a devout Catholic. He firmly believes in God and for
him flying is against God’s will. He believes that flying is suicide which is a mortal sin.
“Flying is unnatural, chico. It defies the laws of nature. It goes against God’s will. It is
suicide, and suicide is a mortal sin” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños, page 71).
The character’s belief in God was also shown when he offered eggs to Carmelite
Monastery. Offering eggs means to have a safe travel and that it would not rain. He also went to
a pilgrimage to Agoo, it is the place in La Union where it was said that the Virgin Mary had
appeared to Judiel Nierva in 1987 until 1993 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiel_Nierva).
“…cleaned up my desk, donated eggs to the Carmelite monastery…made a quick pilgrimage
to Agoo” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños page 73).
Also, the main character in the story believes that when he dies he will be judged
according to his sins. Thinking about the possibility of dying in plane crash, he prayed to God
that he is sorry for committing the Sixth and the Ninth Commanments, which are “You shall
not commit adultery” and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” In addition, he will do
anything religious if God will spare his life. He will make a panata and suffered what Christ has
suffered. He will wore a crown of barbed wire (instead of crown of thorns), have his back
whipped with a homemade whip with glass shards at the end and have him nailed to the cross.
“Lord, I’m heartily sorry for all my sins against the Sixth and Ninth commandments…
Lord, I’ll do anything religious if you spare my life…I’ll make a panata…I’ll wear a crown of
barbed wire, Lord, I’ll whip myself with a home-made whip…I’ll have myself nailed to the
cross…” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños, page 79).

5. Romance Mode
The main character in the story created his ideal world. He fantasizes about things that
made him escape the harshness of reality that is being a bachelor. The main character was
already fifty years old and still single. This is because of his fear of women, particularly
beautiful women. He feared women because of a bad experience when he was in elementary.
He referred to the woman speaking in the microphone as an ecdysiast which means a
striptease artist.
“Pull tab, the voice says, to activate the light and this pretty girl does just that with all the
sensuousness of an ecdysiast” (Aurues, 1997 in Nagueños, page 76).
Also, he imagined himself asking a stewardess for assistance in fastening his seatbelt
and at the same time, imagined that stewardess flirting with him.
“I need help with this seat belt…Easy does it sir, just pull this and insert this, here let me do
it for you, and her hands would slide down, no, not down there, not below the seat belt, ahay, not
below my belt, not that low, not in there, ohh, not inside there, ahaaay, hi-hi-hi-hi. Lecherous
goat.” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños, page 76).
He also referred to one of the stewardess going down the stairs as the Nude Descending
a Staircase. This is a painting of Marcel Duchamp which caused scandal in 1913.
“I take one last look at the palne before I leave…How gorgeous, how ravishingly pretty, how
body beautiful, how symmetrical: Nude Descending a Staircase.” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños,
page 78).

6. Subjectivity
The main character has overlapping beliefs. He is a devout Catholic but he believes in
superstitions. These two beliefs contradict with each other.
“Flying is unnatural, chico. It defies the laws of nature. It goes against God’s will. It is
suicide, and suicide is a mortal sin” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños, page 71).
“I’m afraid of black cats, open spaces, computers, ladders, and the number 13. I’m allergic to
dust, tall buildings…I’m also a hypochondriac. I’m afraid my migraine is a symptom of a brain.
(Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños page 73).
Also, the main character acknowledges science and at the same is a firm believer of God.
“As soon as I’m in, I show my ticket to the guard (all right.. I’ll place my luggage on the belt
of the X-ray machine…)” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños page 74).
He also associated the jouncing of the plane and the roaring of the engines as a sign of
crashing down and colliding with other planes. The character loves Bicol, however, he has
become a fan of foreign movies, actors and actresses. He mentioned a lot of names, foreign
names that shows that he is subjected.
“I love coming home because my mother lives in Naga and refuses to move in Manila. Not
that I have to. But I’d take every opportunity to come home no matter how long it took because I,
too, love everything about Naga” (Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños page 72).
“All great mena and women before Kitty Hawk…Socrates, Plato, Cleopatra, Taras Balba…”
(Aureus, 1997 in Nagueños page 70).

7. Conclusion
Evidences presented in this paper revealed the richness of Bicol culture. Although there
are traces of the effects of the colonial process, one can still see Bicol culture itself. Postcolonial
theory showed the presence of the mixture of different cultures producing a “new” culture.
Ashcroft, B., et al. (1989) argued that hybridity rebut the idea that cultural practices can return
to some “pure” and untarnished cultural condition, and that such practices themselves, such as
the use of vernacular terms or grammatical forms in literature, can embody authenticity.
Also, romance mode is present everywhere. People romanticize and create an ideal
world of their own to escape the harshness of reality. It allows an individual and as well as the
readers to incorporate fantasy in reality.
Furthermore, subjectivity shows that an individual or subject can be exposed with
multiple beliefs, knowledge and feelings that are contradicting with one another.

8. References
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9. Conde, J. (2010). Lecture Notes
Conde, J. (2010). Post-Colonial Theory Handout.
Conde, J. (2010). Romance Mode Handout.