Essay Questions

What is the significance of the title?

The title of the novel is a reference to the pejorative term that whites use when referring to native Filipinos who allegedly consume dogs as part of their regular diet. The title is also an allusion to the attitude within the Filipino community of disdaining their own culture and fanatically attempts to be more westernized. This phenomenon of cultural appropriation and shame felt for their own culture is both a major theme and the cultural occurrence that the book heavily criticizes.

How are the themes of anarchy and rebellion discussed in the novel?

Another major theme dissected in the novel is the clash between a totalitarian regime and revolutionary forces. This can be seen in the interactions of the characters in the novel, primarily The President and the First Lady and the character Sen. Domingo Avila. The senator is a staunch human rights advocate who constantly protests against the oppressive methods of control implemented by the President. He is labeled as a communist as a result and is eventually assassinated for his work. His assassination is followed by a massive cover-up implicating another character in the novel as the perpetrator of the crime and as these events happen the First Lady continues to justify and explain their excesses and the evidence of their corruption.

How are Filipino familial dynamics and gender inequality critiqued in the novel?

The Filipino family as well as the dynamic interactions within and between other Filipino families is a hotly criticized theme in the novel. Marital unions, the novel posits, is generally similar to a business merger: a matter done for economic, rather than sentimental, reasons. Filipino men, as a whole, are able to freely move upward in society by virtue of hard work and achievement; the case is not often the same for Filipina women who generally move up in the social ladder through marriage. The character Isabel Alacran marries Severo for his wealth and social clout, Severo on the other hand as Isabel serves as the perfect trophy wife. The character Pucha is another example of this who also marries out of ambition rather than love.