Bong bong
The first three words of this story are comprised of the three names of the protagonist: Antonio Gargazulio-Duarte. This name leads into the revelation that he is known to family and friends as Bongbong it is with that name that he is addressed throughout the story. The full extent of the symbolism of this nickname is not entire clear—it may touch upon the nickname of the son of former Philippines dictator Fernando Marcos, for instance, as well as the allusion to drug paraphernalia—but what is definitely up for literary investigation is the repetition of the nickname. The two syllables of Bongbong form part of a recurring motif of doubling throughout which permeates the story and inevitably leads to the theory that Bongbong and Frisquito one and the same person.
Acid and Schizophrenia
Another example of the doubling motif is the repeated mention of acid and Colelia’s amateur diagnosis that Bongbong is a “paranoid schizophrenic.” Although Bongbong denies taking acid, Frisquito is described as dropping it at least fifty times. The perceptual distortion of the effects of both taking acid and suffering schizophrenia can somewhat similar and the surrealistic nightmarish visions Bongbong suffers could potentially be attributable to either, at least from an amateur’s understanding.
Twin Peaks
David Lynch did not get their first. The apartment owned by Bongbong’s sister which he temporarily moves into is located “on Twin Peaks.” This is the most explicit and obvious example of the symbolic motif of doubling.
Bongbong’s Housemates
After moving out of the apartment on Twin Peaks, Bongbong moves with two girls sharing a place in Fillmore. It is almost certainly not mere coincidence that the names of these two women both begin with same letter: Charmaine and Colelia. The relationship is appropriately idiosyncratic: the two women are lovers, sort of, and Charmaine and Bongbong are lovers, sort of, and Charmaine likes Bongbong and Colelia is jealous of Bongbong. This doubling of Charmaine and Colelia is such that it would not seem particularly creative analysis to interpret them as being one and the same the way that Bongbong and Frisquito are likely one and the same.
Charmaine’s Periods
Arguably, the strangest incidence of the symbolic doubling motif may be centered in the biological process that Bongbong describes as “perennial menstruation.” Charmaine’s dark moods directed toward her live-in housemate who sort of her lover occur with regularity at a rate of twice a month which suggests she experiences two different periods. This doubling further serves to implicate that something isn’t quite as it appears relative to the existence of both Charmaine and Colelia. The two periods, however, could well be an indication that there are, indeed, two separate women living in the apartment.
However, it could just as easily be interpreted as a clue that Charmaine and Colelia actually share just one body. And, in fact, it could also be interpreted in a way that Colelia’s schizophrenia diagnosis for Bongbong may be a case of psychological projection and that it is actually Charmaine/Colelia who is suffering from the condition.
