Jerry Gracio’s Bagay Tayo
Although I am not familiar with Jerry B. Grácio or any of his other works, “Bagay Tayo” lets me know everything I need to know about his writing. After having read 3 excerpts from the book, I can tell that Jerry B. Grácio is out to hurt me. That might come off as a bit self-centric, so allow me to correct it, Jerry B. Grácio is out to hurt all of us. At first I was comforted by the simplicity and honesty present in their relationship. It seemed like Jerry (yes I will be referring to him as Jerry as if we are best friends) was laying out all the cards on the table, candidly talking about their first meeting. As I kept reading, my fondness inevitably turned into bitterness.
The way the pieces were written, affection dripping with every word, made me feel the dreaded longing for a relationship. There are many reasons the piece can draw out so many emotions from myself as effectively as it did. As much as Jerry’s voice and tone was a big influence on the way the emotions translate through the text, it is also largely due to his excellent use of details. As mentioned in the lecture, details can be very evocative. Jerry paints his pieces with such vivid details, I am unwillingly submerged into the scene. I am there at the 2nd run theater they met. I have no idea what Jerry’s home looks like, but I am there on the couch when Pitbull talks about his past. As Jerry mentions in the “Kuwento”, memories are fickle. They evade you, and you can never choose which ones stay.
The amount of detail present serves as a testament to how strongly he feels about these memories. The love he feels for Raymond, affectionate resignation at his brother’s teasing, humorous conversations with his friends about his type: all these give us a very intimate look at their beautiful life together. This view is of course, in Jerry’s perspective, as the piece is written from a first-person point of view. This, along with a subjective approach, is also a factor in how effectively the piece expresses and evokes emotion.
The last factor would be the collage structure of the story. Although it would seem that a chronological structure would work just as well, the collage structure has a certain appeal. The bite-sized pieces add room for humour, and contribute to the lightness of the piece. When discussing heavy issues such as running away from phone and physical alterations with family members, the information given is just enough to send a message. It avoids sharing too much on the topic and possibly encroaching on more than what they are comfortable with. Rather than focusing on past grievances and turning the story into a family drama, we are given just enough to see how this strengthened their relationship. It allows the piece to remain true to its general theme, which is their love and life together.
