Themes of Smaller and Smaller Circles

THEMES

By: Meldrick Cheng Smaller and smaller circles is a complex story that manages to seamlessly weave various contemporary themes into a story story that is simply simply exhilarating. One of the most prevalent themes found in this book is the fragility of the human psyche. Signs of this can be found riddled all over  the !" pages of this book. #he psyche is the totality of the human mind$ the core of a person%s  personality and intelligence& it controls how an individual would react to different different situations and  problems. #he story shows how past experiences or traumatic traumatic occasions could affect one%s way of thinking. #he main antagonist of the story is 'lex Carlos$ a product of years of rape and molestation. #he story shows how these events affected his way of thinking throughout his life. (hen he was a teenager$ 'lex%s )* teacher$ Mr.+orospe$ Mr.+orospe$ would rape and do highly disturbing things to him and other young boys. 'lex was the favorite of Mr. +orospe$ +orospe$ he would constantly tell the other boys that 'lex en,oyed what he did to him$ that he was special. #his was nowhere near the truth. #he unspeakable things Mr. +orospe did to 'lex distant$ rebellious and made him even take illegal drugs. #his was a huge shift to 'lex%s past attitude$ attitude$ he was always the -good  boy-$ one who would win awards and listen to his parents. #he pain that Mr. Mr. +orospe made him experience was immense$ the book discusses and instance where 'lex%s father caught him  bleeding through his rectal area& 'lex 'lex felt a mixture of shame and fury$ fury$ so much so that it appeared that 'lex wanted to murder his own father. 'lex would feel embarrassed and enraged every time any of the molested victims would look at him$ he believed that they thought that 'lex truly en,oyed it& in fact$ a few of his last

words were - didn%t like it- -. /idn%t. (ant. t.-. #his feeling evolved into something else eventually$ instead of ,ust thinking that the molested bo ys were looking at him and ,udging him$ he began to think that even complete strangers were watching him. 0e has 1uotes in the book that specifically say - feel like %m always being watched-. 0e became paranoid. #his paranoia is what lead to the methodical and careful nature of his serial murders$ he always thought peop le were watching$ so he had to be careful. #his can be seen in the extreme precision of his cuts and in the way he always manages to leave little to no evidence. Saen2 even refers to him as -someone who does not want to be traced-. Melissa Conrad St3ppler$ M/$ said that -)eople experiencing paranoia believe that others are persecuting them and have delusional ideas about themselves as central figures in scenarios that in reality have little relevance to them.- #his trait describes 'lex$ there is an incident in the  book wherein a random young boy was ,ust walking through the streets of )ayatas to buy some ice$ when suddenly 'lex came to murder him. 0e said -'ll  wanted was to be left alone$ but you kept looking at me-$ even though the story never truly implied that the b oy stared at 'lex. Melissa Conrad St3ppler$ M/. also said that )aranoia can have a pronounced effect on social functioning. 'lex%s secluded behavior$ and the fact that he has practically no friends ,ustifies this statement. 'nother theme that can be found in the story is the inade1uacies and wrong doings of the government sector in the )hilippines. #he local setting of the story is used to display various issues that the author$ 4.0. Batacan$ has with our co untry. #his could have been influenced by stories that the author has written about during her previous work as a broadcast ,ournalist.

#he stories describes how pathetic #he )hilippine 5ational )olice truly is. n the book she discusses how the police don%t even gather statistics on missing persons cases$ and how they do very little to help those looking for a missing person. She also discusses how if a c orpse is not immediately identified$ the police would dispose of it. #his is not only morally wrong$ since it  prevents the family of the deceased from receiving closure$ but it also compromises investigations$ something also shown in the book. #he author also shows how little regard the )hilippine )olice gives to its suspects$ which can be seen when Saen2 and 6erome interviewed Carding$ a suspected killer& it was obvious that he experienced police brutality first hand$  potentially to make him to admit to a crime he did not do. #he story describes how politicians in the )hilippines usually use their po sition to serve their own interests. 'tty. Ben,amin 'rcinas$ a man working in the 5B$ manipulated the media into thinking that he caught the true serial killer$ it may be true that he truly did want to catch the actual suspect$ but he let his ego cloud his ,udgment. 0e is a man with a past rooted in the slums and used his new found position and power to erase this memory of the past. 0e is also shown to have no sense of loyalty. #he book states that he was used to stabbing people in the back ,ust to get a promotion or a better ,ob. #he book also showed an instance where a mobile and medical clinic$ a free service to the people$ had the name of a politician across it. /one to ensure votes for  the following attention. #his is a practice that isn%t completely inaccurate in o ur country$ there have been issues where politicians placed their names on relief goods that were distributed to the victims of typhoon 7olanda #his novel$ a masterwork of )hilippine literature$ deals with timeless themes that aren%t relatable with 4ilipinos only$ but anyone with a mind and soul. #he themes on the human psyche

are expressed in a personal manner which ensures that everyone understands it$ while themes regarding the )hilippine government provided an unbiased insight into our country%s situation.