Sleep In Dogeaters

Final Paper Assignment

Sleep as a Symbol in Dogeaters

Within Jessica Hagedorn’s novel Dogeaters, a number of characters are represented or described to be sleeping or dreaming at different points in the novel. Characters sleeping within this novel can be interpreted as having different meanings or symbolizing different things. One of the characters that are “asleep” is Joey Sands. Joey’s sleep represents the state in which the average person in the Philippines is sedated by American culture. Daisy Avila is another one of the resident sleepers within the Filipino community. Daisy’s dreamlike or desire to dream are representative of a political awakeness that some of the Filipino people seem to lack in the wake of Marcos’ political power.

The first manner of using sleep as a symbol is the trope of sleeping and dreaming as a form of escape. This is represented through the character of Joey Sands who has had an incredibly difficult life. Joey was the son of a prostitute and an American GI as revealed to the reader when Joey first describes his mother (pg 42) and is later confirmed by someone requesting his services (pg 73). Up to this point Joey is known to have been abandoned as well as having to sell himself to keep himself alive all while being exploited by Uncle (pg 42 - 45). After witnessing the murder of Senator Avila, one of the local politicians, Joey still sees his life in a dream-like manner. He cannot come to terms what he has witnessed and continues to believe that it was just a scene from a movie. Joey’s thought process further demonstrates how Joey’s escape from the world he lives in is by thinking he is not there or by drugging himself to sleep (pg 188 -

When characters are denied sleep or unable to reach a point of sleep, it is usually a physical demonstration of realization of facts or facing a situation. In a similar manner to Joey Sands, Daisy Avila also represents the people of the Philippines, only in her case, she represents everyone including those in higher standards of living. While Joey was what can be described as the lower half of the socio-economic spectrum being that he was a prostitute and living off of what he made, Daisy is arguably on the other end. Daisy is a celebrity, and while many would argue that politics and celebrities have always seemed to mix, Daisy was a nonconforming outspoken voice that caused a lot of trouble for herself. After winning a beauty pageant and denouncing everything that the pageant meant, she became involved with a political opposition to the government in