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Ma. Elissa A. Pagulayan Dr. Isabelita CelestinoOFA31

PROJECT IN SOCIETY AND CULTURE:

Reaction forAlitaptap sa Gabing Mailap

Summary:

The play which we have watched last February 25, 2010 had the setting of a mental

institution where mentally incapable individuals reside for them to be cured or regain their

normal thinking capability. These institutions use different scientific practices in trying to cure

mentally ill individuals. The story was about a girl named Carandang, who was accused of being

mentally ill due to the series of killings that the police believe to be her liability. This includes

the fact that she killed her own boyfriend, and because of this, she was sent to a mental

institution headed by a very stern doctor, Dr. Santiago. There, she met other patients namely,

Capistrano, Julie, Big Mama, Nanay Ising, and the others. She was already accepted well by the

inhabitants right after coming in. There, she did a lot of unruly behavior violating the norms of

the institution including talking back to Dr. Salvador and even using cigarettes inside the ward.

Corresponding sanctions was then given to her by Dr. Salvador. She learned the reasons why the

other patients were brought inside the ward. After sometime, she finally got sick of the

implementations of the ward that does no good in making them become better but only makes

them worse. She got really angry thus, getting herself seriously drugged by the doctors to restrain

her. But then, Big Mama, her closest companion in the ward, suffocated her with a pillow so she

can rest in eternal peacefulness.

Reaction:

The out-of-the-ordinary play was quite a shock to me when I watched it. It was the first

time that I saw a play with such a tragic ending. But then I realized, it has a deep meaning when

you try to relate it to our society. The strict implementations of rules in the institution by Dr.

Salvador represent the unruly governance of our leaders today. They try to maintain a society

wherein they will be the ones who will make the decisions and use the people just to further

increase their power. Carandangs fierce attitude on trying to stand up for other inhabitants of the

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ward, represent some of our countrymen who try to fight for what is right and just for the

Filipinos.

In relation to Deviance, Carandangs behavior of violating the rules of the ward can be

considered a Deviance. Since one nature of Deviance states that it is a socially bestowed label,

the rules that she violated are actually what the group defined as rules which are not to be

violated. Thus, violating it makes her a deviant. On the other hand, the reason why Carandang

did all these violations maybe because of the strain that she experienced. Her success goal is only

to have a simple life with her boyfriend. But after seeing him cheat on her, she killed him. The

strain of knowing that her boyfriend cheated on her made her deviate. The same thing also

applies to the other inhabitants of the ward. Since almost all of them experienced strain from the

society, they deviate and ended up in the mental institution. The sanctions given by Dr. Salvador

to Carandang and the other inhabitants, represent the Social Control to ensure that all residents of

the ward follow the custom. It is a concrete example of a Formal Social Control since the one

who implements it is a Doctor, which is considered an authority.