A Symbolic Look on Beast Charmings
BOOK COVER SYMBOLISM
• Black and white suit and tie
The traditional colors for mourning and funeral are black and white across almost all cultures and places. Ganito rin ang uniform ng mga lalaking Charmings.
• Calla Lily
Lily or calla lily to be specific (the one in the book cover) especially the white one signifies restored innocence of the soul before departing for the afterlife. Kaya nga tinutulungan ng Charmings ang mga beast clients nila para mafulfill ng mga ito ang mga unfinished business nila, lalo na iyong mga may kasalanan (Father Piccolo from Act of Contrition for instance) because they have to redeem themselves from sins through confessions and asking for forgiveness. It also means resurrection and rebirth or reincarnation which was their main belief about the afterlife.
• Beast Charmings
I designed the title that way because I was thinking of supernatural creatures and I have decided to use 'beasts' as a collective term for them. Charmings also gives me a fairytale-like vibe and thus presenting its relation to the back stories of each beast client to some of the fairy tales we loved with social issues as modern twists.
FIGURATIVE SYMBOLISM
• Names of the Charmings
I have shared this earlier on my Facebook page but let me do it again here. The names of the characters were inspired from fairy tales as well. Apparently, Rumplestle from the titular character Rumpelstiltskin, Alladean from the titular character Aladdin also, and Snowbelle from Snow White and Belle combo. Quinnellssey is a word play of Queen Elsa (Frozen) and Tuttieana from Tiana (Princess and the Frog).
• Descents of the Charmings
As you all know, the Charmings are half- Filipinos and another half of various descents. Rum is half- British, Dean is half- Indian, Queen's half- Italian, Snow's half- American, and Tutti's half- Chinese. Actually, I connected Tutti, Dean, and Rum's descent based on history since history is something that really interest me. India during the period of the British Raj was placed under the British rule. Ang Singapore (a Chinese country) naman was part of the British Crown Colony before. To put it simply, na-colonized ng mga Briton ang dalawang bansa. Kina Snow (America) and Queen (Italy) binase ko lang din siya sa history pero hindi sila exactly in way na connected. Pinagpalagay ko lang ang ugnayan nila sa European invasion sa Latin America. Let's say ginawa kong representative ng European country si Italy na sinakop naman ang America.
Knowing that invasion and colonization aren't always rainbows and butterflies, they're dreadful and mostly bloody, I put them altogether and applied it to the characterization of the Charmings to support and promote the idea that despite their differences and histories, they and others too can still live in peace and work together.
• Charmings symbolize five various social issues
Isa rin 'to sa mga pinag-isipan ko nang todo haha. All the five Charmings represent social issues and I will do a breakdown in this chapter:
1. SNOW- Rape and victim-blaming, the most obvious social issue in this story. Odd as it may sound but I portrayed how women are being blamed for being raped and it's frustrating me because I still don't understand what's up with people for doing that. Instead of helping them recover, they are dragging the victims to the pit of despair even more. You know, they blamed Sir Gareth (the rapist) too but the degree of how bad they judged and how poor their verdict towards Snow was of another level.
2. QUEEN- not really directed to Queen but to her Ate Anna, using wealth to cause someone else's demise (Dahlia's gang rape and murder case). The rich always gets away with murder and other evil deeds, especially in an incompetent and unfair justice system. This issue keeps on oppressing the poor. Itinuturing ng mga ganitong klase ng elitista na para bang may fixed price ang hustisya. If you have money then let's consider it a case closed.
3. DEAN- passion vs. practicality. Let me quote Tutti's line to explain this: "Our society teaches more on being practical but less on being passionate. It's sad because there are a lot of professionals out there who are successful yet unhappy".
You see, Dean chose Civil Engineering instead of taking Physical Education which his heart belongs to just because his parents thought of being a PE teacher isn't something they will gonna be proud of and it's less of a profession. It's sad because our mentality need not to be like that. Ang daming mga doktor ngayon na ang talagang gusto ay maging isang alagad ng sining but they are afraid to pursue that just because the society deemed those as impractical for living and thus unsupportive of them. There's nothing really wrong with pursuing our passion. Yes, at the end of the day, we need money to survive but it's doing what we love that will keep us truly happy and alive.
PS. If you are an incoming college student and still having doubts on pursuing your passion, then this is the sign you are looking for. Do what you love to do and reach for your dreams because it's as valuable as gold! Let me quote my favorite line from Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist to give you an inspiration: "Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure".
4. TUTTI- she represents child labor and violence against children. Isa sa mga universal human rights ay ang pag-aalaga sa mga bata. Bagay na hindi nagawa ng nanay ni Tutti sa kanya. She made her join an underground fight for children, destroying her stuffs for school just so she would stop studying, and many many horrible things a child doesn't deserve to go through. She also signifies the illegal recruitment of children as proxy soldiers, especially in the Middle East wherein civil and other form of wars are prevalent.
5. RUM- his was just hinted in the story but not completely disclosed. Although a successful case, he represents schizophrenia and the stigma surrounding the people with the said mental condition. If you remember, his mother abandoned him because of it kasi hindi siya nito matanggap. Rum met Tutti in the hospital where he promised that he will do everything to recover from it. As you see, he's completely not fine because he has triggers and episodes and his are worse than those of Coco. Malaki ang tendency ni Rum na manakit kapag inatake siya ng kanya unlike Coco na nagiging catatonic. He's totally out of his mind kapag hindi siya napipigilan. Rum's back story and truths will be revealed more in the second book.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. May special chapter po ba?
- YES, SO PLEASE STANDBY. Marami pa kayong dapat malaman. 🧡
2. May book two po ba ang Beast Charmings?
- YES! It's entitled Beast Charmings: In Service of the Dead. It will be composed of 30+ chapters only and I had it all planned in my head from start to finish so stay tuned for more updates on my Facebook page Illinoisdewriter's Republic.
3. Ano pong mayro'n sa book 2? Spoil po kayo nang slight please!
- Book 2 will reveal more secrets, present more social issues, introduce new characters and beasts, and may magkakaroon ng comeback (parang K-pop lang haha). Sa imagination ko, mas challenging ang services nila this time because of the new villains. Dito rin ma-iintroduce ang mga leads ng story kong "Family of Exorcists" and "Tadhana's Night Moving Agency". Anak kasi ng mga charas sa BC2 ang bibida naman doon haha.
4. Ang Charmings pa rin po ba ang mga bida o iba na?
- Sila pa rin! Hindi naman magkakaroon ng book 2 kung hindi ako na-attached nang sobra sa Charmings 😭. Mahal na mahal ko silang lima kaya extended ang kwento nila. 🧡
5. Why should we read Hotel Grimm?
- Para hindi masyadong masakit ang book 2 ng Beast Charmings hahaha
6. Sabi niyo po may koneksyon ang Hotel Grimm at Beast Charmings, ano po 'yon?
- That's for me to know and for you to find out haha
7. Kailan niyo po isusulat ang book 2?
- After Hotel Grimm and most probably Alapaap hehe.
8. Bakit ang tagal naman po?
- You see, I have intricate plots because my weakness is doing the simple ones. Gusto ko talaga iba 'yong akin kaya patuloy ako sa pag-eexperiment and I want my stories to be informative and transformative at the same time. I have to search for facts because I really really want you to learn something from me even though that this is a fantasy story. Lahat nang sinusulat ko ay pinag-aaralan kong maigi kasi ayoko kayong biguin. I read a lot of articles, watch documentaries and movies, listen to current events, and study news stories so that I can give you something worth your time and worth learning and appreciating for. Aside from my studies since I have a scholarship to keep (and currently on my thesis proposal), I want to take a break from this. I want to breathe for awhile. I have been so exhausted. Feeling ko naubos ako laytch sa pagsusulat ng Beast Charmings huhu. Mag-iipon muna ako ng brain cells at kasipagan saka time para masulat ko ang book 2, so that I can proudly and confidently present it to you in its best version. I hope you still wait for it. Isusulat ko naman siya kaso hindi pa sa ngayon.
I hope you give my other stories a chance too because I promised you they won't disappoint, lalo na kung ang tunay mong hanap ay kwentong puno ng aral. Hotel Grimm is about mistakes, second chances at life, and forgiveness whilst Alapaap is about family struggles and faith in God. Plus, I can assure you that they will have the conventional happy ending hehe. They will teach you something valuable for life.
Thank you so much for reading this and appreciating Beast Charmings. It's been a tough journey but you didn't leave me alone. Please know that I am beyond grateful for that. Standby for the special chapter entitled Alapaap. Mahal ko kayo, Charmings! 🧡✨
Nagmamahal,
Illinoisdewriter✨