Recurring Themes
There were repeating themes in Wag Kang Lilingon that tied the two stories of Angel and Melissa.
- 3 AM. In Uyayi, the killings and the strange happenings occurred at 3 in the morning. The time relates to the deaths of Angel, Rosing and Trixie, in Salamin, which occurred around 3 AM. Melissa's repressed memories caused her to kill people and the ghosts haunting the hospital were actually manifestations of her own guilt. Additionally, Melissa only killed male patients because she associated them with the man that butchered her family. Melissa's hostility toward men may also stem from memories of her father leaving them for his mistress, which led them to relocate, thus indirectly contributing her family's murder.
- The humming tune. In the basement where Melissa kills James, she hums a tune reminiscent of the "Mockingbird" lullaby. This is explained in Salamin, when Nestor was pursuing Nina/Melissa towards the attic, he was humming the same tune.
- Man Trouble. It seems that the women in Nina/Melissa's family lacks the ability to inspire loyalty from their men. Rosing, her mom, was abandoned by their father in favor of his mistress. Angel's troubled relationship with her boyfriend stems from his promiscuousness. The strain between Nina/Melissa and James' relationship took root when Nina/Melissa learned of James' other failed relationship and maybe spurred on by her own insecurities that he may be (if not already) unfaithful, just as her father was with her mother and her sister's boyfriend was with Angel.
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Famous quotes related to recurring themes:
“America is the world’s living myth. There’s no sense of wrong when you kill an American or blame America for some local disaster. This is our function, to be character types, to embody recurring themes that people can use to comfort themselves, justify themselves and so on. We’re here to accommodate. Whatever people need, we provide. A myth is a useful thing.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)