Gi Gayera Comments

The muses must have been near me the day I set out to write “Gi Gayera” because in a matter of a few hours I had a work that I was proud to call mine, despite its flaws. In the weeks leading up to that fateful day, I had been considering ways I could infuse my Chamorro soul into my stories. Additionally, that kind of work was exactly what Professor Schriener encouraged; he always pushed us to give Guam a literature of its own. With these influences, it was just a matter of time before I wrote something that was undeniably local. Yet, even I didn’t know what that could mean exactly. That’s why I was glad for the day I walked into class and heard an incredible retelling of an ancient Chamorro legend in this creative writing seminar.  The story worked around themes of family and community, which have perennially been central to the Chamorro people. With my classmate's vivid words as the paintbrush and my fluid imagination as the colors, I envisioned her story with ease.  I’m glad I wasn’t late that day, because when I left the class after hearing the entire story, I was ready to write my contribution to Chamorro literature.

             With “Gi Gayera” the clichéd phrase, “write what you know” was the rule. My father raises roosters for sport, and I can’t imagine a time when I didn’t hear the incessant cry of a rooster in the early morning hours of the day. Though I don’t raise roosters my self, I did help my father spar them. And of course, I followed him to the gayera. Even on my first trip, I was able to tell that the gayera was a masculine place. The arena was a place where men gathered with other men to place bets on two male animals killing each other. The first time I ever watched the two animals dance with death, I felt a momentary twinge of pity and sorrow. Yet, I kept that inside and hardened my heart, because the gayera was not the place for that. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want the gayera shut down. I loved the gayera. I loved the time I was able to spend with my father and uncles. I loved being part of a tradition that has been on Saipan (and the Marianas) for hundreds of years. And I did have that typical boyish excitement in watching a fight. However, knowing what I now know about masculinity and the pit falls of following one prescribed type of masculinity, I can’t help but look towards the gayera when I want to comment on certain masculine qualities.

            “Gi Gayera” was really my attempt at applying what I learned in my adolescent psychology class. I had been reading a book called Raising Cane and it opened my eyes towards gender issues that boys face each day. According to Raising Cane, society encourages boys to be stoic, tough, aggressive, closed off, etc, much to the detriment of a boy’s emotional literacy. I hope readers will notice that I worked to include some of those traits and more into my rooster character. The aim of this story was to be able to give guys a work they could relate to. I’m not sure if my work will come across as a statement against stereotyped masculinity. In fact, I don’t know how readers will interpret the work. But to be clear, I never had any kind of radical agenda to change gender stereotypes while writing this story.  I just wanted other guys to enjoy the piece.

I decided to write it from the rooster’s point of view because I knew it would be exciting for boys to read. Too often, boys don’t have stories they find engaging. As I’ve already stated, the giyera was more than enough to engage me. I just took that excitement and tried to transform it to story mode. Unfortunately, excitement needs tension, and I'm not sure I achieve the right amount of it in "Gi Gayera."  Although Write Like the Masters has taught me to build tension by hinting at events to come, tension has still proven difficult for me to procure. I tried to create tension in the scene where my narrator is lying in the dirt waiting to get his head pecked. That is why "every blade of sakåte silenced itself;" I was hoping readers would get the feeling the end is near.  However, my skill has yet to match my intention.
Despite not having strong enough tension, I did have fun with this piece. For my writing style, the rooster was the natural choice to make. I enjoyed letting my mind be free. It was a challenge capturing the emotions of a being whose sole purpose in life was to die or kill. I had to place myself in the perspective of a being who had no use for love and was never going to be loved. And I needed to do all of that within the context of growing up as boy.

I can say without a doubt this is my favorite, and best, piece. I think it deserves a 90%