Reva And Checkers Essay

Moving to America was the biggest choice Reva and Checkers had to make in order to better themselves and their careers. They both had major realizations on who they wanted to become and were quite shocked at where they ended up by the end of “Monstress”. A major theme that continuously reintroduces itself in the book of short stories Monstress mostly pertains to a person or family’s shift from the Philippines to America, California in specific, and how they adjust and adapt to their new environment and cultures. In the first short story “Monstress” Reva and Checkers are aspiring to be bigger and more successful in the movie industry. In Manila, there is little opportunity for improvement in directing and acting beyond where they currently are,

On the other hand, Reva was quite skeptical of what was going to happen. She did not seem enthusiastic about anything, and was not comfortable living in an area that she is unfamiliar with. With their attitudes being opposites, it is likely that Tenorio did not want Reva and Checkers to agree on what was going to happen once they entered America. Once they were accustomed to Hollywood longer, their personality shift became quite obvious and easily recognizable in their characters. Reva seemed to realize that she was able to do more than she thought that she was capable of, in accordance with acting and being famous. Conversely, Checkers seems to begin to lose faith in himself when he realizes that Reva was becoming a better actress, and more popular than him around the set and with the crew. Tenorio uses the fact that Reva was becoming enthralled with her surrounding to transform the way that she acted throughout the rest of the story. When Checkers seemed to notice the difference in her, he seemed to want to change as well and almost go back to things as they were before. The most influential line by Checkers is when he states, “On film…everything looks real” (Tenorio 12). This is the point where a major shift occurred in both characters. Checkers began to realize that Hollywood was not as glamorous as it was perceived to be, and Reva realized her true potential. Ever since this point in “Monstress”, Tenorio did not focus on anything except every little detail about how each of the characters was feeling. In doing this he easily shows the growth and development of why each character made certain decisions. One of the most important decisions in “Monstress” was when Checkers went back to Manila and left Reva alone in Hollywood. This was preceded by Reva slapping Checkers and scratching his face. The slap was a pivotal point for the characters. This is