In this life, we only have two possible destinations: to live or to die. Since we are living in a complex world, we are being injected into different tragic situations. It is only up to us how we are going to interpret to this situation. Kill or we’ll get killed, eat or we will be eaten.
La Loba Negra (The Black Wolf) is a novel that tells about the tragic death of a woman who turned into monster praising an Aztec God because of the tragic death of her husband and son. It is a twisted plot because at the first part of the novel, Luisa and her family live in luxury. Her husband is the new Governor-General of the Philippines and a well-respected man. Who would have thought that a fine lady that comes from a royal blood will turn out into a distorted woman?
On a sociological perspective, the first scene where I coined an idea that is connected to the youth’s current situation is the part where the new governor-general exits the court because of the unexpected arrival of an indio servant who carries message from the auditor general Torrabla. Right after, Fray Totanes grabs the chance of the governor’s disappearance to boast the church’s power over the state. It is somehow similar to the current attitude of youth of this generation. One minute, everyone is nice to each other and when one leaves after a minute, everyone talks about his/her wrongdoings and boasting themselves out. In short, it talks about dishonesty and betrayal.
The second scene that I can relate to a current situation is the scene after discovery of empty treasury and Governor-general Bustamante ordered incarceration of different state and religious officials to Intramuros. After that, the people conducted a religious demonstration procession. It seems like that the people are against the decision of the governor-general. It is just like the `narrow-minded people are against the enlighten one. Connecting it to the current situation of the society of youth, the new generation today seems to be angry of a face-slapping truth. They only believe what they want to believe. They love those who are pretend to be great but actually weak. They hate those who are true to themselves and express what is in their minds.
The third scene that I found interesting and can be connected to the youth at the same time is the transfiguration of Luisa into La Loba Negra after summoning the Aztec God Huitzilipochtli. She rejects her Christian background because of only one reason: Grief. After witnessing the brutal death of her husband and son, Luisa seems to lose her mind she became inferior. On a microsociology perspective, Luisa seems to be a representation of the youth who have undergone a depressing situation. After being hurt or deprived, the tendency for the youth is to repel themselves to others and changing their attitude.
The La Loba Negra is a novel of revenge and nationalism at the same time. Luisa can be all of us. There will be a point in our life that we will face a ground shaking situation that will change us, either into something better or something worse. We must strengthen our faith and we must not reject our belief. We might lose ourselves in the process.
In conclusion, answering the question: Are the concepts found in the novel still relevant to the Filipino youth? Yes, the concepts that I found in the novel is still evident in the everyday lives of Filipino youth. As a Filipino youth I, the only concept that is slowly fading in the present day is the essence of nationalism. We need to empower our love for our nation in order for us to be aware of the current standing of our country. We must protect our sovereignty just like what Luisa and Macatangay did because we are the living sovereignty of our country.
Sana all naga rizal na