1. How does the disoriented youth put up with their sense of loss?
The disoriented youth put up with their sense of loss by sharing the same feeling together that they would never be anybody. They took endless walks along the seawall, played cards, sat around in outdoor restaurant tables talking about Existentialism, Progressive Jazz, Virginia Woolf, reincarnation and free love, watched the sun go down, then walk home sadder than ever before. It was clearly described in the introduction of the story that they were the typical tambays of their generation, with no sense of direction. They were still trying their wings because they were young and unknown.
2. Why is Inday both loved and disliked? Cite situations to prove your point.
Inday was the representation of the youth itself back then, and she still is even today. I think that she was loved because of her audacious, extrovert and rebellious attitude. She is the kind of girl that looks, speaks and acts alright on the outside, but actually really bitter, hurt and empty in the inside. Her past experiences in life probably molded her into that type of person. Most of the youth relate to her and feel as if they are going through what had happened to her. Another indicator that she was loved was when her friends wept, prayed and became religious, hoping that they could push her up in the purgatory. They never left Inday through the good times and bad despite her thoughtlessness, imperfections and shortcomings. When Inday decided to be good on the morning of her sister's wedding, just hours before she died, the narrator hugged her because of much awe. Inday was disliked because she was a chain smoker, a picture of injured innocence, and a bright girl but refused to study. She deflated her friends by saying many careless, cruel things and never really cared about what other people thought of her. They tolerated her because the narrator did.
3. What is the effect of the untimely death of Inday to the rest of her friends?
The untimely death of Inday gave her friends a complete grasp on the reality of life. They are not getting any younger, and not knowing which path to take in their lives will both make them and break them; make them live up to that sense of loss forever, break them into useless, shattered pieces of glass in the society. It served as their wake up call to get real, no more fooling around and about time to ask themselves, "Is this really the life I want to live?" It granted them the turning point of wanting to live their lives to the fullest according to their chosen destiny. Sometimes, I think that it is quite peculiar why people change only when something unfortunate had happened already. It really makes me wonder. Why? Why did someone have to die in order for us to change for the better? I don't know. I guess that is the mystery of life.
