CNF Online Journal 2: “Wilfredo Pascual’s Animalia”

We often see our kind on a higher level. We always think that for some reason, we are better than anything else in the world, when in fact, we share the same traits. Most of the time, we really are not different. We just express things in a different way. In Wilfredo Pascual’s “Animalia”, we get to think about how humans and animals are not different.

“Animalia” is a collection of essays that compares human experiences with animal instincts. The First person point of view was used to give the text the “human” part. It helped the text convey its meaning, as well as make it more meaningful. As the text wanted to take over our emotions, the subjective approach was used. It helped the readers relate to the text and make them realize what the text is trying to point out- that we people are not different from animals.

Each essay on the collection had a point Pascual wanted to share. This collection consisted of eight essays.

1. Never be silenced.

This reminds us to not agree to being silenced. Many people suffer from injustices just because of being silenced. Everyone should be able to speak their truths out to be heard by everyone. We should not be content with what we experience and normalize them. We know that what we have right now is not what we deserve and we deserve better. We are not to be silenced in any way possible. We should be able to speak up no matter how loud or voice will be.

2. Normalize not being a heterosexual.

This essay is all about the author’s sexual awakening. It also showed how easily we could manipulate the sex of a fish. The author wanted to say that putting yourself outside the heterosexual box is normal. Applying it to fish we eat even proves something to the people, but they do not realize it. Being part of the LGBTQIA+ community is not bad. People just want to express themselves freely with no judgement and holding back. People have the free will to love whoever they want. No one should be able to hinder anyone from loving.

3. Bigger and smaller things exist.

Humans are very selfish beings. We take credit for most of the things life has given us even though we just labeled them. We deem ourselves as the most important being that lives on the planet, when in fact, we are just more civilized animals. We always put ourselves first. This could be seen through the tiniest issue that eventually became the greatest problem humans have ever faced- global warming. At first, we do not see its effect. We continued living the advanced and technologic life and forget about its long-term effects. Until now, people still think that global warming is not real. It is, and it will drown you if you do not do anything about it.

4.There is no cure for karma.

In this essay, the author talked about how his father ran a business with a specialty in serving dog meat. It also talked about their family dog, Bracky. After a year of doing this business, his father was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). It is very ironic to serve the man’s best friend in a restaurant, right? People could harm or kill even the most loyal beings in the world. With desperation, they even sought help from a faith healer. But even the faith healer cannot cure it. How can a stray dog find its home? The author wants us to be mindful of what we do to others because we do not know what consequence would be given to us.

5. There is no place like home.

Yes, how cheesy it may sound. Home is our safe space. It is where we can be whoever we want to be. It may not always apply to everyone. Maybe you have not found yours yet. However old or how many things you have inside your head or thinking of, you still know how to go home, and it will always be something to look forward to.

6. There is really no right or wrong way.

The author talked about how pigeons could have a map of the magnetic landscape could be true and Australian silvereyes going in different directions in correspondence to light. People try to map out everything they do because we try to weigh what benefits us better. What we do not see is whatever we choose, we still gain something. Sometimes, we just have to trust what our gut is trying to say.

7. We live in different worlds.

Everyone, including me, has their own bubble. In that bubble is where our true identities, our true self, lives. Each bubble hosts different beliefs, although these beliefs may be similar to others, these bubbles are still different. Even though we have our own bubbles, we also want to be part of someone else’s. We want to be able to connect to other people. We want to understand how others feel and how to be in their shoes. We want to be able to relate with each other to understand each other better.

8. Even the simplest things are enjoyable.

The author wanted us to enjoy the simple things in life. Happiness can be seen everywhere. Sometimes, it is just in our memories. We just have to recall it. We must learn to appreciate the little things that life gives us. No matter how small they may be, we must embrace and understand them.

Humans and animals share the same experiences. Like animals, people are killed on a daily basis and the irony on that comes from who are the killers- people. We kill our own kind. If that is the case, we really are not that different from animals. We want love and affection, loyalty, and kindness as the bare-minimum we want from someone. Well, guess what, they also want those. Animals can even be more loyal to people than people themselves. The way this statement exists just proves that we, people, can have more animalistic behavior compared to animals. We are prone to much more evils in life, which makes us more violent. We can kill because of envy. We can die because of hatred. Humans are more like animals preying off people they loathe.