ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY

Interdisciplinary Studies
Summer, AY 2020-2021

Reflection Paper

Name (Surname, First Name) : Salmorin, Alyana Faye E.

Course and Year : BSA – 1st yr
IDS Code and Schedule : 16-050 5:15P-7:05
Professor : OCDENARIA, JOSE MARIE
Reflection (One page only)
(Technicalities: 500-600 words; Single space, Book Antiqua-13)

In various ways, Kaye's strange world and behavior differ from the Community
Quarantines during the present pandemic. First of all, Kaye's strange world is a by-
product of the person's own decision or choice, while the current community
quarantine is a mandate from the national government to control the spread of Covid-
19. In other words, we have little choice on the matter compared to Kaye, who fully
embraced a secluded lifestyle. Kaye chose to be hidden from the outside world upon
realizing that this is really the kind of life she loves. Her statement supported this
when she said in response to her friend's inquiry about her reason for staying in her
room,

"I love these things... these stories, these songs-- because even the worst of them, in
their own way, are perfect. Better than a life of uncertainty... Or even if you don't
know what's going on, you know that there are underlying reasons for everything. All
these things are perfect flawed worlds. This room is my perfect flawed room."

This response from Kaye leads us to another reason for the difference of Kaye's
"strange world" to the situation during the present community quarantines. If we can
observe from Kaye's response, her situation is something that she loves. In fact, we
can see Kaye's passion for staying in her room by looking at her hobbies and activities
inside it. The friend narrated that most of her hobbies are intended to be done indoors,
such as listening to music, television, animated shows, reading, etc. Moreover, the text
also states that the friend had been visiting her for several months, indicating that
Kaye's inclination to her lifestyle is quite strong. In contrast, many people are
increasingly expressing their disappointment and hatred of the present pandemic.
Community quarantine is not something that people love. This love for isolation,
privacy, and separation from the outside world divides Kaye's strange world and
community quarantine during the pandemic.

Finally, another difference that I observed from Kaye's strange world is with regard to
the effect of her decision on her social relationship. Aside from the friend who kept
visiting Kaye, there seems to be no mention of other people in Kaye's life, although
Kaye once said within the text that she is contented with visits from several friends.
Unlike the negative effects of the present community quarantines on the social
relationships of many individuals, Kaye's relationship with her friend flourished.
Towards the end, the friend kept visiting her and even claimed that the "subterrania"
(referring to any space with lack of light and detached from the outside world such as
Kaye's room) had become their world; including him/herself (I am uncertain of the
friend's gender) in the phenomenon. Kaye, in the end, requested for the said friend
not to leave her, indicating how close they have grown because of the latter's visits.