American imperialism
During her career as a writer, Paz Marquez-Benitez wrote short stories critical of American Imperialism. Paz is most known by her short story "Dead Stars" (1925) in which the two main characters are displayed as allegories to American imperialism in order to portray the slow decay of Philippine heritage. Her only other known published work is "A Night in the Hills" (1925). Even though she had only two published works her writings would be regarded as the first steps of Philippine literature moving into the mainstream.