Historical-Biographical Analysis on "A Child of Sorrow"

The novel "A Child of Sorrow" by Zoilo Galang

Biography

Zoilo Galang was born in Bacolor on 27 June 1895 and his young life was spent in that bucolic town, famed for its writers and artists. He went to school at the Bacolor Elementary School and then went to Manila to study at the Escuela de Derecho, the country’s eminent law school where he graduated in 1919. A self-starter, he learned typing and stenography in English and Spanish all by himself. Attracted to the English language, he took special courses at the University of the Philippines in 1925, then went to Columbia University for further studies in Literature.

          He was soon writing books of fiction, biography and philosophy, and his output was prodigious. His early poems saw print on the Kapampangan paper, “E Mangabiran". He authored “A Child of Sorrow”, the first English novel written by a Filipino. This was later made into a movie in 1930. Other notable works include "Nadia", "For Dreams Must Die", "Springtime", "Leaders of the Philippines", "Glimpses of the World", "Life and Success", "Master of Destiny", "Unisophy" and "Barrio Life".

          But his greatest opus undoubtedly is the Encyclopedia of the Philippines, which began as a 10 volume set when first printed. Galang himself, edited and wrote entries for the book set which covered Philippine literature, biography, commerce and industry, art, education, religion, government, science, history and builders of the new Philippines. The Encyclopedia of the Philippines came with a general information and index.

         A second edition, destroyed by fire, was published in 1948. So positive was the response to Galang’s work that the encyclopedia project was expanded to 20 volumes in a later 1949 printing. There has been no new printing since 1958.

Summary

It was summertime in April when Lucio and Camilo had prepared for their give way and went to Merry town, where they notice lots of joy in frank things. Lucio also erudite some traits or personalities of some mickle in Merry town. Like how a Governor Pancho Ismael can be so screw up or how an Oscar Ramirez be an intelligent yet selfish guy, that he did not have any hatred because he met a Rosa Garcia who was beautiful interior and out.

           After Lucio's meeting with Rosa, he developed a judgement for her, something he cannot describe, and something he hasn't experienced before.  After a hardly (prenominal) days, Lucio met Rosa again, confessing his feelings for her, and they've become partners afterwards Rosa said that she matte the same way. Lucio spent close of his time with Rosa when he was at Merry town but, the time came that his vacation in Merry town was over and he needed to go back to his provincial town.  It was very(prenominal) hard for Rosa and Lucio but he promised that he would not forget her and he would be back when he knows he may not be able to leave.  At first, Lucio got very blue and lifeless after his separation, but then, with some with Rosa, both Lucio and Rosa was able to accept that Lucio has to leave with the promise to not forget about her and to think about her all the time. The separation caused the two  sorrows beyond word-description. Though far away from each other, the two tried to keep in touch by sending letters to one another. Time passed and Lucio grew to be a fine, young man. He was the man looked up to in his town for alertness of mind and calmness of disposition for he was  a born leader.

  
          Lucio was elected president of The Rising Generation and continued to spur to greater heights. One day, Lucio received an invitation from Rosa to attend their Garden day and it was the first time the two saw sight of each other after the summer vacation of Lucio has ended. Again, Lucio marveled at the beauty of Rosa. The governor treted hm coldly but he paid no mind to it. What is important to him is his Rosa sitting beside him. The two enjoyed the time while they are together for they know that they will again part ways.

          Oscar confessed his love for Rosa to Governor Pancho Ismael, who is Rosa's father and wished to be married to her. The next day, it was announced that Rosa will be married to Oscar. The news reached Lucio But Rosa denied it. She is not willing to marry any man unless it is Lucio. Rosa tried her best to not be wedded to Oscar but Oscar Sexually harassed her, leaving her no choice. Dignity and purity is the most important thing for an individual especially to a lady like Rosa and that is what Oscar took away from her.

         Lucio felt very broken and was enraged upon hearing the news but he know he can do nothing about it. " what is past is past. Let us now consider the present. That's the only way we can live happily--- by burning the bridges of the unfortunate past behind us and looking ahead with glowing hopes. 

         Rosa knew, by that time, who her father is and wrote a letter to Lucio saying that no matter what happens he will always be her one and only true love; that only Lucio makes her live and that she will remember always and will cherish all their memories. Lucio told himself that f he failed in love, he'll be successful in something else. That was his determination. Lucio endured all injury done against him and little by little his sorrows vanished and recovered from the shock. Time healed all wounds but the scars are still there.

         While Lucio is trying his best to move-on from Rosa, Rosa on the other hand does the opposite. Though married to Oscar, it is Lucio who she's thinking all the time. After several years, it is still him and will always be him. The marriage of Rosa to Oscar did not go well that caused Rosa to be sick. Time came that Rosa was dying and she summoned Lucio to come visit her.  Lucio answered to the summon and went to Rosa. Rosa then died at the arms of the man she truly loves.

          The novel ended by seeing Lucio at the grave of Rosa still lamenting and and reading a letter to her and by the people pointing to him saying, "There is the child of sorrow". 

Analysis

“I wish to depict conditions as they exist and reflect them in my writings. In fact, "A Child of Sorrow" is a fragmentary page of real life, with a distinct morale and personality.”

Such were the first two sentences in the preface of Zoilo Galang’s “A Child of Sorrow,” the first English novel by a Filipino writer. By and through this, indeed, the masterpiece mirrors the life and times of the author and the history that goes along with the lapse of his existence. Unlike JK Rowling who is fixated in writing fantastic novels, Galang lets his pen shed the ink of reality as it exist. As he said, “There is no doubt but that we are all after truth and sincerity, and not dream and fantasy.”

As desired by Galang, love is the main theme of the novel.  Aside from the fact that his chosen theme was within the social context, and the economic and political life of people, his decision on the novel’s theme was greatly influenced by the Sentimentalist Movement in Europe dating back mid-18th to 19th century. Centered on feelings and emotions, physical appreciation of God, nature and other people, rather than logic and reason, this European ideology hugely affected not only the literary taste of Galang but also the majority of classical scribes

This novel starring Lucio and Rosa was set in one of the rural and sequestered plains of Central Luzon, called the Fertile Valley. The place, without doubt, refers to the Galang’s town of origin, Bacolor, Pampanga, one of the provinces of the region Central Luzon. Being that the rustic town is located in the Rice Granary of the Philippines, it was described as “where the rice fields yielded the cup of joy to the industrious farmers, and where the harvest filled aplenty the barns of the poor.”

The time Zoilo spent dwelling in the rural town of Bacolor, Pampanga clearly defines the plain life of the novel’s protagonist, Lucio. Zoilo’s way of living portrays the milieu in which the novel happens. Lucio’s journey from the Spanish regime to the spring time of Filipinos’ cognitive supremacy in Commonwealth period, as well as the dull farm living in Fertile Valley and Merry Town, tours the readers to the time of Zoilo Galang. It allows “them to live through his thinking, beliefs, culture, and code of ethics albeit for a short period of time.” Moreover, unveiling the usually rustic and conservative kind of romance, Galang has shown that during that time Filipinos were traditionalist and old-fashioned.

It was said in Galang biography that the bucolic town where he came from is the haven of writers and artists. Unsurprisingly, Galang has gotten a knack in writing. In the novel, this fact was revealed by Lucio Soliman, who happens to be an avid scribe.

Mimetic Analysis on "The Lady and Her Five Suitors"

STORY SUMMARY

A lady’s lover is put into jail. To get him out she invites all the important people of state to her house. The Kazi, Wali, Wazir and King are tricked into her home as they all desire her. She gets the Wali write a release note for her lover. They are put into a cabinet because they each time fear the next one to be the lady’s husband. The carpenter is locked up because he has a dispute with the lady over the size of the cabinet. The lady leaves the city with her lover. The five suitors are released by the neighbours after urinating on each other.

The wife of a merchant loves a man when her husband is away. One day this man is cast into prison because of a quarrel he had. The woman clads herself in the most beautiful clothes and goes to magistrate. She brings a paper to testify against the imprisonment of her ‘brother’. The magistrate immediately falls in love with her. He will let him go if she comes to his house, but she invites the Wali to hers. He accepts. Then she goes to the Kazi telling of a Wali who has imprisoned her brother. The Kazi falls in love with her and promises her to let him go. She also invites him to her house. Then she goes to the Wazir asking for the release of her brother. The Wazir want to have his will on her and he is also invited to her home.  Finally she goes to the King of the city. After telling her story he is pierced with the arrows of love. He invites her to his palace, but she says he would do much more honour entering her home. The lady goes to a carpenter to ask him to make a cabinet with five compartments, each with a door for locking up. Next she lets four gowns be dyed and prepares food and drink.

The Kazi comes first to her home and he is put on one of the gowns. After a while there is a tapping on the door and the lady says it is her husband and takes the Kazi to the lowest compartment to hide him. When she opens the doors there is the Wali. She asks him to write a letter to free her ‘brother’ from the gaol which he does. He is asked to put on the second gown. Then there is another tapping on the door and again she says it is her husband. The Wali is put into the second compartment. When she opens the door it is the Wazir, they play a bit with each other and he is given the third gown. Then there is another knock on the door. She puts the Wazir in the third compartment and opens the door. The King has arrived and after some talk desires her. His rich robes are exchanged for the fourth gown. But another knocking is at the door. She again says it is her husband and locks the King up in the fourth compartment. The carpenter enters her house. She tells him the top compartment is too strait. The carpenter disagrees and to prove himself goes into the fifth compartment, upon which she closes it. Then the lady goes to the treasurer with the letter the Wali wrote to release her lover. They both leave the city.

Meanwhile the five in the cabinet stayed within for three days wthout food or drink. They cannot hold their water and urinate over each other. When they complain they know who the others are in the cabinet, except for the King, because he remains silent. Then the neighbours break into the house to see what is going on in the house. When they see the cabinet with the voices coming out they fear there is are Jinni inside it and want to set the thing on fire. But the Kazi screams not to. They are released and shown in the attires the lady prepared for them.

ANALYSIS

As this piece is a component story of the literary compilation Arabian Nights, it is needless to say then that “The Lady and her Five Suitors” is about a faithless woman.

In the poem the unnamed wife of a merchant has fallen in love with a young man when his husband was in a distant place, maybe to search for a greener pasture. This scenario mirrors the reality that women (and also men) find it easy to cheat on their partners while the latter are out of sight. While it can be the best time to show that love knows no distance, some take it as an opportunity to betray their partners. Maybe cheating in this case is an effect of loneliness but, yes, it can’t always be a valid reason. Somehow, it shows that distance between two hearts is what reveals the gravity of faithfulness toward each other.

As I said in the previous paragraph, the married lady fell in love with a young man. The using of the adjective ‘young’ to describe the man who caught the lady’s heart makes it imperative that theirs was a May-December affair. Being that the lady has already tied the knot with someone, we can say that she is way older than the young man. This pretty much happens in real life. Age is not an issue anymore. The sight of an old man tickling his teen-aged girl (or otherwise) has become normal in the society we breathe on. If you love someone, the question ‘how old are you’ is not brought up anymore, like it’s love – love all the way.

Now, it was told in the story that the young man has been put into jail and the lady, desperately wanting her beau to get out of prison, invited all the important people of the state to her house. The Kazir, Wali, Wazir and King (the big four) are tricked into her home as they all want, and she has gotten the Wali write a release letter for her lover. The lady, as it appears, is a believer of the proverb, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Especially that the one who is involved in the problem is a loved one, the lady does all she can do – already becoming deviant – for the release of the young man. It happens in real life when people are in a situation where they are running out of options, thus what becomes viable are the most extreme ones. Truth be told, sometimes, if they are sandwiched with myriad problems that involve the ones they love, what becomes their resort is doing crimes, usually stealing. Moreover, the lady in the story has used her charm to lure his lustful preys, the big four, and, again, it does happen in the chaotic world of reality.

Also projected in the story is the physical attraction among men. All four of them have found their way to the lady’s home as her beauty has captivated them all. I might be stereotyping but most men are like that. Beauty matters.

And so there it goes. I might have missed to point out something, but that’s all – at least for me.