26

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents the analysis and interpretation of data gathered from

this study. The presentation of the problems was presented sequentially as follows:

Table 1. Character Portrayal of the Fathers based on Psychological

Probability

Psychological Probability
Characters
(Verisimilitude and Plausibility)

The main character Mario, in the end,

Mario in “The World is An Apple” was forced to choose a path that he has
long promised not to walk through again
because of poverty.

Because of his family’s hunger and

Pablo in the “Rice” starvation, Pablo was left with no choice
but to steal rice even though it is not what
he thinks is right.

Benigno in the “May Pangako As a father, he feels useless because he

Ang Bukas” cannot find a decent job being an ex-
convict. His decision was to go in his
old ways, stealing.

The Psychological Probability of Mario in “The World is an Apple”

______He is a father in the story who is torn between living a life of honesty and

poverty and a life of dishonesty and comfort. Mario’s family happened to be

living in the lower bracket of the society. The play begins with a detailed

description of the setting, the characters’ dwelling place:

 27

An improvised home behind a portion of the Intramuros walls. Two

wooden boxes flank the doorway. At left is an acacia tree with a
modern bench under it. Mario enters from the street at left. He is in
his late twenties, shabbily dressed, and with hair that seems to have
been uncut for weeks. He puts his lunch bag on the bench, sits down,
removes his shoes, and puts them beside his lunch bag. (p.242)

From the setting itself, the character’s life is visualized through the image

of their dwelling place and presuppose the quality of life the characters live. The

line“An improvised home behind a portion of the Intramuros walls” tells that this

home is hidden behind the Intramuros walls. The word hidden gives an idea of it

being secret, illegal or unpleasant to the eye. Improvised alsomeans temporarily

made with something of what is available; it is not stable or just temporary. Thus,

it can be concluded that Mario and his family living in this improvisedshelter must

be squatting. They do not have a permanent house to call. As the line continues, the

focus is on Mario entering the street describing his physical appearance so as to

appear as worn, threadbare or dilapidated.

According to Stockwell (2002), “characters are figures against the

ground of their settings… have boundaries summarized by their
proper names, and… carry along or evolve specific psychological
or personal traits.” They are presented in contrast to the other
objects in the scene by being represented as agents of action and not
passive receivers of action.
Later in the play, Mario was fired from his work for stealing an apple, which

he planned to give to his daughter, Tita, but all to no use. Tita is their

undernourished child who refused to eat lugaw, perhaps the only kind of foodher

parents could serve her aside from the biscuits, owing to their lack of money. But
 28

still, we find out that Mario was not even able to bring the apple home for her child

because he was caught pilfering. He, however, reasoned out to his wife by saying,

“Why? Did God create apple trees to bear fruit for the rich
alone? Didn’t he create the whole world for
everyone?”(p.246)

In this line, “the rich alone” expresses the apple as exclusive only for rich.

In this sense, Mario sees it unfair, then emphasizes that “the whole world is for

everyone” not for the rich only but for everyone. Meaning the apple is not just an

apple for Mario but it means the whole world to him since it means the world for

his daughter, Tita. We learned from the character of Pablo that Mario used to steal

to live and have a comfortable life but when he got married to Gloria he departed

from stealing and from luxury. He tried to change his way of living by working

decently for years but then, was tempted to steal an apple and then got fired. The

real reason why he stole the apple and later, why he went back to stealing was for

his daughter:

On our way home, we passed by a grocery store that sold “delicious”

apples at seventy centavos each. She wanted me to buy one for her,
but I did not have seventy centavos. What I did was buy her one of
those small, green apples they sell on the sidewalk, but she just threw
it away, saying it was not a real apple. Then she cried. (p.245)
Mario would do anything to have his daughter live a comfortable life even

if it meant for him doing bad things he long promised not to do again. Mario’s

mental reasoning is demonstrated in his statement, “when we brought her into this

world, we sort of promised her everything she had a right to have in life.” (p.246)
 29

In contrast to Gloria’s beliefs, Mario thinks that honesty is not that

important. Pablo even challenged Gloria’s way of thinking by saying that honesty

is being poor and ugly since it doesn’t buy more and it doesn’t make her look better.

In desperation, Gloria tried to hurt Pablo, the man she calls the beast, to prevent her

husband from going with him. But then, her act of hurting Pablo, transformed her

into a beast, since Pablo is the only person who can help them at the moment, no

matter how “dishonest” the help can be. The scene ends with Gloria, crying out to

Mario. This was followed by Tita’s cry coming from inside the house. It is clear to

us which cry Mario heard since he continued on his way. At the end of the play

Mario then decided to go with Pablo to steal.

The Psychological Probability of Pablo in “Rice”

Pablo is a father who works hard for his family as a farmer. He has this

principle that he can survive his family even without stealing but then was

compromised lately because of his starving family. Pablo started as a complaint

tenant to the Señora, the owner of the land that Pablo and other farmers tilled.

Señora is described as a heartless landlady who lent rice to farmers and who

doubled the amount of borrowed rice in payment. As a farmer, Pablo ironically can

hardly feed his family. Arguilla clearly illustrated this in the lines below:

“Before him, as far as his uncertain gaze could make out, stretched
the rice fields of the Hacienda Consuelo. The afternoon sun brought
out the gold in the green of the young rice plants. Harvest time was
two months off and in the house of Pablo there was no rice to eat…
“(p.133)
 30

In the beginning of the story, the character Pablo has a dark and unpleasant

feeling,

Slowly, Pablo unhitched the carabao from the empty sled. He laid a
horny palm on the back of the tired animal; the thick; coarse-haired
skin was warm and dry like sun heated earth. The carabao by
quietly, licking with its dark colored tongue and beads of moisture
that hung on the stiff hairs around its nostrils. Dropping the yoke
inside the sled, Pablo led the beast to a young tamarind tree almost
as high as nipa hut beside it. A bundle of fresh green zacate lay
under the tree and the carabao began to feed upon it hungrily. Pablo
watched the animal a moment, half listening to its snuffling as it
buried its mouth in the sweet-smelling zacate. A sudden weakness
came upon him and black spots whirled before his eyes. He felt so
hungry he could have gone down on his knees beside the carabao
and chewed the grass. (p.68)
From the farm, Pablo went home carrying nothing or with no rice as stated

in “an empty sled”. This empty sled also symbolizes his empty stomach in which

in the lines above says, “he was so hungry”. Thus, Pablo is a character who works

hard but has gained nothing. Their family was poor, it is shown in his house where

the setting is:

Toward the side where the prop slanted upward against the eaves,
the hunt leaned sharply. The whole frail structure in fact looked as
though it might collapse at any moments. But this year it has
weathered four heavy storms without any greater damage than the
sharp inclined toward the west, and that has been taken care of by
the prop. (p.68)
The description of the house complements the character of Pablo, they were

poor and could not even get an adequate food for his family. But as a father he has

remained strong and has been continually working hard for his family. Just like the

house, they have gone through many storms but remained living and Pablo believed
 31

that it will continue to do so even in their situationhaving no rice to eat for he can

find ways. But one thing about the character of Pablo, he became so used of their

poverty that he missed to see that they are already degraded and offended by the

Señora.

As he looked at the house, Pablo did not see how squalid it was. He
saw the snapping nipa walls, the shutterless windows, the rotting
floor of the shaky batalan, the roofless shed over the low ladder,but
there were familiar sights that had ceased to arouse his interest.
(p.68)
With Señora’s overbearing attitude and wicked style, Pablo with the other

farmers was left with nothing every harvest. Having no choice, Pablo was

compelled to borrow rice over and over again to feed his family. This situation was

always like this since he started working in the Señora’s farm. For many years of

hard labor, Pablo became poorer and the Señora had become more callous to her

people.

At the beginning of the story, this situation has not aroused the interest of

Pablo to fight against the ways of the landowner making him refuse the invitation

of Andres to steal rice from the truckloads. In which Andres believes that they are

not stealing but just getting what is rightfully theirs.

"Don't be a fool, Andres," he said, coughing to clear his throat and

trying to appear calm.
"What can you do Andres?" he said. "You say you will stop the
trucks bearing the rice to the city. That will be robbery. (p.70)
This perception of Pablo changed when he saw his wife and children carried

by a watchman and was caught gathering snails which were supposed to be cooked
 32

as their food since they were very hungry. The watchman caught them and they

were ought to pay the multa of 5 cavanes of rice. He saw his children wet, crying

and whimpering, “Itay, I am hungry”and at their feet because of hunger. Yet, they

have no rice or any food to eat.

Outside, the darkness had thickened. Pablo picked his way through
the tall grass in the yard. He stopped to look back in the house. In
the twilight the hut did not seem to lean so much. He tightened the
belt of the heavy bolo around his waist. Pulling the old buri hat
firmly over his head, he joined Andres, who stood waiting by the
broken down fence. In silence they walked together to the house of
Elis. (p.71)
Thus, in the end Pablo joins Andres.

The Psychological Probability of Benigno in “May Pangako ang Bukas”

Benigno, like the two, is also a father who wanted to support his family. He

has no job, his children cannot go to school and they can barely eat. He was an ex-

convict who was freed because of parole. This just means that even he was still

incarcerated, he tried to change and live rightly which was the reason that a parole

was granted to him.

Benigno and his family were poor. This shows in the description of the

setting:

Ang dula ay magaganap sa isang baru-barong na ang liit at anyo

ay nagsasaad ng paghihikahos na dinaranas ng mga nakatira dito.
Sa dakong gitna ng unahan (“center downstage”) ay may lumang
hapag na naliligid ng ilang upuang may babala, na ang sino mang
may katabaang maupo sa mga yaon ay dapat maging handa sa
pagbagsak ...” (p179)
 33

Benigno’s children are expectant for him to find job so that they can go to

school already and buy their needs like food and school supplies. In contradiction,

because Benigno is an ex-convict he has difficulty in finding job though he’s trying

to change.

Bembot: …Hindi bale, pagnakakuha na ng Gawain ang tatay ay

makakabili na tayo kahit saku-sakong bigas.
Nene: Bakit ang tatay matagal makahanap ng trabaho? Ang papa
ni Lili, laging may gawain – malaki pa raw ang sweldo kaya
nabibili siyang maraming damit.
Bembot: … Sabi ni nanay ay malapit na raw magkatrabaho ang
tatay kaya makapag-aaral na rin tayo. (p.179-180)
Benigno’s wife, Celing laundries clothes from neighborhood to earn money,

while his children do part-time jobs like selling “balots”, newspapers and shoe-

shining. Despite of this, still, they lack money and food to eat. Benigno being the

head of the family feels useless because he cannot sustain the needs of his family.

Since he cannot find a new job, Benigno planned and decided to go in his old ways

with his friend Bruno. But Celing saw his gun and was alarmed to the plans of his

husband.

Celing: Utang na loob Benigno, hwag mong ituloy kung ano man
ang binabalak mong gawin.
Celing: Ito ba ang pagbabagong-buhay naipinangako mo sa akin?
Benigno: Hindi mo mauunawaan ang lahat Celing, hindi ko
kagustuhan ang aking gagawin, ngunit …
Celing: Kung gayo’y huwag mong gawin.
Benigno:Ngunit wala akong maaring pamilian hindi ako maaaring
manatiling walang silbi sa inyong mag-iina.
 34

Celing: Maraming landas na iisa ang tinutungkol, bakit mo pipiliin

ang liko?
Benigno: Batid mong nasubukan ko na ang lahat. Sinikap kong
tahakin ang tuwid nalandas ng buhay. Handa akong magbanat
ng buto at magpatulo ng pawis upang kayong lahat ay
mabuhay ko sa isang malinis na paraan. Ngunit anong
gantimpala ng aking pagsisikap?Ang ako’y maging pabigat sa
inyong mag-iina..(p.173)
Benigno pities himself because he feels useless and a burden to his wife and

children. He cannot stand seeing his family working while he is not, just because

he is an ex-convict. But Celing,his wife has been encouraging him,saying there is

still hope and he has to live right and forsake his plans with Bruno. But Benigno

has already decided to make crimes with Bruno in order to earn money. He is so

convinced that it is the only way he can lift up his family from poverty. But Celing

was persistent and made a way to stop Benigno. She succeeded, Benigno was not

able to go with Bruno that night and later on received news that Bruno’s group has

been captured by the policemen and Benigno was saved from it. Newscame; Dr.

Fernandez has a job for Benigno.

Benigno’s decision was to go in his old ways but Celing has stopped him

and from that decision consequences happened.

Table 2. Dynamism of Characters

Character Flat or Round

Mario in “TheWorld is An Apple” Round Character

Pablo in the “Rice” Round Character

 35

Benigno in the“May Pangako ang .Round Character

Bukas”

Dynamism of Characters of Mario, Pablo and Benigno

In the three select Philippine literary works, the three main characters were

all round characters. Novelist Forster (1998) said that round characters have 'the

incalculability of life' about them. By that, Forster, who wrote great novels like A

“Room with a View” and “A Passage to India”, meant that round characters can

surprise the reader. When you think you've figured them out, they can do something

that catches the reader off guard. In other words, they behave like real people. Mario

in the drama “The World is an Apple” used to live in stealing but change his ways

when he married. He promised Gloria, his wife that they will live a decent life but

when circumstances came, poverty and fulfilling the need of his child, stealing

again has been his immediate resolution. While the character of Pablo believes that

he can survive his family through his hardworks but had faced a dilemma and chose

to steal rice. Benigno also gave his promise to work legally; he tried to live a decent

life. While living decently he found out that their family was living pitifully and

they are starving. Thus he decided to go with his criminal friend but the unintended

solution came that saved him from doing so.

Table 3.The Character Portrayal of the Fathers Based on the Conflict

 36

CONFLICT
Character Internal External

Pride and compassionate Economic crisis

Mario in the play “The feelings that he could not Dilemma
World is An Apple” execute his complete role as a Starvation of
father. child/children

Pride and compassionate Economic crisis

Pablo in the story “Rice” feelings that he could not Dilemma
execute his complete role as a Starvation of
father. child/children

Pride and compassionate Economic crisis

Benignoin the play “May feelings that he could not Dilemma
Pangako ang Bukas” execute his complete role as a Starvation of
father. child/children

The Character Portrayal of Mario based on the Conflict

The desire of Mario to live a decent life was put into test. The economic

crisis that Mario’s family faced to the extent that his daughter could not even eat a

mouthful of lugaw introduces to him a dilemma. He is either to go with his criminal

friend or to face the starvation of his family.

Mario: “Why did God created apple trees to bear fruit for the rich
alone? Didn’t he create the whole world for everyone? That’s
why I tried to bring the Apple home for Tita. When we brought
her in this world we sort of promised her everything she had a
right to have in life” (p. 246)

Mario (Firmly): Gloria, I’m going with him.

Gloria: Don’t Mario, don’t...
 37

Mario: You can’t make me stop now. I’ve thought about this since
last week.
Gloria: No, no, Mario, no… (Holds fast to him.)
Mario (Loosens her hold): You take good care of yourself and your
child. I’ll take good care of myself. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll
come home very late. (p.251)

The statement above shows the intense emotion of Mario to give all the

needs of his daughter. Consequently he felt pride and compassion that he is a father

and a renowned bread winner in the family; yet, he was not able to give the needs

of his family. Not just because he knew that he is in-charge in the family’ survival,

but because the starving child is his very loved. His desire to live a decent life has

nothing to do in order to sustain the needs of his family. That’s how the conflicts

being introduce to him.

The Character Portrayal of Pablo based on the Conflict

Pablo is also a father who works hard for his family. He serves the Señora

fairly and sincerely but the Señora exploits her tenants’ efforts. During the famine

in their place, the tenants are trying to lend for cavanes of rice but the Senora

doubled the number of cavanes in payment during their harvest. Thus leads Pablo’s

friend, Mang Andres to plan on stealing the truckload of rice of Senora. The

statements below talk about stealing for rice.

“What do you hope to gain by stealing the truckload of rice?” he

asked, when he could recover his breath.
“Food,” Andres said tersely.
“Is that all?”
 38

“Food for our wives and children.Food for everybody. That’s

enough”
“What will happen when the stolen rice is gone? Will go on
robbing?” (p.70)

Despite of their necessity for rice, Pablo still disregard his friend’s plan

because he thinks that he could feed his family by his honorable work and even

through lending of rice. Apparently, he saw his wife and three children

accompanied with the field watchman who charge them to fine with a five cavanes

of rice for gathering snails to eat in the field. The statement below shows the huge

conflict he experienced.

He looked at his wife, weeping noisily, and the children streaked

with dark-blue mud, the older boys, thin like tricks, and the
youngest, a girl of six. Five cavanes of rice for handful of snails!
How much is fivecavanes to five hunger people?
“Itay, I am hungry,”Sabel, the girl said. The two boys looked up at
him mutely. They were cold and shivering and full of knowledge of
what had happened” (p. 71).

These scenarios are too pitiful for the father like Pablo to carry on knowing

that it was his responsibility to sustain the needs of his family. Looking at the status

of his children, Pablo felt obligated since he brought them to the world yet he could

not even feed them. The Señora enjoyed the gain of the tenants’ labor yet she’s too

greedy to them. The situation is too hard to manage since they are starving and

couldn’t even eat snails for free. Such circumstances were the conflicts that Pablo

faced.
 39

The Character Portrayal of Mario based on the Conflict

Benigno is a father in the Drama “May PangakoangBukas”, who couldnot

send his children to school. He exerts his ultimate effort just to find a job but he

was not accepted due to his bad police record.

Benigno: Nguni’twalaakongmaaringpamilian. Hindi

akomaaringmanatilingwalangsilbisa inyong mag-iina.

Celing: Maraminglandasnaiisaangtinutungkol,
bakitpipiliinmoangliko?

Benigno: Batid mongnasubukankonaanglahat.

Sinisikapkongtahakinang matuwid nalandasngbuhay.
Handaakongmagbanatngbuto at
magpatulongpawisupangkayonglahat ay
mabuhaykosaisangmalinisnaparaan. Nguni’t anong
maginggantimpalangakingpagsisiskap?Angako’ymagingpabig
atsa inyong mag-iina. (p 183)

The statement above shows the vivid concern of Benigno to do his entire

role for his family whatever it takes. His sense of responsibility is there, that his

desire was to feed his family through his decent effort. Thinking that he is the father,

family bread winner but he is disabling to supply bread for his family. Moreover,

his children are longing to return to school again, however, it seems he is crippled

to help, even in sustaining the basic needs of his family. He felt pity for himself for

he could not able to do his responsibilities as a father and husband. Thus how the

problem or conflicts occur.

Table 4.The Character Portrayal of the Fathers based on the Foil

 40

Character Dilemma Economic crisis Starving children

To go with his Could not His beloved

Mario in “The World criminal friend sustain the daughter hasn’t
is An Apple” or to faced the primary needs of eaten even a
starvation of his family mouthful of
his family. lugaw.

To go with the He could not His three children

Pablo in the “Rice” stealers or to lend rice fairly kept asking him
faced the and even snail for food but he
starvation of for free. hasn’t.
his family.

To do illega- He was not able His children could

Benigno in the “May lities or to to sustain the not eat fairly
PangakoangBukas” faced the needs of his every day.
starvation of family even to
his family send his children
to school.

The Character Portrayal of Mario based on the Foil.

The life of Mario as a loving father and husband encountered a certain

dilemma. The economic crisis and the starvation of his daughter put him into

dilemma where he is only about to choose, either to leave his desire to live decently

or to see how much his family is suffering from poverty. It came to the extent that

he could not even feed his daughter; he happened to choose the wrong path.

However, it was his best way in helping and doing his role as a father. Those were

the foils that make up the traits of Mario.

The Character Portrayal of Pablo based on the Foil.

 41

Like Mario, Pablo faced economic crisis to the extent that he could not feed

his family even to eat snails for free. In spite of his pitiful situation, he was still

persistent to live a decent life even their Señora is too greedy. In fact, he refuted the

plan of his friend to rob the truckload of rice. However he could not manage seeing

his children and wife starving. Thus, hefaced the undesirable choices which is either

to go with the robbers to steal rice for his beloved family or let his family starve

while decently looking for rice. His eagerness to live a decent life was put aside for

it was not the best and practical solution to alleviate the hunger of his family. Those

scenarios and circumstances make up the characterization of Pablo in the story.

The Character Portrayal Benignobased on the Foil

Like the two fathers, Benigno is a loving father who ceases his illegal works

and tried to live a decent life for his family. Them suffering poverty which he cannot

sustain the needs of his family and could not even send his children to school is

prevalent in the story. Because he was very willing to do his role as a father, it

seems he was disfunctional, he pitied himself and his family. He would not dare to

see himself useless to his family and thus he faced the dilemma where he is about

to choose either to go with his robber friend for an instant solution or just see

himself useless in sustaining the needs of his family. The poverty of his family

which put him into dilemma is the foil in his characterization.

Referring to the trait principle of human being composedof hereditary and

environmental factor; however the environmental factor plays a big role in the
 42

development of human life.Thus the poverty and dilemma faced by the three fathers

(Mario, Pablo, and Benigno) make up their being and their decisions in life.

Evidence of Symbolic Convergence among The Roles Of The Fathers in the

Three Select Literary Works

The characterization of the three fathers in the three select Philippine

literary works shared a common role. They are the loving father and husband who

wanted to work decently in order to be a good provider as a set fathers’ role.

However they are gradually convicted to plan on doing illegal for their practical

solutions to their starving family. Study shows that the opposing forces of the

fathers in the literary works are highly associated with poverty related problems in

the families that put the decent life into test. Out from the opposing forces, the

characterization of the three fathers (Mario, Pablo and Benigno) in the literary

works is viewed as a loving father and a husband who wanted to feed his family

decently. The three fathers are tending to face the opposing forces illegally for they

could not afford looking at their starving children. They indeed love their family to

the extent that they ignored their values and risk their lives for their sake. In

television reports, suspects caught for robbery and other illegalities would say that

they have no choice because of poverty and their starving family, the common roots

of the feud in the movies is dominantly associated with poverty. In the radios, the

common themes of the dramas are usually problems related to poverty in the family.

According to (Ludwig et.al., 2000), poverty can lead to high levels of stress that in

turn may lead individuals to commit theft, robbery, or other violent acts. Moreover,
 43

poverty may lead to an actual or perceived inferior education, which would cause

youth to count on less access to quality schools, jobs, and role models, decreasing

the opportunity costs of crime and increasing the probability of youth spending time

on the street associating with gangs, etc. Thus, in reality there is a big link between

the rampant illegalities in the society and the poverty. The three stories’ scenario

and themes on the characterization of the father did not only reside in these select

Philippine literary works, in TV screens, radios, but actually exist in real lives. In

fact, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) says that the recorded

poverty incidence for the first half of 2012 was 27.9 percent, slightly less than the

28.8 percent recorded in the first half of 2006, and 28.6 percent in the first half of

2009 and 2011. This means that the Filipinos living below the poverty line has

remained almost unchanged in the past six (6) years (Torres, 2013). Therefore it

shows the presence of the evidence of symbolic convergence among the roles of

the fathers in select Philippine literary works.

Verisimilitude in the Three Select Characters

Bormann (1972 as cited by Arsenaults, 1997) noted that to make a drama

more convincing, it must possess plausibility, activeness, and suspense and must

have sympathetic characters. The three characters: Mario, Pablo and Benigno

possess those qualities as a character. These three fathers are maybe fictional

characters but their circumstances, the dilemmas they face and the choices they
 44

make may have happened and done by a real father in real life. Literature has been

said to be a mirror of life. These three fathers is just only a reflection of what a real

father can do for his family and children. Nevertheless, the world may judge them

as immoral and sinful but as to these characters’ perception, what they have chose

to do is what they think is right.Many real individuals and fathers are now in prison

because of commiting crimes in order for their family to survive. Many women are

into cyberspacing hoping to meet foreigners and uplift them from poverty.

Individuals involve in crimes, drugs, sex traffickingin order for them to have

money and survive.

The Implications of the Results in Literature And Teaching

The select literary works of Alberto S. Florentino, “The World is an Apple”,

Manuel E. Arguilla, “The Rice”, and Emmanuel H. Borlaza, “May

PangakoangBukas”, depict the role of poor Filipino fathers who are living for

survival. Through their writings, the lives of poor Filipino fathers and their role in

the family long time ago could be viewed by the new generation. According to

(Ramos, 1998), as a reflection of life, it has been proven how effective literature’s

influences can be and how it can be a catalyst for social change. Since pre-Hispanic

times, literature has been a faithful record of history and has been a witness to the

rise and fall of the country. Thus the three understudy literary works, mirrors the

social realities of the poor Filipino fathers living long time ago. Consequently, these
 45

literary works should be introduced and studied in the literary classes for the

attainment of its relevancies to the new generation.