Eros Atalia’s “Intoy the Merman in the Mariners’ Street” tells a story about the life of people in the

mariners’ street,
mainly in Intoy, the best diver and most trusted worker in the street, especially when it comes to mussels. He lives
with his childhood friend, Bertong Baka, who is a bus cleaner, and he likes his childhood friend Doray, who is a
prostitute at the dock at night. He built his own small farm of mussels, hoping the income of its harvest could
support Doray and her two siblings, and make her stop in selling herself at night.

Based on the text, the author’s style of writing this text was really explicit. There was no much sugar-coated words
so I think it was easier to understand, though it was kind of awkward to read. And the timeline of the story was
kind of confusing though, it kept on shifting from past, then present time. But the narration was funny yet eye-
opening. So overall, it was a great work.
In the text, I noticed that there were three figures of speech used by the author: Simile, Personification, and
Synecdoche. First, Simile. This figure of speech was frequently used in the text, because of the comparison
between Intoy and a merman, which was said he is like. Here is an example of Simile in the text: “because he is
like the fabled underwater creature. It is as though he has gills like the fishes.”. Second is Personification. This
was used when something is given a human attribute. Here is an example of Personification in the text: “As
though to say “the mussels have been sentenced.” Mang Amor shakes his head.”. And the last one is
Synecdoche. This figure of speech is used when a part is being represented as a whole. Here is an example of it
in the text: “You’re older than me by a couple of months!”
The climax of the story was Intoy and Doray’s confrontation at the dock. Doray offered to come by at his place and
not in the dock. Intoy is confused of Doray’s actions, whether she feels the same for him or if she is just selling her
‘tilapia’ to him.
To be honest, it was kind of awkward and uncomfortable to read at first, but as I continue reading the story, I
started to look for the deeper meaning of the story, not just what it obviously tell, but something that was never
discussed that much in the story.
All of the characters in the story had conflicts in their lives, and were challenged in their adolescence. Mostly
because of poverty, the characters faced a lot of challenges in their lives that made them who they are today.
Some of them were able to resolve it in a bad way. Just like Yeyeng Tikol, he had the opportunity to study, he was
smart but he was demotivated when his father died. And instead of using it as a motivation to strive more, things
even went downhill for him. But for some like Intoy, they were able to fully resolve it and made them better as an
individual. He was unable to swim when he was a kid, and Bertong Baka with some of their friends teased him.
But rather than sulking on it, he became more determined to learn how to swim, it became his motivation, which
resulted to him now being the best diver in the Mariners’ Street.
The characters mostly were abandoned by their parents, and are currently making a living at a young age for
them to survive. I believe they lack love and care from them, they weren’t treated the way a child or an adolescent
must be treated. Their parents were not able to nurture them, affecting the attitude and the personalities of the
characters as they grow up. And the environment that they currently live in is not that great. They had to deal with
the adult life at a young age, to interact with much older people, experiencing the daily lives of adulthood, like their
youth is taken away from them by the struggles.
The story is somehow related to poverty. Because in Doray’s case, she was never in favor of selling herself to
fishermen, but because she was abandoned and has two siblings to support, she became a mother and father
figure for her siblings and she was in need of money to support the two. She never had the chance to study, so it
would be difficult for her to look for a decent job. And the only way to have income is to sell herself. Same with
Boyet’s situation, although the characteristics of being a thief was already seen in him before, it just got worst as
he grew up. This just shows that sometimes, the unfortunates have no choice but to do these things, bad deeds
for good, for them to live, to provide for their families’ needs. Because just like Kathryn Bernardo said in the movie
“Hello, Love, Goodbye”: “Choice is only for the rich.”.
This text tackles one of the relevant issues of the world today, about the youth working at an early age. Often
because of absence of their parents, instead of studying and enjoying their youth, they have to work for them to
live, to survive, because of the poverty they are experiencing.
And this text made me realize that we are very lucky to have this life we are living right now. To be able to go to
school, to sleep without worries, to have parents to support us by our sides, to support our needs, our luxuries,
and to enjoy our youth. Because some people were unfortunate to experience these things. We should be
thankful and in the future, give some help to these people, maybe not financially, but also for their growth as an
individual. Because I believe that we all have the ability to push someone to their limits, to be an inspiration and a
good role model for them.