“The God Stealer”

by: Francisco Sionil Jose

“The God Stealer” is a short story that
encapsulates perfectly how
characters in fiction respond to the
choices they make and what they do
to attain these choices.
 Questions:
1. What are the characteristics of
Philip? Sam?
2. If you were Philip, how would you
treat the natives like you?
3. Philip and Sam are symbols of
what?
4. Who is the God stealer? Prove.
5. What was the reason of Philip in
stealing the Ifugao god?
 “The God Stealer” is not just a tale about
an Ifugao stealing a religious idol, but also
about the friendship that developed
between a Filipino and an American.
(‘colonized’ and ‘colonizer’)
 Philip
 His name was derived from the word
Philippines.
 Became a Christian and lived in Manila
 Became less sentimental with his cultural
identity, beliefs and customs
 SAM CHRISTIE
 His name was derived from “Uncle Sam”, a
representation of the United States.
 An American who wanted to view the rice
terraces.
 He was also interested in purchasing an
original figurine of an Ifugao god.
Philip and Sam went to Baguio City. During
a feast honoring Philip for his return,
Philip and Sam were because of the
unwillingness of the Ifugao people to sell
any Ifugao statue. Philip plans to steal his
grandfather’s god in return for the salary
raise given to him by Sam. After finding
out that this god was missing, Philip’s
grandfather dies.
 Philip’s act of thievery represented the
Filipinos’ giving up of their past tribal
origins and traditions, only to be replaced
by an “unnatural” culture brought by
colonialism. At one time in history,
colonialism brought to the Filipinos a state
of confusion, troubled emotions,
helplessness, torment, embarrassment and
the inability to embrace the past.
Part of fiction is the challenge to the
main characters:
What do they want?
What do they do to get it?
What is the intention of the character?
This intention sets the plot for the
short story, wherein you see how
well-rounded the protagonist is and
what he or she is capable of doing
just to get what he or she desires.
 Depending on the outcome of the story,
the character may either triumph or fail,
and seeing how the character reacts to
these changes also sets the tone for the
climax, until the short story is concluded.
Short stories also express a lot of irony
in life situations.
What is irony?
 VERBAL IRONY

When what is said by the

character is not what he
or she originally meant
 SITUATIONAL IRONY

When the actual outcome

of a situation is different
from the expected
 DRAMATIC IRONY

When the readers know

more than the characters
in the story.