“Your brother Leon is still fighting in Europe. Maybe he is dead now. I have not heard from him.”
This utterance made by the author-narrator’s father crystalizes and perfectly frames how his father relates to the world at large. He replies with short, simply worded replies with an almost matter-of-factly certainty about everything almost as if to say: “This is what I know to be the truth, therefore that’s what must be. Show me proof to make me change my mind, then I will concede.” There is also a noticeable emotional detachment to his statements giving us clear insight into his stoic and fatalistic outlook formed by many years of hard, physical work and disappointment.
“’Stop, you devils!’ he shouted helplessly. ‘She is a good, industrious woman, and my son wants to live with her!’ ”
This impassioned plea was made by the author-narrator’s father when he rushed in to defend his son Leon’s new wife from the lynch mob that had been formed--from the same crowd that were composed of wedding guests and relatives. This scenario gives the reader two interesting things to ruminate on: first, they are shown another aspect of this man who had been instrumental in formation of the author-narrator’s consciousness. He is no longer the stoic, fatalistic pillar of a man the readers were introduced to initially, now he is a compassionate, vulnerable human being trying desperately to defend someone he has recently accepted into his clan. Second, the readers are exposed to a brutal and cruel tradition that people still cling to in rural portions of the Philippines and how this event would later shape future events in the novel.
“It was the season for corn and my father, like the other farmers in our barrio, had gone to our land at early dawn to start the spring plowing. I could smell the fresh upturned earth in the air and the bitter smoke of burning grass. …My father halted the carabao, or water buffalo, and bit the rope.”
The author-narrator continues to describe the bucolic landscape of his youth in vivid detail. There is a noticeable sense of wonder and deep appreciation for the farm life that can be seen in this short excerpt. It is also noticeable how he makes use of a combination of native Filipino words as well as carefully inserted explanations of what some of these words mean. This gives the readers a clear indication that the author-narrator, despite being a Filipino himself, is writing the narrative with a largely Anglophone audience in mind. In spite of this however he is deliberate in making sure that there are clear translations and explanations of Filipino words so as not to alienate his reading audience.
