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.
Source:http://viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/2009/08/155-zoilo-galang-kapampangan.html
History
Zoilo Galang is the Filipino author of the first
Philippine novel written in the English language that was published in 1921.
Summary of the Story
It all started when Lucio, a
simple and poetic boy, was invited by his friend, Camillo to a vacation on his
barrio. There she met Rosa, a young, innocent, and beautiful maiden whom she
fell inlove with. It turns out for Rosa to also feel the same way, so their
relationship was gradually developed. As vacation days grew nearer to an end,
both had known well of each other, hoping they would still be in each other’s
arms the moment they return again from being apart.
Lucio continued his studies and
became known for his intelligence; but it did not make him to forget Rosa. In
spite of his hard schedule, they still manage to send letters and postcards to
each other, expressing their love and concern. There was a time Rosa sent a
letter to Lucio, wherein she would also be attending the said celebration in
her barrio. Lucio was given an opportunity in the program to speak, but this did
not made the Governor and Oscar (Rosa’s arrogant suitor) happy. After the
celebration, the lovers enjoyed the company of each other and eventually
decided to get engaged.
Upon knowing this, Oscar still courted
Rosa even if he knew the couple were already engaged. He made plans with the
governor to separate the two by spreading the rumors that they were engaged.
Here, therefore rises the problem of having to choose between two difficult choices
: following your parents or pursuing the love of your life.
In the latter part of the story,
the characters were reunited again from the long time of separation. It was
then stated that Felipa was Rosa’s mother and Governor Ismael is the legitimate
father of Rosa, wherein Oscar asked to convince Felipa, in order for Rosa to
marry him. Due to his great desire to conquer Rosa’s body, he crept into the
room and raped Rosa, causing them to just marry each other for the sake of the
girl’s “delicadeza”.
Lucio’s feeling of sorrow and grief was added when his
father died. Rosa comforted him through letters, but this did not lessen the
sorrow that he felt from losing his father and from the pain of seeing someone
marrying someone else. Months have passed and Rosa’s unwanted feelings grew heavily as well. When she felt that she
can no longer contain her sadness, she attempted to commit suicide, resulting
to being weak to the point of numbering her days. Rosa decided to see Lucio for
the very last time, with the help of a messenger. And there they are, bidding
their last goodbyes before Rosa died in the arms of Lucio. Days after Rosa’s
death, Oscar committed suicide because of too much conscience.
Lucio lost his mother, his father, and even the love
of his life. This tragic love story only depicts that he is truly a child of
sorrow.
Biographical
and Historical Analysis
The scenarios in the novel were
much like of those on the early 1920’s, when the people back then only have a
simple kind of living. It also portrayed the traditions of early Filipinos, in
which they court a girl first before asking their hand, the relationship, the
kind of Filipinas back then, which were innocent and “mahinhin” and were always wearing long skirts.
The novel also shows the stereotyping of Filipinos, in which the rich people are using their political powers and connections to do what they desired to do especially when manipulating common people. It has also an influence of Spanish culture, because of the kind of clothes the characters are wearing and it also has a mixed connection with Greek mythology because of several allusions and comparison from gods and goddesses.
