Manuel Arguilla’s shorter story “Rice” (1938) provides the audience with a meandering of activities that mirrors two literary ways. A single is of a psychoanalytic point of view whereby the 3 divisions of the psyche are what dominate or interaction in the evolution of the tale. One division is the id, which is section of the psyche that is fully unconscious and is the resource of psychic electricity derived from instinctual needs and drives. The next division is the ego which is the arranged mindful mediator concerning the man or woman and truth especially by working both equally in the notion of and adaptation to fact. Lastly, is the superego which is the component of the psyche that is only partly acutely aware, which represents internalization of parental conscience and the principles of culture, and which capabilities to reward and punish as a result of a procedure of moral attitudes, conscience, and a feeling of guilt. The other literary method could be a Marxist viewpoint which states that a literary perform may well comprise a lesson about the impact in our lives of the immorality and typical indecency of the nicely-off courses who are offered the rights to operate and manage our economic program.
The story commences with Mang Pablo, an previous farmer in Hacienda Consuelo who is on his way home, seeking for his spouse and children to report his mischief for that day’s harvest. Osiang, the spouse of his very good friend, Andres, meets him as she comes out of their hut. Mang Pablo, owing to his previous age, struggles to advise Osiang of that day’s harvest for she is caught up pounding in her mortar. In the meantime, Osiang rants about the immorality of the individuals from Hacienda Consuelo to have them, the minimal-course men and women settling in the spot, shell out a fine of 5 1cavanes of rice for a handful of snails they would get in the creek. Mang Pablo, at the time once more, struggles to tell Osiang that there is certainly no rice for that working day.
The tale shifts to a flashback of what happened in the morning when he, Mang Pablo, with each other with the other tenants of Hacienda Consuelo have pushed to the dwelling of the Senora to borrow grain. Regrettably for him and his fellow farmers, an announcement comes from the 2encargado of the sacks of rice. The announcement suggests that five sacks of rice to be borrowed on that working day will develop into ten at harvest time. This news terribly surprises Mang Pablo and the other farmers, ranting that they have generally borrowed 3tersiohan i.e. four cavanes of rice for 6. Just after which, the Señora arrives out with her cane beating the polished floor as she threatens the farmers with the news that every single sack of rice harvested on that working day will be loaded by trucks and be delivered to the city so the tenants will surely starve of hunger.
The tale shifts back again to the current with Osiang, who is still oblivious that you will find no rice for that day, providing Mang Pablo coals from her stove. Mang Pablo tries after once again to inform Osiang of the awful news but she goes again to pounding in her minor stone mortar.
After some time, Osiang’s husband, comes and satisfies up with Mang Pablo. Mang Pablo insists on stopping Andres and their fellow farmers’ strategy of robbing rice and killing the truckloaders but Andres’ brain is produced up. They argue on the outcomes of their approach. Mang Pablo opinions on likely to 4Bilibid if they carry on with their strategy. Andres solutions back again, indicating there will be rice in the Bilibid. Mang Pablo insists once more on what they would achieve if they would go by means of their program. Andres solutions this, stating, the rice is for their wives and they youngsters.
After Andres and Osiang’s exit comes his relatives with each other with a watchman. The watchman approaches Mang Pablo and informs him of the violation – picking snails from the creek – his household dedicated and the high-quality they have to shell out. Then they wander house. Sabel, Mang Pablo’s daughter, consistently cries to his father of hunger. After considering what to do with his determined problem, Mang Pablo grabs his bolo, will come out of their hut, and walks his way to Andres who stands silently waiting for him by the damaged-down fence.
As aforementioned the tale of “Rice” could be considered in two literary perspectives. Just one is that of a Marxist standpoint. In the tale, the Señora in Hacienda Consuelo signifies the affluent individuals who oppressed the powerless men and women represented by Mang Pablo, his family, and his fellow farmers. The Señora‘s illustration of an affluent oppressor is implied when she comes out of her mansion with her cane beating the porch’s ground. A cane has both of those a beneficial and detrimental connotation. In the story, even though, the cane symbolizes negativity – it was a instrument utilized for beating or inflicting discomfort.
The Señora experienced come out, her cane beating a quick tattoo on the polished floor of the porch…
The tale also displays a problem of repression and manipulation of employees by their house owners. It is apparent when the announcement of five sacks of rice borrowed turn out to be 10 at harvest time comes in. Mang Pablo and his fellow farmers recurring in excess of and in excess of that they have constantly borrowed tersiohan i.e. four sacks of rice develop into six. They insisted that 5takipan – 5 sacks for ten – is much too a great deal.
“Five grow to be 10,” the encargado said, “Possibly that or you get no rice.”
“Do you see those people vans?” she had finished, pointing to 3 massive purple vans less than the mango tree in the yard. “If you do not choose the rice now, tonight the vans will carry every sack in sight to the city. Then I hope you all starve, you ungrateful beasts!”
The story also depicts price for issues for their usefulness in the modern society. For the oppressed (Mang Pablo and the other farmers), rice is a point that they, lowly folks, value and use to fulfill their starvation for foods. For the oppressors (Señora and the authority), they worth rice for it symbolizes that they are of superior social standing and have ability to dominate above the minimal-class individuals. This literary work’s context remains consistent with the ideology that rice is a staple foodstuff for anyone to satisfy starvation, and to symbolize one’s social standing and ability in the modern society.
An overlapping literary method to this story, besides a Marxist technique, would be a psychoanalytic point of view. As discussed, psychoanalytic approach includes the roles of the a few divisions of the psyche – id, ego, and superego – in a literary work. In Arguilla’s “Rice”, an interplay of these a few divisions is implied as to how he narrates every single party in the story. He commences with Mang Pablo subjecting to his moi as he accepts the fact that he will eternally be a lowly guy certain to serve the persons in electrical power.
While not stated, the continuous and unconscious disregard of Osiang with Mang Pablo’s information that there will be no rice could recommend Mang Pablo’s acceptance of his present condition of residing in a area dominated by individuals of superiority i.e. the entire ignorance of the substantial social course to very low social class individuals like them.
“Andres is chatting with some of the males at the residence of Elis. Osiang, do you know where by Sebia and the youngsters are?”
“Why would not he come residence? He is aware of I have been waiting around the entire day for the rice he is bringing house! I am so hungry. I can’t even drag my bones away from the stove. What is he performing at the dwelling of Elis, the shameless, great-for-nothing at all son-of-a-whore?“
Pablo moved away from the fence, stumbling a very little, for the lengthy blades of grass bought in his way. “There is no rice, Osiang,” he called back wheezily over his shoulder, but evidently the woman did not listen to him for she went on conversing: “Mang Pablo, how a lot of cavanes of rice did you borrow?...”
“There is no rice, Osiang,” he whispered. He felt also tired and weak to increase his voice…
The adhering to sentence taken from the choice indicates that Mang Pablo succumbs to be a lowly servant to the individuals in Hacienda Consuelo when he could not convey himself any longer to Osiang to inform the terrible announcement.
Pablo seemed up at her and desired to convey to her all over again that there was no rice, but he could not carry himself to do it…
In the middle of the story, Mang Pablo is being dominated by his superego of contradicting his fellow farmers’ approach of thieving the sacks of rice they diligently harvested and the probable probability of killing the truckloaders. It is evident in the story when his fellow farmer, Andres, comes house to his spouse, Osiang.
“Are you coming with us?” he questioned Pablo, his voice grating harshly in his throat as he strove to communicate quietly. There was in his little eyes, a intense, desperate seem that Pablo found hard to satisfy.
“Do not be a idiot, Andres,” he explained, coughing to clear his throat and seeking to appear calm…
“What can you do, Andres?” he explained. “You say you will stop the trucks bearing the rice to the town. That will be theft.“
In the end what dominated in Mang Pablo’s psyche is his id. Soon after the watchman, jointly with his wife and children, approach him and inform him of his family’s violation, Mang Pablo contemplates on how to find payment for his family’s violation and on how to find meals to feed his family members. His daughter, Sabel, repeatedly will come and mutters to him her starvation for foods. Right until that night, he decides to succumb to his id – he decides to go with Andres and their fellow farmers’ system of thieving and killing the truckloaders of the rice they harvested in the early morning.
The piece of wooden at last broke and Pablo was still left with a short stub in his palms. He gazed at it, sobbing with rage and weakness, then he ran to the hut crying, “Give me my bolo, Sebia, give me my bolo. We shall have meals tonight.“
Following this scene, Sebia tries to end Mang Pablo on succumbing to their system. Mang Pablo’s superego at some stage, interaction his id, main him to his indecisiveness.
“God help you save me,” Pablo said, brokenly. He introduced up his knees and dropping his deal with concerning them, wept like a little one…
Exterior the darkness experienced thickened. Pablo picked his way as a result of the tall grass in the property. He stopped to glance again at his home…
Mang Pablo’s past action displays that he has finally allow his id dominate him.
He tightened the belt of the heavy bolo about his waist. Pulling the previous buri hat firmly above his head, he joined Andres, who stood waiting by the broken-down fence. In silence, they walked collectively…
“Rice” is a narrative, published by Manuel Arguilla, which depicts the way of dwelling of farmers who are under the authority of the superiors in Hacienda Consuelo. It narrates how the rice marks the variance concerning the two classes, for owning rice suggests obtaining large social standing and energy. The oppressors (represented by Señora) use their authority (of boasting rice harvested by the farmers) to get more than the lowly folks (the oppressed, Mang Pablo and his fellow farmers). It also narrates how a single challenge can guide a particular person to committing a heinous crime induced by desperation which is built evident when Mang Pablo joined his fellow farmers in carrying out the criminal offense for his and their families’ survival.
1cavanes – one particular cavanes of rice is equivalent to just one sack of rice (fifty kilos of rice)
2encargado – 1 who carries hundreds or sacks of rice from sleds to trucks
3tersiohan – a technique of borrowing amid Filipinos whereby 4 sacks of rice is paid for 6
4Bilibid – a Filipino expression for “jail” or “jail”
5takipan – a process of borrowing among Filipinos whereby in 5 sacks of rice is compensated for ten (the total to be borrowed gets double at harvest time)
Reference:
Arguilla, M. E. 1998. How My Brother Leon Introduced Household a Wife and Other Tales. Manilla: De La Salle College Push, Inc.
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