A child of sorrow

A Child of Sorrow by Zoilo Galang
(Reflection)

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.

http://viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/2009/08/155-zoilo-galang-kapampangan.html

Summary 

"A Child of Sorrow" is the very first Filipino novel written in English and was published in 1921. It was written by Zoilo M. Galang, a native of Mabalacat Pampanga. 

The novel was set in Merrytown one summer in the month of April. It was all about the tragic  story of Lucio Soliman, a man who lived as a fanatic of books, who fell inlove with the beautiful and moral woman in the person of Rosa Garcia. Their story ended up tragically and encountered almost all sorts of hindrances. The hardest was when Rosa was married to the selfish Oscar Ramirez. 

Lucio met Rosa in his vacation to Merrytown. When he first met her, he suddenly felt different, something beyond friendship, so did Rosa. After a couple of days, they met again, pushing Lucio to confess his love for Rosa. He spent most of his vacation time with Rosa until such time came when he was about to returning o his provincial town. Leaving was hard for both of them, but they remained strong, strong until Lucio knew that Rosa was about to be married to Oscar. Rosa was unhappy, of course, since he was married to a man whom not only because she doesn't love him, but because all he thinks about is nothing but himself. Many other circumstances came to test the love of Rosa and Lucio. Until they saw each other again, but hardly did they know that it would be the last time for  Lucio to see Rosa alive.

Biographical Analysis

The author somehow related his characteristics to the character of Lucio Soliman, in a way of his love for books. Based on the novel, I can guess, though it was not written in his biography, that Mr. Galang has lived a peaceful life in the province, same as Lucio, since he came from Mabalacat, Pampanga. I can also say that he might also met his first love at a tender age, we can guess that he can also be madly inlove then. I can even say that there is a possibility that this novel can be a revised or even an identical version of his own love story.

Historical Analysis

The novel tells a typical setting of a Filipino love story. It was set in a particular province or town in a time too far from the modern setting where technology is abundant and dominant, but it manifests  certain characteristics of a love story which can still watched in televisions in the modern times. 

The scenes in the story are still seen in the present times, though it has been written in the past. This makes the story eternal and timeless; from being in love at a young age, to the issues of fixed marriage, up to the societal issues such as bribery. 

The way the author writes the order of scenes, I can say that some of the scenes can be a little bit predictable, which can also be manifested in teleseryes in the modern times. This somehow set the standards or techniques of Filipino authors. To add to it, the author made the sequence of scenes organized, and often uses flashbacks, which can still be seen in modern Filipino Tele novelas.

Conclusion

The story tells the readers about the great feeling of being in love, since love is the main theme of the story. It also tells the readers that love requires sacrifices and that not all love stories end happily. 
Based on the scenes of the story, it can be concluded that the author wants his story to be timeless, which it did, since the scenes in his novel still corresponds to the happenings in the present.
The novel often contains several symbolisms:

Rosa represents the image of a true Filipina- moral and beautiful inside and out.
Lucio represents the author, with his addiction with books , which sometimes separates him from reality.
Pancho Ismael- represents how Filipinos view most of the politicians, both from the old and modern times, particularly with the issue of bribery.

The sampaguita flower- serves as the symbol of love for Lucio and Rosa.

The story, as a whole serves as an inspiration and a building block for all Filipino authors.