God Stealer Analysis

A Glimpse of the Life of an Ifugao as Depicted in the Text “The God Stealer” A. Introduction of the Issues 1. Ifugao Culture 2. The importance of the Ifugao culture in the lives of the characters (Philip Latak, Sam Christie, Sadek, Grandfather, and the natives) 3. Issues      

Reciprocity (utang na loob) Foreigners Social conformity Selfish Unconditional love Fragmentary Filipino identity

B. Brief Summary or Outline of the Report The God Stealer By: Francisco Sionil Jose Sam Christie and Philip Latak were best of friends and that was possible because they worked in the same office. On one December dawn, Sam Christie was on his way to Ifugao with his native assistant. It was his last month in the Philippines and in a matter of days he would return to Boston for that leave which he had not had in years.

During their journey, they talked about the grandfather of Philip and the different views in the Ifugao. Philip encountered an acquaintance that he did not want to recognize because the latter called him by his native name. When they had arrived on the village of Philip Latak, they met Sadek, Philip’s brother. From there, Philip told Sam how his brother, as well as all the others in the village, disliked him. After staying for quite some time in the house of Sadek, they went to Philip’s grandfather; but only Philip went inside to meet and talk to the elder. They visited the Mission the following day after having hiked to the villages. And there Reverend Doone invited them for lunch. He told them how he reminisced San Francisco and how he feels like home.

Going down the hill, Sam told Philip that he would not leave Ifugao without a god because it’s more than a souvenir and it would remind him of Philip. Philip then told Sam that he would steal a god for him since he made the vacation and the raise possible.

They hiked to the village and this time it was not as difficult as it had been the previous day. When they reached the village, they went to the grandfather of Philip. Sam was pleased with the prospect of being inside a native Ifugao house for the first time. He was able to see the Ifugao god for the first time, and he witnessed the rite wherein the blood of the slaughtered pig was poured on the head of the idol, and was returned to where it was kept.

The feast began. For some time, Sam Christie was entertained by the dances and the songs, but soon he was bored. He told Philip that he would like to return to the boarding house.

Philip Latak went to the boarding house past midnight carrying his grandfather’s idol and he handed it to Sam Christie. They argued if it was better that Philip returned the bloodstained god back to his grandfather. When Sam Christie woke up it was already daylight. It was Philip Latak who had stirred him, his voice shrill and grating. H told Sam that his grandfather is dying. The next day, Sam was told by Sadek that their grandfather is dead and that Philip would not return with Sam to Manila.

Philip told Sam that he would not be going back to Manila and that he was the reason his grandfather is dead. From that moment, their friendship was broken. Philip Latak did not, even once, face Sam. He seemed completely absorbed in his work. Sam knew then that Philip was determined to stay and break his bonds with Sam. Sam realized that Philip was carving a new god to replace the one he stole from his grandfather. C. Comprehensive reporting of the various aspects of the issue D. Discussion of the given literary text as mirror of the issues at hand 1. Biography José was born in Rosales, Pangasinan, the setting of many of his stories. He spent his childhood in Barrio Cabugawan, Rosales, where he first began to write.

José started writing in grade school, at the time he started reading. In the fifth grade, one of José’s teachers opened the school library to her students, which is how José managed to read the novels of José Rizal, Willa Cather’s My Antonia, Faulkner and Steinbeck. Reading about Basilio and Crispin in Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere made the young José cry, because injustice was not an alien thing to him. When José was five years old, his grandfather who was a soldier during the Philippine revolution, had once tearfully showed him the land their family had once tilled but was taken away by rich mestizo landlords who knew how to work the system against illiterates like his grandfather. José attended the University of Santo Tomas after World War II, but dropped out and plunged into writing and journalism in Manila. He started a publishing house, and founded the Philippine branch of PEN, an international organization for writers. José received numerous awards for his work. The Pretenders is his most popular novel, which is the story of one man's alienation from his poor background and the decadence of his wife's wealthy family 2. Literary Text “Prodigal Son”

E. Conclusion and summing up of the points taken in the report     

Moral / Philosophical Approach Historical / Biographical Approach Mimetic Approach Reader Response Criticism Psychological (Jungian) Approach