The World is An Apple

A Political-Economic Interpretation
Group 7
Precy Ann Serafica
Michelle Albano
Leonard John Ocupe
Ritzel Dumat-ol
Richard Angelo Tiu

Poverty plays a major role in this story; it depicts how the lack of economic
opportunities can drive individuals to the point of desperation in order to provide for
the ones they love in a system that victimizes the poor by failing to protect them.
Living in an "improvised home behind a portion of the Intramuros walls", Mario and
Gloria were a poor couple in their late twenties who struggled to care for their sick
daughter, Tita, especially as Mario had just lost his job for "stealing" an apple a
week prior to the setting of the story. The apple was meant for Tita who wanted one
but Mario did not have money for it ("Do you remember the day I took her out for a
walk? On our way home we passed by a grocery store that sold 'delicious' apples at
seventy centavos each. She wanted me to buy one for her, but I did not have
seventy centavos"). Because of his unemployment, Mario reached out to his old
friend Pablo, a rich but shady character whom Gloria resents very much. Though not
explicitly stated, it is evident that Mario and Pablo were old cohorts and engaged in
criminal acts and illicit activities to acquire money, Mario made a reference to his
police record when Gloria told him to complain to the company for firing him ("They
would dig up my police record."), Gloria referred to their past pursuits as "dishonest
ways" and she also feared that Mario could get "shot in the head or sent to jail".
Firstly, the apple signified everything Mario and Gloria could not give Tita due
to their station in life. Given the fact that Mario did not have money even for a
single apple meant they were very poor, not to mention their inability to take Tita to
a doctor and buy her medicine. However, Mario loved Tita very much that he said, "I
wouldn't mind losing a thousand jobs for an apple for my daughter!". This phrase
can be taken to mean that Mario would do anything to give Tita a comfortable life,
especially after he and Gloria "sort of promised her everything she had a right to

have in life". In short, Mario was willing to resort to any means necessary to give
the whole world to Tita, as a good father should be. Moreover, given Tita's medical
condition, Mario became all the more desperate to find work because if he was
willing to lose his job for an apple (a non necessity), one can only imagine what he
would resort to in order to save his daughter's life, if not, at least to relieve her from
excruciating pain. Secondly, the story also depicts the relationship between worker
and employer, both in the examples of Mario's previous job and his malicious
ventures with Pablo. Mario's sudden termination illustrates the cruel nature of the
absence (or lack of enforcement) of labor laws and worker's unions. After his
termination, not once did Mario mention suing the company or seeking the help of
the union and the only solution Gloria could think of was to "complain". Given that
Mario was terminated for the mere "theft" of a single apple implies two things: (a)
lax labor laws and the lack of government protection for the worker's rights can
have very drastic consequences, especially for poor laborers and; (b) assuming that
Mario was a contractual worker as he was terminated "so that they may bring their
own men (regulars) in" provides a glimpse of the contractual worker's demise; most
of them do not get the same benefits as the regular employees in the companies
they are being contracted to work for, their wages are significantly lower, and the
companies that contract them cannot be held responsible for the violation of labor
laws the agency that they work for has committed. In addition to this, contractual
workers generate surplus value for their employing agencies as the contracting
companies pay the agencies for the service of their workers but the contractual
workers are only paid by the agency according to their work hours to the
contracting company in order to make more profit. Even with Pablo's illicit activities
this relationship still exists. Pablo owns the "means of production", he has
knowledge of the business, the connections, and the resources to run such illegal
activities while Mario works to help run his "business".
The story is a familiar one. Poor people constantly experience injustice under
a system that deems them to be less utilitarian and more of a hindrance to society.
As a consequence, their rights are often undermined and they are often victimized a
second time because of government's lack of interest in their welfare. This leads
many into lives of crime and mayhem as they believe society has failed them and
that they have to do whatever it takes to survive. However, many of them hope and

pray for better lives and, like Gloria, believe that God is not letting them down. But
most continue to live on prayers that have gone unanswered
system that inhibits all from living lives free from want.

due to the unjust