LIFE EVER BITTER

Faustino Aguilar

Faustino Aguilars Kay Pait ng Pamumuhay, an excerpt from the novel Pinaglahuan,
shows the socio-economic condition at that time emphasizing mainly on social imbalance,
unequal opportunities and ineffectiveness of government. It also gives us a glimpse on how
socialism could be the solution to these problems. However, socialism could also worsen the
situation. It is not the only answer to poverty but the cooperation between the government and
individuals do.

A. Characters
Luis Gat-Buhay, a young accountant of 24, strived for a balanced society where everyone
would be given equal opportunities regardless of their social status. It was not explicitly
mentioned in the story that he is an accountant but referring to the lines below we could conclude
so,
Luis Gat-Buhay pensively stares at the ledger on his desk. (1st sentence,
par. 1)
With this thought in mind, Luis sprang from his seat, and left his desk,
the pen and the ledger that he used to record the income and profits of the house
he worked. (1st sentence, par. 20)
He was rash in his opinions and impatient for the real independence for he was also
milked dried along with the poor majority. He longed for changes and justice for people like him.
See the lines below,
He longs for a time when there would no longer be masters nor slaves
He wants the many unfortunates to lead comfortable lives, enjoying equal
opportunities regardless of their status in life or the color of their skin. (1st & 5th
sentence, par 4).
It can be inferred from the above statements that Luis is the protagonist. He hoped for a
change that will destroy the walls dividing the rich and the poor. Luis can be compared to the
character of Carl in the story entitled "Two Faces of America," an excerpt from the novel
"America is in the heart," written by Carlos Bulosan. As quoted by Carl,
"...There should be law against the importation of labor..."1
Both characters attempted to fight for the rights of the Filipino workers with a fair and
just treatment for all of the people in the story
"And to think there is a God, religion and society which should care..." (par. 27)
Life is ever bitter-uttered Luis as he returned to his desk. (par. 45)
With these lines, it could be ascertained that Luis possessed a dynamic characteristic. In
the beginning of the story, he showed eagerness to fight for their rights however, after witnessing
the commotion, he seemed to lose hope. With all the injustices, Luis could not do anything but to
face reality. His thoughts remained in his mind.
On the other hand, Danding, the lover of Luis, was the opposite of Luis' character. She
sided with those who were on the higher footing.
He understood the girls reasoning when she [Danding] said: you are poor, you
could not afford me, that it would truly be in vain to admit the love affair to Don
Nicanor, and that it would only bring sorrow to her. (2nd sentence, par. 14)
Danding's rejection made Luis realized that rich people were the ones who were favored
in all aspects of life. Her perception towards the social status and favoring those who were on the
top did not change all throughout the story. In the story her character shows a flat characteristic
for she was only a support character to Luis and her personality didnt change throughout the
story.
Moreover, another character contradictory to the personality of Luis was Don Nicanor,
the father of Danding. Don Nicanor was a typical father who also sided with people who have a
higher rank in the society. Just like her daughter, he discriminated the people who were at the
bottom. As an antagonist of the story, he contributed to the injustices suffered by Luis by
marrying off his daughter to a rich man. See the lines below.
"It is not Danding's fault, but her parents' who think that it is but proper to insist
on their position Don Nicanor would never agree to tie his daughter's fate to
that of the poor, for it would be tantamount to adulterating the gold. (1st & 3rd
sentence, par. 14)
 The above lines clearly showed the personality of Don Nicanor being a status seeker and
this personality did not change all throughout the story. Being a support role and having an
unchanged personality, he is also considered as a flat character. In addition, Don Nicanor also
possessed a stock characteristic for he generalizes the poor as people who do not have a capacity
to do well and have no honor.
"whatever he does, luck would be at Rojalde's side." (1st sentence, par. 15)
Another character is Rojalde, the rich man who was to marry Danding, from the
statement above it describes Rojalde as a powerful man. His character was the complete opposite
of Luis. He was rich and favored while Luis was not. His personality remained unchanged in the
story and being a support role, he could also be ascertained to be having a flat characteristic.
The group of men played a minor role in the story. They could be described as the
unfortunate ones. In the text:
In their nakedness, one sees poverty indicating that they are the unfortunate ones
who sell their labor power by carrying the load of anyone who orders them about.
They are the societys servants-in-waiting during a sumptuous banquet, standing
by, waiting for anyone to throw at them, not meat bones which are still tasty, but
even just fish bones already scraped clean. (3rd -4th sentences, par. 21)
From the above statement, the group of men portrayed the inequality and the injustices
suffered by the poor. They possessed a flat characteristic for their personality did not change all
through out.
The policeman, the woman, and the man wearing a dirty shirt and a shabby Baliuag also
played a minor role in the story. The policeman was responsive, but at the same he was too
aggressive in carrying out his duty as a police officer. On the other hand, the woman was
hypocrite and oppressive toward the man in shabby Baliuag. As evident in the text, the woman
said:
You should have told me honestly, and I would have given you food, you
sonofa (par. 37)
In contrast, the man in shabby Baliuag said:
You would not have given me if I told you. I know, because I am
physically fit. You would have shooed me away like an animal, just as I was
driven away from the doors I knocked at asking for work. (par. 38)
 The above statement can describe the man in shabby Baliuag as someone who has given
up. He felt hopeless that the society could help him, thus he became a thief. All of them were
also a supporting subject to represent what Luis was pointing out, and that was the unfair
treatment to the poor. All of the three, being a supporting character and possessing an unchanged
personality throughout the story, could be considered to be a flat character.
The group of men, the woman, policeman and the man who was wearing a dirty shirt and
shabby Baliuag was used by the author to personify the people he was describing at the
beginning in the story. He used them to give example to the readers that the kind of people he
was referring to at the start of the story really do exist.

B. Settings
The story was set during the early 20th century where the Philippines were under the
colonial rule of the United States of America. During those times, inequality and discrimination
were rampant. The walls between rich and poor widened. With the social system at that time, the
rich became richer while the poor became poorer. By this reason, Faustino Aguilar, the author,
portrayed in his novel, "Pinaglahuan", particularly the Chapter VI of the novel entitled "Life
Ever Bitter" the injustices suffered by the Filipinos.
"Life is ever bitter-uttered Luis as he returned to his desk. " (paragraph 45)
The only place where the story transpired was at Luis' office. The author's use of one
place setting can be compared to the story entitled Wanted: A Chaperon by Wilfrido Ma.
Guerrero2. The latter story talked about culture, traditions and its importance. Just like Life Ever
Bitter, the story used only one place all throughout the story and that was the house of Don
Francisco and Dona Petra. Though the place was limited, it did not lessen the effectiveness of
the story. The technique was used by the Faustino to emphasize more on the thoughts of Luis.

C. Plot
The author used a descriptive type or style in writing this literary piece. Descriptive
writing is a literary device in which the author uses details to paint a picture with their words.
This process will provide readers with descriptions of people, places, objects, and events through
the use of suitable details. (Sedillo, 2017) Using this style of writing helps the author
communicate to his readers what the characters were experiencing in the story.
 He is a young man of 24. Both parents are already dead, and he is left caring for
his younger sisters. (2nd sentence, par. 1)

They wore heavily soiled shirts and knee-length pants which left their sunburned
arms and legs exposed. (2nd sentence, par.21)

From the above phrase, the author gave a detailed description what the main character
saw when he noticed a group of men while looking outside the window. The use of these sensory
words made it easier for the readers to relate to the characters and visualize the characters
clearly.

Furthermore, the author also used metaphors in order to create persuasive effect or appeal
to the readers. Metaphors are a form of figurative language, which refers to words or expressions
that mean something different from their literal definition. (Underwood, 2017) The use of
metaphors made it easier for the author to communicate his ideas to the readers. (See the phrase
below)

He looks forward to the future, a time still covered by the dark

clouds that need to be dispersed by strong winds for the sun to shine in the
east to illumine the road taken by people in distress and in tears(3rd
sentence par. 16)

The dark clouds could be interpreted as those people who cause oppression to the lowly
or to the powerless. The strong wind could be the collaborated efforts of the people who are for
equality, and once the oppressive people were eradicated, there could be ease in each and every
peoples life.

The plot structure used was episodic, where the sequence of events was literally unrelated
but bound by common theme or characters. For example, the first paragraph is about hypocrisy
that the main character wants to get rid of while the second paragraph talks about people who are
self-centered and the main character hopes that they would consider the things that would benefit
the majority. The two paragraphs quoted above say different things but what make them go
together is they have common theme which is the desire for change.
 In the story, the transition of events and ideas was based on the main characters
thoughts. These thoughts are of different situation but tied together by the idea of change and
equality. The type of plot structure used by the author helped him supply the readers with
knowledge of the different forms of inequality in our society that some readers might not able to
realize until they read this literary piece.

D. Theme
The main theme of Life Ever Bitter is the imbalance of the society and how people tend
to obey riches and not being humane. A desirable and equal society must not have any
distinction of masters and slaves, and wealth becomes the imaginary pen drawing the border of
rich and poor leading to ordinary workers being abused and milked dried beyond their strength.
Aguilar wants to focus on the wickedness of wealth for it is the source of all imbalances
happening in society. As stated by the passage below.
He is looking for a way of life and a kind of society which does not
worship money (1st sentence, par. 4)
The rich and capitalists must not exploit every worker but rather think of them as human
beings with equal treatment and fairness regardless of anyones state and skin color. The self
desire of money for higher status and power must not be in the minds of the people. Everyone
must think of the welfare of all and be ready for anyones need, entailing this; there must be no
more destruction of human dignity and lives, for people must be loved and riches must be owned
and not the other way around. The author also wants to emphasize how a person, because of
wealth, becomes less humane and dignified one, just like the woman who owned the store that
furiously attack the man who did not pay on what he had eaten in her restaurant. The woman did
not consider her being humane and mocked the thief in front of the crowd, not thinking the
mans situation.
-Enough, enough youre no longer my care, how dare a thief like you
argue with me- the woman said sarcastically, which was met by laughter from
some of the curious crowd. (par. 39)
Furthermore, commercialization of everything must be lessen, it must only limit to goods
and should not include knowledge and religion, for commercializing these two would result to
the oppression of the poor. Knowledge must be shared to everyone for improvement and so that
everyone would have a chance of sufficient knowledge so as not to be ignorant. Knowledge
could also maximize everyones mind so that new ideas would breed new inventions and
innovations. On the other hand, religion must be used to give people hope and assist them in
reaching their dreams. It must be used to make everyone feel happy and comfortable even though
life becomes harsh. It must be maximize to give everyone faith in times of troubles, but unlike
today, many religions uses faith in another way and not its principal obligation of giving hope
and help everyone in need. The writer emphasizes this because of his discouragement of religion
for not doing of what it was supposed to do. This was apparent when Luis said this,
-And to think there is a God, religion, or society which should care-
(1st sentence, par.27 & 44)
What the author wish to convey here is that how come problems still exist when everyone
is claiming that theres a God? Can God just erase these problems so that there would be no more
suffering?
In addition, mercy must not just for showing off to everyone. Mercy and eagerness to
help must come from within. Its good to help someone with the presence and knowledge of
everybody, but theres this purity and genuineness of mercy if it is done secretly and when no
one is looking. The author wants to express that charity must be pure and not just for show off
for it would just be like showing how rich you are which would mislead people that you are a
kind person even if youre not.
Luis eagerly hopes for a happy time when mercy is virtue, unlike now when charity is
bought and bandied about by those who can afford to. (1st sentence, par. 5)
Also, property must be equally distributed if not free of ownership. A concrete example is
land, it was given to us by nature and by virtue of God, and it must be appropriated to everyone,
enjoyed by all and must no longer subject to human avarice. However, society today tends to
oppose it; peoples lives are destroyed because of the partitions of land arguing who must own
this and that up to the extent of taking lives just to justify ones ownership.
Moreover, every person must be contented, for desiring more wealth and property would
lead to arrogance and desire to rule above everyone. If someone has more he must think not only
of himself but to the welfare of everyone. As our author says,
 People should feel content of what they have If not, there will always
be, as there has always been, the poor who are oppressed by their fellow human
beings; and the desire to put personal gain above all else shall never end.
(par. 6)
Lastly, government must also do their job by reflecting the will of majority and not just
by few elites and lawmakers, they must uphold the sacredness of human rights, rulers must also
set aside personal gain to effectively rule and represent the nation. But on the other side of the
coin, the government becomes mirror reflecting the image of deceitful past possessing peoples
lives and resources to serve their own interest and consolidate their rule. Terrorism must also be
prevented at all times for it hinders the progress of the society, if a certain wish or change is
asked it must be done in peaceful and legal way.
In spite of all the societys problems, we should trust the power of majority, with full
belief and strong faith, that everyone could make a difference and could uphold his rights and
can fight against all odds no matter what the struggles are. The author still expresses his hope
that one day all of this could end, as he said,
A time shall come when real freedom is established, when there will no
longer be lords and kings, when basic rights are no longer held hostage by the
guns of the powerful. (par. 12)
The title Life Ever Bitter truly reflects the theme that the author wishes to convey. The
negativity of the story presented by the title is consistent throughout the story emphasizing the
diminutive and substantial problems of society. It also illustrates how the problems are chained
to each other by describing every link of problems to imprison the characters while giving
exception to others. The Bitter in the title coveys the heaviness of the story, it shapes the
reason on what we can expect from the story. However in the end, the character had a wishful
thinking that everything could change, that the utopia that he fervently wishes would be fulfilled.

E. Dialogue/ Language
The first part of the story uses inner dialogue that reveals the main characters
personality. It was used to employ stream of consciousness and dramatic monologue to set the
atmosphere of the story. The choice of words was wise and appropriate, reflecting the characters
visions and opinions. The words were so distinctive and comprehensible but have a deeper
meaning compare to what you are expecting it to be.

These are his ardent dreams in life, even while the sea is still
rough, darkness still prevails, and old and new ideas are struggling with
each other. But not one side wobbles: both are still strong. At this very
moment, the moneyed ones still peddle the wrong ideas about the
poor.(par. 13)

The above passage shows how the author presented the sentences figuratively with
simple words but with deep meaning. It effectively influenced the readers of what the writer
wants to express by comparing the real-life situation to a calamitous natural phenomena. The
choice of words makes the sentence colorful while the character is ranting and complaining
about the issues of the system and the society. The sentence length is sufficient. Every sentence
and tone gives the feeling of bitterness of Luis. Every word that represents a feeling was clearly
expressing its thought, for example the line

He wants to destroy arrogant power, ostentatious display of wealth

which Luis thinking only further offends the needy. (1st sentence, par. 7)

Even if youre already in the middle of the story you could feel the tension arising from
Luis that truly define of what the author wanted to convey about Luis. For instance,

In the face of all these, Luis could only depend on the power of
people, on the suffering of majority who are now starting to stir; the so
called nation which becomes all powerful when in wrath and no longer be
able to bear the pain, and are especially capable of making miracles
surpassing those of Gods.(1st sentence, par. 19)

The text above shows the aftermath of the burning of the heart and the yearning for
change of Luis. It shows a glimpse of hope, a feeling of courage and fervor that soothes the fire
thats burning within us showing that no matter how bad things are as long as we look at the
bright side of the situation theres always this faith and hope.
 The language presented by Luis shows what kind of person he is, the 2nd paragraph of the
story tells us about what he wanted to change and what made him want to have change. Luis was
not a believer of God or religion or the society, the passage

And to think there is a God or Religion and society which should

care.(par. 27 & 44)

At the latter part of the story, when Luis attention was directed to a group of men, the
dialogue becae an outer dialogue in which it is a simple conversation between two or more
characters. (literarydevices.net)

The group of men specifically the pale-faced guy and the man-who-first-spoke
represented the ordinary people at that time, as the author describes,

In their nakedness, one sees poverty, indicating that they are the
unfortunate ones who sell their labor power by carrying the load of anyone who
orders them about(3rd sentence, par. 21)

The words they used were more of like people begging and in grief about the things that
they were deprived about, which was work and opportunities, and how tired and hopeless they
were thinking that their life could improve. As the conversation goes,

One of the men spoke: Of all commodities, labor power is the most
difficult to sell. I left my wife and three children who had not yet eaten breakfast
but Ive not earned anything until now and I dont know where to get money to
buy food for the family.

As if on cue, his companions simultaneously answered Youre right

(Par. 22 and 23)

The store owner and the police showed the example of what Luis wanted to give
emphasis to-the kind person who doesnt think about the welfare of others. We could see clearly
how the Spanish language was used by the store owner and the police. By using this foreign
language we could notice their distinction from other characters. The emphasis was directed unto
them when the foreign language was used.
 -Este hombre, tekas, sabe tekas? Este chow, despues vamus, mucho
vamus, like this, like this- and the woman acted like running (Par. 32)

-Yes, mi sabe- the policeman answered smiling- Now, hombre- he told

his catch- Sigue, to calaboose you go. (Par 33)

The store owner represented the aristocrat that only gives charity if everyone knew of the
charity she did.

You should have told me honestly and I would have given you food, you
sonofa (par. 37)

At the time she said this with a loud voice, there were many people surrounding them
who were curious of what was happening; only showing of what kind of person the store owner
is.

The police represented how the authorities or the government act by just doing as they
told by those elite people and not thinking the welfare of the all. He should have had a fair
treatment on the man who did not pay his meal, but instead he stroked the man with his club and
was always saying yes to what the store owner wants to do with the thief.

-You take este hombre- she[the store owner] gratingly told the police

-Yes yes, comon, sigue pronto- said the police to the man, striking him
with his club (par. 40 & 41)

Judging on how they used the language, the readers could comprehend that they are
belittling the man who did not pay for his meal. Luis description of the two at the earlier part of
the story was being personified giving the readers a tangible example.

The language used by the author is a mix of Tagalog3 and Spanish language. The
language played an important role in comprehension for it distinguished and relates the
characters from one to another.
F. Symbolism
One of the vital tools that the author used to convey meaning and also add power to catch
the attention of the readers is the use of symbolism. In the beginning of the story, the ledger was
mentioned. The ledger symbolizes balance. Ironically, all throughout the story nothing seemed
to be balanced in the society.

"He is poor while Rojalde is rich. Whatever he does, luck would be at

Rojalde's side. " (1st sentence, par. 15)

"...he is subjugated but could bot point out any other source of his troubles
but the injustice of the prevailing system and philosophy. " (2nd sentence, par. 16)

Luis emphasized that the society favored those who were on the top and took for granted
those who were at the bottom. The latter's potentials were disregarded. Another symbolism used
was in the character of Luis. See the phrase below.

"He believed from the very start that it was his duty to unite with people whose
sole purpose has been to fight for their right. From that time on, he served the
cause of the poor. " (4th & 5th sentence, par. 2)

In the lines mentioned, Luis represents the Filipino laborers who had worked so hard yet
they got nothing in return. The compensation they were worthy of was not given to them. They
were treated as if they were machines.

"Luis fervently wishes that the poor be treated fairly as human beings,
and not as machines forced to produced anything yet are not given enough
compensation to meet their daily needs. " (4th sentence, par. 3)

The character of Don Nicanor symbolizes the US government. Refer to the line below.

"Don Nicanor would never agree to tie his daughter's fate to that of the poor
man... " (3rd sentence, par. 14)

The above line showed the characteristic of Don Nicanor being a strict, protective but
not too much controlling of his daughter. He wanted to direct the life of his daughter. Jut like the
US government controlling the Philippines. They oppressed and deprived the Filipinos. The US
government controlled the Philippines and disregarded the voices of the suffering Filipinos.

However, Rojalde represents the Americans. In the line following line,

He is poor while Rojalde is rich. Whatever he does, luck would be at

Rojaldes side. (1st sentence, par. 16)

Rojalde and Don Nicanor both have the characteristics of being favored and rich. When
Rojalde was chosen by Don Nicanor to be the husband of the latters daughter, it clearly showed
the biased treatment between the rich and poor. Those people at the higher rank or people who
possessed wealth were favored and adored.

Danding symbolizes the Motherland or the Philippines while Rojalde symbolizes the
America and Don Nicanor symbolizes the Filipino elites who wanted to be with America so that
their wealth could grow more. It is obvious in the story on how the author wanted to represent
these three. The marriage of Danding to Rojalde could symbolize the giving up of Motherland to
the oppressors for Luis, which represents the ordinary Filipinos, could not do anything anymore
because they are helpless against the oppressors. If we relearn our history we could relate these
to what happened to the Philippines during the American colonization.

In the last part where there was a commotion, the police officer represents authority and
power.

"...striking hin with his club. " (paragraph 41)

The previous line clearly showed the oppressive treatment of those who were in
authority. The police officer took the law in his hand and punished the man without a fair and
just trial.

"...a time still covered by dark clouds that need to be dispersed by a strong
wind for the sun to shine in the east... " (3rd sentence, par. 16)

In this line, the dark clouds symbolize the US colonialism while the strong wind symbolizes
unity and nationalism and the sun symbolizes freedom.
G. Point of View
This story is from the point of view of the third person. The third person is not a character
on the story and it is the most commonly used point of view in writing.
The third person's perspective in the story is omniscient, which means that the narrator
knows everything. He's not limited by what one character knows and he can know things that
other characters don't. It represents not only of the main character's thoughts but also the events
and opinions of other people around his life. As a result, this style of narration brings to life an
entire world of events and characters and gives them significant depth.

H. Tone
In the beginning of the story, it is evident that the author, Faustino Aguilar, was
contemplative on what was the situation in the society. In the story, the author said,

He wants to destroy arrogant power, ostentatious display of wealth, be it on

ones body, in his dwelling, or whole lifestyle, which in Luis thinking only further
offend the needy.(1st sentence, par. 7)

It showed bitterness and anger towards the current system and how the poor are being
oppressed by the rich. One paragraph states,

He longs for a time when there would no longer be masters nor slaves,
no superiors nor downtrodden.(1st sentence, par 3)

This exhibited Luis persistent desire or longing for change and showed his hopes for a
better time where no one would be treated less than whom they are. The author showed Luis
hatred with what was happening not only to him, but also to his fellow men.

In addition to the tones given, the author was also being cynical to those who are in
power during that time, and to those who are greedy and concerned only with their own interests.
An example of this is when the narrator said,

The words me first may be heard spoken by anyone expecting some

benefits, and he hates them. He wants peoples thinking to be motivated by the
 well-being of all, not by the self-interest of a few, which is commonly practiced
nowadays.(1st sentence, par 10)

The tones used by the author such as bitterness, anger, longing, hatred, and cynical are
appropriate for the subject of the story, especially given the background of the character used in
the story: Luis being parentless at a young age of 26 while supporting her sisters with his
monthly wages. Being angry and bitter about the system and everyone oppressing others is
justifiable from someone who is actually seeing how the poor are being treated by the rich, and
how the less fortunate are willing to bend over backwards just to survive. This was an apparent
situation in the story when a woman was badgering a man for stealing from her, and when a
group of men were talking on how they would want to sell their labor just so they could bring
something home from their family. This to the author seemed to be what the reality of the
society; hence the tones mentioned above are truly reasonable.

The story does not just focuses on imbalances, unequal opportunities and ineffectiveness
of government. It also emphasizes on how an individual person contributed to these problems
and an ideology of equality among all people. The author wants to suggest socialism as an
answer. But socialism could not be the only solution, for there must be a joint effort of
individuals and the government. Equality alone could result to dependency and resilience to the
government.
As we can see in the story, a collaboration of people and government must be the
solution. The government must always consider the welfare of people without looking at their
status, and every individual must strive to give all their strength and effort to improve their lives.
NOTES
1
p. 176 Two Faces of America- Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology by Lumbera,
Lumbera

2
p. 123 Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology by Lumbera, Lumbera

3
Referring to original version. The version in Lumberas book was a translation by Mario
Ignacio Miclat. p. 163 Philippine Literature: A history and anthology by Lumbera, Lumbera.

REFERENCE LIST:
Lumbera, B. & Lumbera, C.N. (2016). Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology.
Mandaluyong City. Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Sedillo, A. (2017).Descriptive Writing: Definition, Techniques & Examples. Retrieved from

http://study.com/academy/lesson/descriptive-writing-definition-techniques-examples.html

Underwood, A. (2017). Metaphors. Retrieved from https://www.grammarly.com/blog/metaphor/

http://www.literarydevices.net/outerdialogue
ZLI 111/7:30-9:00/TTH/BBG GROUP 2 Life Ever Bitter
1. Cadoy, Kristine Bernadette
2. Encluna, John Davin
3. Ejanda, Miladel May
4. Maza, Princess Hannah
5. Yabes, Trisha
6. Sisican, Maeca Joyce
7. Diuco, Japoy