A Literary Analysis on Hunger in Barok by N.V.M. Gonzales

                                How the Peasant Survives Through the Season of Drought

              People behave differently based on their status and situations in life. One’s attitude might alter depending on how the current struggle demands him or her in making a decision that will affect his or her life at present or in the future.  In N.V.M. Gonzales’ work, “The Hunger in Barok”, the story revolves around the lives of a peasant and his landlord. Pare Crispin, together with his thin, though strong-limbed wife and three skinny boys, who experienced a drastic hunger due to a long season of drought.

              According to Karl Marx on his thought about social class (David Carter, 2006), “Man’s social being determines his consciousness, and the material interests of the dominant social class determine how all classes perceive their existence.” How people think is anchored on his status in life and in the society he belongs. Just like Pare Crispin who is a peasant in the story, together with his family, survives only for the parcel of land rented from Mang Cesar, who is the landlord in the story. In the history of the Philippines, it was during the Spanish period in which the encomienda started. Lands are owned by Spanish officials or elite individuals whereas, the native will nurture the land and pay the tribute (tax) which was represented by the portion of their harvest (Anderson, A., 1976, The encomienda in early Philippine colonial history). The relationship between the rich and the poor is being highlighted in the story as well as the way they perceive things.

Most people came to Mang Cesar to ask for a parcel of land to clear and develop it. When the drought or hunger in Barok strike, Pare Crispin was not exempted. He and his family suffered tremendously, who had been eating only sweet potatoes for three weeks since the drought. This was illustrated in the story when Mang Cesar asked Pare Crispin, “Your sweet-potato patch did not yield this year?” Crispin said, “For three weeks now we’ve eaten nothing but sweet potatoes. Providence will it so, perhaps.” Crispin showed frustration of how eagerly he wanted to have a cavan of rice for his family’s meal.

              He was there at Mang Cesar’s place to borrow rice but he was refused for what was left was only sufficient for his family and animals. In Karl Marx proposition, “Class struggle is the motor of history”, the farmers in the story experienced severe famine, and even Pare Crispin opted to go back to his old trade in Sumagui, leaving his family, just to make money and sent it to survive since the land has no longer used because of the drought. The struggle to survive in the midst of the crisis was the opposing force which Crispin experienced in the story.

It is also in this story that we can observe things that only rich people can have like the horse and probably the large portion of land. These two things are associated with power and influence in the society they lived. Pare Crispin did not allow the situation to alter his moral principle. He showed his strength and will power to endure hunger and suffering when he chose the plant the seeds of rice lent by Mang Cesar. He can even pound the rice and cook it to transiently resolve their current situation but he resisted it. His wisdom triumphed over the desire to fulfill their cravings and plant the seeds instead, hoping to get a good harvest. His attitude towards the situation was exemplary. It gives us a lesson that whatever the situation is or even how difficult it is, we must stick to what is right and not be tempted for temporary pleasures in life because, in the end, we’ll be the one to harvest the ramifications of the decisions we made in the past.