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Ben Singkol
A reluctant and accidental hero. "He is supot. Scared, he ran away from the ritual of manhood. He ran away again from his foxhole in Bataan when the Japanese were closing in. And through much of his life even when he had become comfortable, he still ran away, haunted by the poverty of his boyhood, of the treachery that he may have committed. This is Benjamin Singkol -- perhaps the most interesting character ever created by F. Sionil Jose. After World War II, Sionil Jose enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas and came under the wing of Paz Latorena, one of the country's foremost writers and literature teachers and the Dominican writer, Juan Labrador. He worked in journalism and developed his distinctly direct narrative style. Sionil Jose is best know for his epic work, the Rosales saga -- five novels which encompass a hundred years of Philippine history, from 1872 when th three Filipino priests -- Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora were martyred , to 1972 when Marcos declared Martial Law.
243 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
F. Sionil José
58 books362 followersFrancisco Sionil José was born in 1924 in Pangasinan province and attended the public school in his hometown. He attended the University of Santo Tomas after World War II and in 1949, started his career in writing. Since then, his fiction has been published internationally and translated into several languages including his native Ilokano. He has been involved with the international cultural organizations, notably International P.E.N., the world association of poets, playwrights, essayists and novelists whose Philippine Center he founded in 1958.
F. Sionil José, the Philippines' most widely translated author, is known best for his epic work, the Rosales saga - five novels encompassing a hundred years of Philippine history - a vivid documentary of Filipino life.
In 1980, Sionil José received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.
In 2001, Sionil José was named National Artist for Literature.
In 2004, Sionil José received the Pablo Neruda Centennial Award.
F. Sionil José, the Philippines' most widely translated author, is known best for his epic work, the Rosales saga - five novels encompassing a hundred years of Philippine history - a vivid documentary of Filipino life.
In 1980, Sionil José received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.
In 2001, Sionil José was named National Artist for Literature.
In 2004, Sionil José received the Pablo Neruda Centennial Award.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 16, 2015
"You will find that our enemies are our own kin. It is they who will betray us. So learn this most important lesson- in the end, our worst enemies are ourselves."
Although it shames me as a self-proclaimed Pinoy bookworm, I have to admit this is my first F. Sionil Jose novel so as to inform everyone reading this review that my opinion might be unnecessarily "better" than usual due to the fact that I cannot compare this to any other F. Sionil Jose novel. With that being said, I should also add that the only reason I read this is because it was the required reading for my HUM 1: Man, Society and Literature class. We can all thank my professor for the presence of my praises about to follow, haha.
Now that my full disclosure is over and done with, let me start on my glowing review!
"Ben Singkol" starts with unanswered letters of a certain "Haruko Kitamura" to an enigmatic "Benjamin Singkol". As a reader, I cam say that these letters were a great tool in making me form a hazy image of an elusive Benjamin Singkol.
After these letters came the normal chapter by chapter narration ...Normal if you consider an epic storyline normal. Ben Singkol's life from being a poor scrawny kid in Selasor to his present "old troubled rich man" existence was detailed chapter by chapter. And yes, I stand by what I said. It was epic....and it's far from over with an open ending like that, haha.
The novel's setting varied from the carefree rural Selasor to the Martial Law-ruled Manila among others, with secret guerilla camps, lomihans in old Quiapo, university newspaper offices, dark prison rooms and art shops in Hong Kong along the way. I have hope that these settings will make you have an inkling of how Ben's life played out yet not reveal too much (which will in turn make you curious to actually read it! )
Perhaps one thing I should start commenting on is the war setting. As a kid born in '97, I'm speaking for my entire generation when I say we know next to nothing about war. This novel thankfully made me a bit more knowledgeable about the ugliness of it. It made me miserable about the death, the destruction, the horror...and it made me realize how lucky I am to be born with what peace we have now.
Lest I forget to add my take on Ben Singkol's romantic life, I'm gonna mention it now. It was chaotic. The phrase "the calm before the storm" doesn't apply to it. I can't describe it as "the calm AFTER the storm" either, as there's another storm that threatens to brew soon after the previous one. Like I said, it was chaotic. To be honest, much like a storm it was beautiful too.
Another factor that made me enjoy reading the novel is because journalism and literature, two things I'm passionate about, were present in this book. From the start of the letters, Benjamin Singkol himself is revealed to be a connoisseur of both. The surprise appearance of the names of NVM Gonzales, Nick Joaquin, and several other people I need to catch up on, were an added bonus.
All in all, I really really really enjoyed my "required reading". It's probably wrong of me to call this my favorite F. Sionil Jose novel since it's the only one I have read as of now. It's not wrong to call it one my all-time favorite novels though, so I'll settle for that.
Although it shames me as a self-proclaimed Pinoy bookworm, I have to admit this is my first F. Sionil Jose novel so as to inform everyone reading this review that my opinion might be unnecessarily "better" than usual due to the fact that I cannot compare this to any other F. Sionil Jose novel. With that being said, I should also add that the only reason I read this is because it was the required reading for my HUM 1: Man, Society and Literature class. We can all thank my professor for the presence of my praises about to follow, haha.
Now that my full disclosure is over and done with, let me start on my glowing review!
"Ben Singkol" starts with unanswered letters of a certain "Haruko Kitamura" to an enigmatic "Benjamin Singkol". As a reader, I cam say that these letters were a great tool in making me form a hazy image of an elusive Benjamin Singkol.
After these letters came the normal chapter by chapter narration ...Normal if you consider an epic storyline normal. Ben Singkol's life from being a poor scrawny kid in Selasor to his present "old troubled rich man" existence was detailed chapter by chapter. And yes, I stand by what I said. It was epic....and it's far from over with an open ending like that, haha.
The novel's setting varied from the carefree rural Selasor to the Martial Law-ruled Manila among others, with secret guerilla camps, lomihans in old Quiapo, university newspaper offices, dark prison rooms and art shops in Hong Kong along the way. I have hope that these settings will make you have an inkling of how Ben's life played out yet not reveal too much (which will in turn make you curious to actually read it! )
Perhaps one thing I should start commenting on is the war setting. As a kid born in '97, I'm speaking for my entire generation when I say we know next to nothing about war. This novel thankfully made me a bit more knowledgeable about the ugliness of it. It made me miserable about the death, the destruction, the horror...and it made me realize how lucky I am to be born with what peace we have now.
Lest I forget to add my take on Ben Singkol's romantic life, I'm gonna mention it now. It was chaotic. The phrase "the calm before the storm" doesn't apply to it. I can't describe it as "the calm AFTER the storm" either, as there's another storm that threatens to brew soon after the previous one. Like I said, it was chaotic. To be honest, much like a storm it was beautiful too.
Another factor that made me enjoy reading the novel is because journalism and literature, two things I'm passionate about, were present in this book. From the start of the letters, Benjamin Singkol himself is revealed to be a connoisseur of both. The surprise appearance of the names of NVM Gonzales, Nick Joaquin, and several other people I need to catch up on, were an added bonus.
All in all, I really really really enjoyed my "required reading". It's probably wrong of me to call this my favorite F. Sionil Jose novel since it's the only one I have read as of now. It's not wrong to call it one my all-time favorite novels though, so I'll settle for that.
August 7, 2016
#BuwanNgMgaAkdangPinoy
Aklat #5: BEN SINGKOL by National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose
(Solidaridad Publishing House, 2001)
Si F. "Manong Frankie" Sionil Jose ang manunulat na Pinoy na sobrang paborito ko. Sa katunayan, 12 aklat na niya ang nabasa ko mula noong maging mahilig (voracious) akong magbasa ng aklat mga 5 taon na ang nakakaraan. Bakit ako nage-enjoy na basahin ang mga akda niya? Dalawang dahilan:
Ayaw kong sabihin na ang kuwento ni Ben Singkol ay parang kuwento natin o kuwento ng Pilipinas. Parang magiging baduy pag ganoon dahil talamak na yon sa mga nobelang Pinoy. Pang-hipster ito. Cool ang mga nagbabasa ng F. Sionil lalo na nagbabasa for leisure sa labas ng academe. Pak na pak sila.
Aklat #5: BEN SINGKOL by National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose
(Solidaridad Publishing House, 2001)
Si F. "Manong Frankie" Sionil Jose ang manunulat na Pinoy na sobrang paborito ko. Sa katunayan, 12 aklat na niya ang nabasa ko mula noong maging mahilig (voracious) akong magbasa ng aklat mga 5 taon na ang nakakaraan. Bakit ako nage-enjoy na basahin ang mga akda niya? Dalawang dahilan:
1. Si F. Sionil Jose (ipinanganak noong 1924) ay ang pambato ng Pilipinas sa Nobel Prize for Literature. Walang akong ibang maisip na Pambansang Alagad ng Sining na maaaring makasungkit ng Nobel para sa Pilipinas kundi si Manong Frankie. Alam na natin na ang mga nagwagi na ng Nobel sa Literature ay mahuhusay na manunulat sa iba't ibang panig ng mundo. Sa loob ng 115 taon na may Nobel Prize para sa Literature, karamihan ng mga nagwagi ay mga Western countries. Tanging ang taga-India na si Rabindranath Tagore (1913); mga Hapones na sina Yasunari Kabawata (1968), Kenzaburo Oe (1994), at ang Tsino na si Mo Yan (2012) ang mga Asyanong nakatanggap ng parangal na ito. Eh ano naman kung nominated (siguro) siya sa Nobel? Siyempre, nangangarap din ako, bilang Pilipino, na may kababayan tayong manunulat tayong mapaparangalan ng prestihiyosong titulong ito.Ang Benjamin "Ben" Singkol ay tungkol sa isang lalaking ipinanganak at lumaki sa Selasor, fictional town sa Pangasinan. Mukhang semi-autobiographical nobel ito dahil maraming pagkakahalintulad sa buhay ni Ben at Manong Frankie hindi lang siguro sa physical. Si Ben kasi ay supot (uncircumcised) at kumang (bowed arms). Si Ben Singkol ay nakaranas nang maraming makasaysayang pangyayari sa bansa gaya ng World War II kung saan siya ay naduwag pero sa pagtakas ay nakagawa ng kabayanihan. Ito ay parang na-foreshadow noong maduwag rin siya sa labahang pantuli kaya't siya ay naging supot habang buhay. Pero si Ben ay hindi duwag sa maraming bagay lalo na sa usapin ng pag-ibig at pagmamahal.
2. Ang lenguwaheng ginagamit ni Manong Frankie ay English. Dahil journalist ang background niya, ang kanyang paglalahad ay straightforward. Short sentences. Madaling maintindihan ang daloy ng kuwento. Hindi ka titigil sa pagbabasa at magtatanong sa sarili ng "ano raw?" tapos babasahin ulit ang di naintindihan. Ang daloy ng kuwento ay madali ring sundan dahil plausible ang plot, twists at climax. Yong di parang pinilit upang masabi lang na imaginative 'yong nobelista. Hindi rin naman kulang at predictable. Dahil kung parang shortchanged ang pakiramdam ko o parang nahuhulaan ko ang mangyayari, hindi ako makakatapos ng 12 nobela niya sa loob ng 6 na taon kong pagbabasa. May mga kaibigan akong mas gustong magbasa ng foreign books dahil baduy raw ang mga local books. Mayroon din sa kanilang ayaw magbasa ng Filipino (Tagalog) para raw gumaling sila sa English. Mayroon ding mga gustong sumubok magbasa (ngayong tapos na silang mag-aral sa college), pero hindi alam kung saan magsisimula. Hindi baduy ang mga akda ni Manong Frankie. Hindi baduy ang malaman ang naganap noong kapanahunan niya. Makakatulong ito sa ating critical thinking by learning from our history. English, at world-class English, nasusulat ang mga akda. Kung di mo alam kung saan magsisimula, you won't go wrong by picking one of his works.
Ayaw kong sabihin na ang kuwento ni Ben Singkol ay parang kuwento natin o kuwento ng Pilipinas. Parang magiging baduy pag ganoon dahil talamak na yon sa mga nobelang Pinoy. Pang-hipster ito. Cool ang mga nagbabasa ng F. Sionil lalo na nagbabasa for leisure sa labas ng academe. Pak na pak sila.
April 21, 2010
Story during Japanese occupation and how to rise up on your own and still choosing to live when you know you thought you lost everything.
February 3, 2014
Although this book does not compare to Jose's Rosales series, it is still good especially the beginning and the ending. It is refreshing to see Jose finally accepting capitalism as the best way for the Filipino people to rise out of poverty though he advocates capitalists with conscience to help others who are less fortunate than they are. In an effort of a more complete disclosure, my book was missing pages 235-8 just in case something important happened in those pages.
I like how Jose starts with Ben saying that people are sleepwalking and our dreams are just embellishment of our humdrum lives. He states that gratitude and loyalty are prisons that we willingly imprison ourselves. At a young age, Ben had a connection with poetry and belonged to a poor family who lived via subsistence living. He was an avid reader. His father and mother would constantly fight about money but would make up in the evening and have sex. It is interesting how being unable to afford shoes connotes that one is uneducated since if one cannot afford shoes one cannot afford an education which explains why Ben now has a large shoe collection. His parents sent Ben to further his education in Manila.
The parents counciled Ben to run from a fight b/c that is how the "poor and the weak survive.". His father advise him to be lowly in order to not attract attention. I think it is hilarious how Ben was denoted "supot" which means uncircumsized but connotes cowardice. In Manila, Ben was treated as a servant seen but not heard and certainly not acknowledged by his masters. Ben was encouraged to know his place and not be friends with Seniorita Nena. B/c he was made to feel his lowly status and aware of his disability, he acted accordingly following social conventions. But Seniorita Nena wanted to be friends with him and held his hand when they saw the sunset over Mnl Bay. He was in love with Nena. When Ben told her that he was ugly b/c he was dark and poor, Nena countered with a declaration that her father used to be poor but was now rich through hard work. He became the first man she ever kissed.
When the Japanese invaded, Yoshida the gardener became a colonel in the Imperial Army. At this point in his life, Ben's only ambition was to have a full stomach and avoid his alcoholic father's fate. After graduating high school, Ben finished in the top of his class with the help of Nena's books but his uncle and auntie could no longer afford to pay for his education so he had to look for part time work while he went to FEU. He went to school and was doing pre-law to be worthy of Nena whom he sees on Sunday. Although it was Nena who Ben loved, he lost his virginity to Dr. Salazar younger sister the 40 yrs old Mrs. Singson
Grandpa said that the Filipino's are the ones who betrayed their own revolution but isn't that how it usually is look at Benedict Arnold during the American Revolution? Ben began to work with Dr. Salazar a naturopath having a PhD in chemist.
After 10 yrs draught, Mrs. Singson was insatiable in bed. Nena's great-grandfather sold the revolution out by accepting money to sign a pact that would stop hostilities. Although Ben was in love with Nena and she with him as could be seen by the pen that she bought him for his birthday, he rejected her proposal to elope since he believed in strict boundaries between the classes.
Since he was drafted for the war effort during WWII, he elected to be in the hospital corps. Although Ben wanted to stay away from Corporal Dawel, he was able to anticipate what Ben wanted in exchange for what Dawel wants.
General MacArthur was ineptly prepared for the Japanese invasion of the Philippines even after he heard the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, he did not prepare for adequate reinforcements until it was too late. Ben became a reluctant hero when he was cornered his survival instinct kicked in and not only went on a Rambo rampage vs the Japanese but also saved a mestizo sargent. Alex Reyes marveled why anyone would stay and help him live to which Ben responded that as a medic he felt a sense of responsibility for his patients well-being.
After returning from the field of battle and the war failed war effort with the loss of both of his parents and seeing the Bataan death march, Ben anxiety was the only thing that sustained him. Mrs. Singson came that evening when Ben returned and told him that the war was a test on Filipino integrity.
Nena, a morena, exuberance made her pretty for Ben. She came and told Ben her engagement did not push through and was free to be with him. They had an easy friendship with each other and innocent love for one another. During the Japanese occupation, Nena became a scriptwriter and b/c Ben fought in Bataan he got to hang out with her all the time. Later, Nena discovered that Ben was a better scriptwriter than she was. Ben realized that the Japanese could be the model for a resurgent Philippines. While he was courting Nena, Ben was sleeping with Mrs. Singson with her brother's blessing. He decided to quit his life in the clinic in order to be a full time scriptwriter which he enjoyed but also so he could be next to Nena. From her, he learned things about the humanities and political science.
Despite being in love with Nena, he saw her as the paramount of virtue and thus resisted having sex with her much to his regret later. Later that night, the Japanese soldiers came and took Ben and tortured him and asked about the guerrilla activities in his place and about Nena. Again, Ben's survival instinct was the only thing that helped him survive the Japanese torture. War causes scarcity of products and later lack of food. After being tortured by the Japanese and finally escaping, Ben decided to join the guerrilla resistant movement against the Japanese.
Ben said that guerrilla warfare included infighting a la Syria civil war today. In the final days of the Japanese occupation, they raped and pillaged the civilian population. B/c of his hatred for the Japanese especially when he learned the Japanese killed all his family and took away his beloved Nena, Ben wanted to join the US army for the invasion of Japan so he could kill all the Japs he wanted but he was needed as a medic. By working as a medic, Ben was able to be introduced to famous American writers since both Red and Dr. Moshi were voracious readers. Red extolled Ben that there was no place for vengeance in the American military just justice; thus in WWII American's proved to have integrity in their values in keeping POW's alive.
Dawel is a tradesman who smuggled basi, women, and medicine to the camps that needed them in exchange for money. He was betting on a fellow Ilocano named Marcos as a man who would make him rich.
After the war despite Ben Singkol's medical training, he became a lawyer b/c it was cheaper to become a lawyer than a doctor. In between his classes, he did odd jobs and worked @ a newspaper as a proofreader as well as wrote fiction stories. During a conference, Ben met a fair girl English lit major Remy and began to fall in love again. Remy could not be seen with Ben b/c he was poor so he naturally wondered how Nena could leave all her belongings to be with a nobody like him. But one day Remy visited his apartment and kissed him. In the movies, they talked and kissed but he would never talk about their future per Remy's request. After awhile Remy had sex with Ben in a motel. Remy's "uncle" censored her first against speaking out against her class and next against speaking out against Japanese collaborators. It turns out that Remy is the mistress of her "uncle" and is marrying him for his money while he is marrying her for her youth. This is the reason Ben should not see a future with her. While Ben was saddened by the fact that Remy was marrying her uncle, he realized that it is his imagination that continually saves him from the jaws of dispair.
Ben published his Novel "Pain" in short story installments that became a hit and gave him money to spend. It was a statement on how ugly and demeaning war is and how man's own brutality demeaned him even more. A year before Ben graduated law school, Alex the man who he saved sought him out to honor his heroism. It turns out that Alex was the nephew of the publisher who Ben works for and was promptly promoted to editorial position. It was only through knowing the right people that Ben skills as a writer flourished as he was given free reign to write whatever interested him.
Dr. Moriga said Mrs. Singson paid people a percentage of what the clinic made and how government was inefficient b/c they did not do that. Ben did a story exhausting the use of medicinal plants. Dr. Moriga charges that the Dept. of Health were bribing reporters not to expose the corruption it finds. While Dr Moriga wants to expose the corruption so money could be spent on research, cheaper medicines, or the creation of more clinics and hospitals. Ben found the same thing happening in the Dept of education in which govt officials and suppliers colluded to defraud the government out of money. He thought the press was part of the problem of collusion when the editor told him to spend the bribe money that he made. His expose exposing the corruption in the Dept of Health quickly got him transferred out of his post covering the Dept of Health to some other position.
There he met a man whose father Marcos killed and told him that Marcos will kill again by using other people to do it for him. While writing a story about a heroic battle, Marcos' man, Major Dawel, came and tried to talk Ben into writing Marcos' as the hero in the story. But instead, he stuck to his integrity and left Marcos out of the story for this he resigned b/c he was afraid for his life.
After resigning from the Globe, Alex offered Ben a job as a corporate lawyer for his family's fortunes. As part of the Reyes payroll, Ben lived comfortably and richly even vacationing with them to Hong Kong. Isabel started opening up to Ben telling him how after Alex told his family about Ben she wanted to meet him.
Ben wanted to help the poor by encouraging the Reyes to set up Rural Banks that would service the poor and special scholarships that would recruit the best&brightest of the poor people into levels of social mobility up the ladder. After coming back from the US, the Reyes found out that Isabel has leukemia and that Alex wanted Ben to marry her since she was dying and her brother wanted him to marry her to make her happy before she passes away. Ben pitied Isabel so married her so her final days would be filled with happiness and told her that he would always take care of her. But, Isabel heard that he still loved Nena though she is dead and swore to Ben that though she could never replace Nena she endeavored to make her happy.
It is good that Isabel got to make love before she died b/c it is an important part of being human. At least, Ben was dedicated to her medical care and distracted her from her medical problems by taking her out on the town whenever he could. Ben became a dedicated husband as a person impending mortality usually makes him a dutiful spouse. @ Lourdes, Isabel conceived a daughter named Josie. After 2.5 yrs, Isabel died with her family at her side. Ben ended up loving Isabel b/c of the intensity of the shortened love affair with her. After her death, Ben convinced Alex to give their employees health insurance.
Isabel's death made measuring Ben's days in terms of Josie growth. Half the Reyes fortune went to Josie with Ben being her guardian. I agree with Ben that the Reyes progeny have to work for what they receive instead of becoming entrenched rich spoiled brats. It think that though the Reyes have the highest benefits in the industry a union can justify their existence to give voice to the voiceless. According to Ben, "capitalism must dignify their profits." Only the poor understand the poor while the rich understand the rich, this is the reason that he supported the formation of the unions while he defended the Reyes fortune.
Josie grew up to be a humble friendly bubbly girl who made friends wherever he went. One day, Colonel Dawel met Ben and asked him again for his support for the ascending star that was Marcos. When martial law was declared, Ben decided to take his daughter and his niece to live in San Francisco for 2 yrs. There General Dawel told him that he was to be honored for his novel "Pain" by Marcos which he wanted to refuse as he saw it as a useless honor done more for having connections and less for any enduring achievement. So, he and the girls went back to the Philippines. Alex sent his novel to a fellow Warton graduate who published his novel in English and other languages giving him real honor as someone who wrote a novel.
He realize the Japanese beatings have left his eyesight in peril. He credited the amulet his grandfather gave him as saving his eyesight but also the shame of cowardice he shared with his grandfather of his betraying his past and being too comfortable to understand the poor. The Philippines became a haven for sex traffickers that came from Japan.
Josie became an activist in UP Diliman against the Marcos regime. He encouraged his daughter to ask questions about everything that could be dangerous in a country under martial law. Ben always bought Josie toys in which she could learn from and use her imagination to create. Like her father, Josie was an avid reader.
In her 20th birthday, Josie invited her friends to the house and some of them advocated a revolution against the Marcos regime though Ben sympathized with their struggle, he did not want his daughter to be part of any armed struggle. When Josie's friends questioned why their generation was so pro-American especially considering they were backing the Marcos regime, he responded that the American occupation brought good things to the Philippines besides kicking out the hated Japanese conquerors. He finally gave them the advise the "patriotism is selfless and the logic of love is sacrifice". Josie friends were part of the armed resistance against Marcos. While Ben was glad that his daughter had awakened to her privileged status, he was apprehensive that this would lead to student activism particularly in armed struggle. Josie realized that Ben her father would not have given his blessing but Ben the man would be proud of his daughters defiance of the Marcos regime. He questions his lack of action in his life especially as it comes to ahead in the face of Josie joining the NPA by refusing to see what direction her life was taking.
Meanwhile, Ben set up a foundation to help the poor. One day, Haruko Kitamura a Japanese student wanting to do a thesis on Japan's war atrocities in the Philippines and initially he helped her b/c she reminded him of Nena. Commander Lapis became a Huk commander and was imprisoned during the uprising. In order to see him, Ben had to call General Dawel who asked for his help in the future.
Dr. Singkit was spared his life by the Filipino guerrilla forces since he aided in curing most of Filipino's who came to him for help. Meeting Haruka and realizing her grandfather helped Filipinos during the war allowed him to forgive the Japanese their trespasses which in turn gave him a lightness of being that was up to that point absent in his life.
Ben dreams of returning to his simple past while Josie wants her father to remarry perhaps to Haruko to banish his loneliness and perhaps foreshadows Josie joining the NPA. She recounts that some of her friends were tortured by the Marcos regime. Josie realized her father tried despite his failings to live a life of integrity which she herself wants to emulate by opposing the Marcos regime. Despite the numerous inconvenience that the living in his barrio presents for him, Ben lives the comforts of the city to live in his farm anyway.
After 6 months passed by, Ben's pain in trying to find is Josie mirrored the way he tried to find what happened to Nena after WWII. He blames the upper classes and those in power for thwarting the dreams of the common people. One day, General Dawel called him up to offer him his daughter in exchange for writing the fiction of Marcos' heroics in the war. Furthermore, Dawel tells him that Filipino's are born collaborators who survive by kowtowing to whomever is in power. So, in the end, Ben succumbs to his dark shadow , Dawel, in order to save his daughter.
I like how Jose starts with Ben saying that people are sleepwalking and our dreams are just embellishment of our humdrum lives. He states that gratitude and loyalty are prisons that we willingly imprison ourselves. At a young age, Ben had a connection with poetry and belonged to a poor family who lived via subsistence living. He was an avid reader. His father and mother would constantly fight about money but would make up in the evening and have sex. It is interesting how being unable to afford shoes connotes that one is uneducated since if one cannot afford shoes one cannot afford an education which explains why Ben now has a large shoe collection. His parents sent Ben to further his education in Manila.
The parents counciled Ben to run from a fight b/c that is how the "poor and the weak survive.". His father advise him to be lowly in order to not attract attention. I think it is hilarious how Ben was denoted "supot" which means uncircumsized but connotes cowardice. In Manila, Ben was treated as a servant seen but not heard and certainly not acknowledged by his masters. Ben was encouraged to know his place and not be friends with Seniorita Nena. B/c he was made to feel his lowly status and aware of his disability, he acted accordingly following social conventions. But Seniorita Nena wanted to be friends with him and held his hand when they saw the sunset over Mnl Bay. He was in love with Nena. When Ben told her that he was ugly b/c he was dark and poor, Nena countered with a declaration that her father used to be poor but was now rich through hard work. He became the first man she ever kissed.
When the Japanese invaded, Yoshida the gardener became a colonel in the Imperial Army. At this point in his life, Ben's only ambition was to have a full stomach and avoid his alcoholic father's fate. After graduating high school, Ben finished in the top of his class with the help of Nena's books but his uncle and auntie could no longer afford to pay for his education so he had to look for part time work while he went to FEU. He went to school and was doing pre-law to be worthy of Nena whom he sees on Sunday. Although it was Nena who Ben loved, he lost his virginity to Dr. Salazar younger sister the 40 yrs old Mrs. Singson
Grandpa said that the Filipino's are the ones who betrayed their own revolution but isn't that how it usually is look at Benedict Arnold during the American Revolution? Ben began to work with Dr. Salazar a naturopath having a PhD in chemist.
After 10 yrs draught, Mrs. Singson was insatiable in bed. Nena's great-grandfather sold the revolution out by accepting money to sign a pact that would stop hostilities. Although Ben was in love with Nena and she with him as could be seen by the pen that she bought him for his birthday, he rejected her proposal to elope since he believed in strict boundaries between the classes.
Since he was drafted for the war effort during WWII, he elected to be in the hospital corps. Although Ben wanted to stay away from Corporal Dawel, he was able to anticipate what Ben wanted in exchange for what Dawel wants.
General MacArthur was ineptly prepared for the Japanese invasion of the Philippines even after he heard the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, he did not prepare for adequate reinforcements until it was too late. Ben became a reluctant hero when he was cornered his survival instinct kicked in and not only went on a Rambo rampage vs the Japanese but also saved a mestizo sargent. Alex Reyes marveled why anyone would stay and help him live to which Ben responded that as a medic he felt a sense of responsibility for his patients well-being.
After returning from the field of battle and the war failed war effort with the loss of both of his parents and seeing the Bataan death march, Ben anxiety was the only thing that sustained him. Mrs. Singson came that evening when Ben returned and told him that the war was a test on Filipino integrity.
Nena, a morena, exuberance made her pretty for Ben. She came and told Ben her engagement did not push through and was free to be with him. They had an easy friendship with each other and innocent love for one another. During the Japanese occupation, Nena became a scriptwriter and b/c Ben fought in Bataan he got to hang out with her all the time. Later, Nena discovered that Ben was a better scriptwriter than she was. Ben realized that the Japanese could be the model for a resurgent Philippines. While he was courting Nena, Ben was sleeping with Mrs. Singson with her brother's blessing. He decided to quit his life in the clinic in order to be a full time scriptwriter which he enjoyed but also so he could be next to Nena. From her, he learned things about the humanities and political science.
Despite being in love with Nena, he saw her as the paramount of virtue and thus resisted having sex with her much to his regret later. Later that night, the Japanese soldiers came and took Ben and tortured him and asked about the guerrilla activities in his place and about Nena. Again, Ben's survival instinct was the only thing that helped him survive the Japanese torture. War causes scarcity of products and later lack of food. After being tortured by the Japanese and finally escaping, Ben decided to join the guerrilla resistant movement against the Japanese.
Ben said that guerrilla warfare included infighting a la Syria civil war today. In the final days of the Japanese occupation, they raped and pillaged the civilian population. B/c of his hatred for the Japanese especially when he learned the Japanese killed all his family and took away his beloved Nena, Ben wanted to join the US army for the invasion of Japan so he could kill all the Japs he wanted but he was needed as a medic. By working as a medic, Ben was able to be introduced to famous American writers since both Red and Dr. Moshi were voracious readers. Red extolled Ben that there was no place for vengeance in the American military just justice; thus in WWII American's proved to have integrity in their values in keeping POW's alive.
Dawel is a tradesman who smuggled basi, women, and medicine to the camps that needed them in exchange for money. He was betting on a fellow Ilocano named Marcos as a man who would make him rich.
After the war despite Ben Singkol's medical training, he became a lawyer b/c it was cheaper to become a lawyer than a doctor. In between his classes, he did odd jobs and worked @ a newspaper as a proofreader as well as wrote fiction stories. During a conference, Ben met a fair girl English lit major Remy and began to fall in love again. Remy could not be seen with Ben b/c he was poor so he naturally wondered how Nena could leave all her belongings to be with a nobody like him. But one day Remy visited his apartment and kissed him. In the movies, they talked and kissed but he would never talk about their future per Remy's request. After awhile Remy had sex with Ben in a motel. Remy's "uncle" censored her first against speaking out against her class and next against speaking out against Japanese collaborators. It turns out that Remy is the mistress of her "uncle" and is marrying him for his money while he is marrying her for her youth. This is the reason Ben should not see a future with her. While Ben was saddened by the fact that Remy was marrying her uncle, he realized that it is his imagination that continually saves him from the jaws of dispair.
Ben published his Novel "Pain" in short story installments that became a hit and gave him money to spend. It was a statement on how ugly and demeaning war is and how man's own brutality demeaned him even more. A year before Ben graduated law school, Alex the man who he saved sought him out to honor his heroism. It turns out that Alex was the nephew of the publisher who Ben works for and was promptly promoted to editorial position. It was only through knowing the right people that Ben skills as a writer flourished as he was given free reign to write whatever interested him.
Dr. Moriga said Mrs. Singson paid people a percentage of what the clinic made and how government was inefficient b/c they did not do that. Ben did a story exhausting the use of medicinal plants. Dr. Moriga charges that the Dept. of Health were bribing reporters not to expose the corruption it finds. While Dr Moriga wants to expose the corruption so money could be spent on research, cheaper medicines, or the creation of more clinics and hospitals. Ben found the same thing happening in the Dept of education in which govt officials and suppliers colluded to defraud the government out of money. He thought the press was part of the problem of collusion when the editor told him to spend the bribe money that he made. His expose exposing the corruption in the Dept of Health quickly got him transferred out of his post covering the Dept of Health to some other position.
There he met a man whose father Marcos killed and told him that Marcos will kill again by using other people to do it for him. While writing a story about a heroic battle, Marcos' man, Major Dawel, came and tried to talk Ben into writing Marcos' as the hero in the story. But instead, he stuck to his integrity and left Marcos out of the story for this he resigned b/c he was afraid for his life.
After resigning from the Globe, Alex offered Ben a job as a corporate lawyer for his family's fortunes. As part of the Reyes payroll, Ben lived comfortably and richly even vacationing with them to Hong Kong. Isabel started opening up to Ben telling him how after Alex told his family about Ben she wanted to meet him.
Ben wanted to help the poor by encouraging the Reyes to set up Rural Banks that would service the poor and special scholarships that would recruit the best&brightest of the poor people into levels of social mobility up the ladder. After coming back from the US, the Reyes found out that Isabel has leukemia and that Alex wanted Ben to marry her since she was dying and her brother wanted him to marry her to make her happy before she passes away. Ben pitied Isabel so married her so her final days would be filled with happiness and told her that he would always take care of her. But, Isabel heard that he still loved Nena though she is dead and swore to Ben that though she could never replace Nena she endeavored to make her happy.
It is good that Isabel got to make love before she died b/c it is an important part of being human. At least, Ben was dedicated to her medical care and distracted her from her medical problems by taking her out on the town whenever he could. Ben became a dedicated husband as a person impending mortality usually makes him a dutiful spouse. @ Lourdes, Isabel conceived a daughter named Josie. After 2.5 yrs, Isabel died with her family at her side. Ben ended up loving Isabel b/c of the intensity of the shortened love affair with her. After her death, Ben convinced Alex to give their employees health insurance.
Isabel's death made measuring Ben's days in terms of Josie growth. Half the Reyes fortune went to Josie with Ben being her guardian. I agree with Ben that the Reyes progeny have to work for what they receive instead of becoming entrenched rich spoiled brats. It think that though the Reyes have the highest benefits in the industry a union can justify their existence to give voice to the voiceless. According to Ben, "capitalism must dignify their profits." Only the poor understand the poor while the rich understand the rich, this is the reason that he supported the formation of the unions while he defended the Reyes fortune.
Josie grew up to be a humble friendly bubbly girl who made friends wherever he went. One day, Colonel Dawel met Ben and asked him again for his support for the ascending star that was Marcos. When martial law was declared, Ben decided to take his daughter and his niece to live in San Francisco for 2 yrs. There General Dawel told him that he was to be honored for his novel "Pain" by Marcos which he wanted to refuse as he saw it as a useless honor done more for having connections and less for any enduring achievement. So, he and the girls went back to the Philippines. Alex sent his novel to a fellow Warton graduate who published his novel in English and other languages giving him real honor as someone who wrote a novel.
He realize the Japanese beatings have left his eyesight in peril. He credited the amulet his grandfather gave him as saving his eyesight but also the shame of cowardice he shared with his grandfather of his betraying his past and being too comfortable to understand the poor. The Philippines became a haven for sex traffickers that came from Japan.
Josie became an activist in UP Diliman against the Marcos regime. He encouraged his daughter to ask questions about everything that could be dangerous in a country under martial law. Ben always bought Josie toys in which she could learn from and use her imagination to create. Like her father, Josie was an avid reader.
In her 20th birthday, Josie invited her friends to the house and some of them advocated a revolution against the Marcos regime though Ben sympathized with their struggle, he did not want his daughter to be part of any armed struggle. When Josie's friends questioned why their generation was so pro-American especially considering they were backing the Marcos regime, he responded that the American occupation brought good things to the Philippines besides kicking out the hated Japanese conquerors. He finally gave them the advise the "patriotism is selfless and the logic of love is sacrifice". Josie friends were part of the armed resistance against Marcos. While Ben was glad that his daughter had awakened to her privileged status, he was apprehensive that this would lead to student activism particularly in armed struggle. Josie realized that Ben her father would not have given his blessing but Ben the man would be proud of his daughters defiance of the Marcos regime. He questions his lack of action in his life especially as it comes to ahead in the face of Josie joining the NPA by refusing to see what direction her life was taking.
Meanwhile, Ben set up a foundation to help the poor. One day, Haruko Kitamura a Japanese student wanting to do a thesis on Japan's war atrocities in the Philippines and initially he helped her b/c she reminded him of Nena. Commander Lapis became a Huk commander and was imprisoned during the uprising. In order to see him, Ben had to call General Dawel who asked for his help in the future.
Dr. Singkit was spared his life by the Filipino guerrilla forces since he aided in curing most of Filipino's who came to him for help. Meeting Haruka and realizing her grandfather helped Filipinos during the war allowed him to forgive the Japanese their trespasses which in turn gave him a lightness of being that was up to that point absent in his life.
Ben dreams of returning to his simple past while Josie wants her father to remarry perhaps to Haruko to banish his loneliness and perhaps foreshadows Josie joining the NPA. She recounts that some of her friends were tortured by the Marcos regime. Josie realized her father tried despite his failings to live a life of integrity which she herself wants to emulate by opposing the Marcos regime. Despite the numerous inconvenience that the living in his barrio presents for him, Ben lives the comforts of the city to live in his farm anyway.
After 6 months passed by, Ben's pain in trying to find is Josie mirrored the way he tried to find what happened to Nena after WWII. He blames the upper classes and those in power for thwarting the dreams of the common people. One day, General Dawel called him up to offer him his daughter in exchange for writing the fiction of Marcos' heroics in the war. Furthermore, Dawel tells him that Filipino's are born collaborators who survive by kowtowing to whomever is in power. So, in the end, Ben succumbs to his dark shadow , Dawel, in order to save his daughter.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2016
I am supposed to give this book 4 stars only but the ending just blew me away
April 19, 2016
This is the first F. Sionil Jose book I've read. Four stars because I think that I should reserve that one star after reading his other writings. I'm not saying that this book does not deserve that one star, this book is actually amazing. It gives me the exact feeling of what had happened during the Japanese Occupation in the Philippines how much more if I was able to read Ben Singkol's "Pain"? This book would somehow give a reader some hardships on distinguising what's history and what's in this novel. It also serves as an eye opener for youths like me as it tackles about how great one's past/history play a role for the present and the future. It is a constant reminder that we should learn how to look back and correct what mistakes has done before not just for ourselves but for our beloved country as well.
December 25, 2012
It is a very moving story, and F. Sionil Jose took me back to history from the mind of someone who experienced it. Quotable quote: "Journalism is quick history; literature is history lived"... something like that. I will read more of his work. I don't have the words... not just yet. I am not evocative like FSJ. He is a hero in his own right!
August 12, 2013
“You will find that our enemies are our own kin. It is they who betray us. So learn this most important lesson-in the end, our worst enemy is ourselves”
April 29, 2015
I have always been a fan of historical fiction books and FSJ didn't let me down
November 10, 2012
OVERVIEW
Pain can be of different kinds. It can be any sensation of hurt or strong discomfort caused by an injury or disease. It can be a distress or suffering, mental or physical, due to anxiety or grief. Fortunately, drugs like morphine and opium are available to relieve the pain. Depressants can lower the rate of nervous activity when one is depressed. However, I just learned about a man who have had experienced an unbearable pain that no drugs can numb, which according to him, the pain that “most humans have never felt”. His name was Benjamin “Ben” Singkol.
Ben Singkol is such a remarkable character fashioned in a novel by Francisco Sionil Jose, one of the most widely-read and well-acclaimed Filipino writer in the country ( ). Autobiographical yet fictional by nature, the novel was written in a direct narrative prose with a notably distinct lines that aesthetically walks the reader through the life of an ordinary Ilokano man from an unknown town called Selasor. He was brought by his aunt to Manila to work and study where many individuals and history itself take a part to his maturity. The story focuses on the adversity that he and other Filipinos had experienced during the Japanese occupation, as well as his life after the war. Conflicts arise as the protagonist contended with the different facets of fear – fear of being rejected, fear of discrimination, fear of a tormented past that hunted him very badly, and fear of the reality that his character has lapses that usually get him into trouble. He certainly has gone through too much in his life so we can learn a lot of life lessons from him. He is not a perfect hero to adore, but indeed he will occupy a space in the heart of any Filipino reader for his character was very Filipino. Unfortunately, his complacency and contentment with the things that just came along his way seems to be a setback on his personality which I will explain later.
Ben Singkol is an inspiring story of love perfected by hate, triumph, and pain. It is such a delight to have the opportunity of reading this wonderful work and at the same time, write a review on it; that is to say, I am not only to tell what the book is about, but also how successfully the book explains itself. This writing, therefore, will include a short biography of the author, my analysis on what I infer is the purpose of the author in writing this novel, a short characterization, my insights on the main points of the novel, and my evaluation on the totality of the work.
VIEWPOINT AND PURPOSE
I have identified the novel as being autobiographical, yet it is also fictional as indicated in the book itself. Throughout the narrative, the author chose to tell the entire plot through the perspective of Ben. The novelist allowed us to know the thoughts of Ben. It seemed that Jose used the appropriate words and thus successful in doing so because I feel exactly what Ben is feeling on the page. I felt tormented when Ben was excruciated. I felt pain when he was beaten. I think I am in love with the character of Nena, too. I loathed the Japanese for he did too. Also, as the book explains what the eyes of Ben can see, I almost imagine myself at his very place as he stroll the city shattered by the war (pp.120-122).
As for the purpose of the novel, it transpired to me that the author wish to expose the abominable reality of the Philippine society in a very subtle way that we can relate its theme up to this moment, where in fact the story mainly concentrated on the situation of the country way back the Japanese occupation. Definitely, Ben Singkol was a timeless work. It tackles the realities that we usually deprived ourselves to be reminded of. It talks about the flaw of the Filipino character, the moral decay. It made us fathom the fact that more than how we guard our nation against foreign oppressors, we must be even more vigilant on what the author supposed is the worst enemy of the Filipino people who are Filipinos themselves.
I also think that Jose expressed his anti-elite views in this novel as he demonstrated the struggle of Ben with the reminder of him being always “Singkol from a nameless Barrio”. It is just a proof of how the masses that belong to the lower echelon of our capitalistic society toil endlessly as those of the higher ranks dominate. It talks about poverty, landlessness, love, and many others.
Lastly, I think the book is written to make most Filipinos realize that something must be done with the passivity of their character and the cowardice of their hearts, just like that of Ben, because even though these things are sometimes commendable for they demonstrate durability and endurance, there may come a time that they will yield pain and regrets.
MAIN POINTS
I know exactly that this was not meant to write a reaction paper, but rather a review of the novel. However, I believe that the best way for me to analyze how the book tried to achieve its purpose is to express my reaction on the issues that transpired in the novel. So what I am going to do right now is to quote several statements from the work which I believe stand for these issues, then I am going to tell my insights and thoughts that came to me as I am reading the book.
A. Social, Moral Decay
I have presumed that the main purpose of the author in writing Ben Singkol is to expose the abominable societal realities in the Philippines. One evidence in which the author proved his points is the fact that our worst enemies are ourselves.
“You will find that our enemies are our own kin. It is they who will betray us.
So learn this most important lesson – in the end, our worst enemies are ourselves.” (p.65)
This silent and dreadful truth arises as Benjamin had watched his fellowmen fought for liberty against the Japanese. Filipino versus Filipino – betrayal lurked every scenario. This certainty is also evident when Ben’s mother joined the Japanese willingly while chanting, “we will not be hungry”. Just the fact that his mother and other Filipinos opted to join the people who raze their own land is an obvious streak of betrayal.
After all, this attitude had been the customs of most of us, generations ago and now. Apo Iro experienced it during the Spanish and American colonization, by Ben during the Japanese, by Josie when our own president abused his fellow Filipinos.
“He put a small envelope in my shirt pocket.”(p.162)
Corruption is also another way that Jose used to say that the Philippines will really go a long way in eradicating the decay that has weakened our nation’s foundation. Ben experienced corruption while he was still working at the editorial desk of the Department of Health and Education of the Globe. He was also forced to write about President Marcos being at the Bessang Pass, where in fact, he was not. This made him ask himself if there is a tragic flaw in our character that might have had originated from our history as a nation.
So real, system does not change up to now Indeed, rarely do we find a noble government official who would choose a bus rather than traveling in an expensive suit like Dr. Moriga.
“I was Ben Singkol, will always be Singkol from a nameless barrio
somewhere in that vast Central Plain” (p.186)
With Ben’s argument with Alex about him approving the union, it surfaced how much he regarded the masa as the backbone of the nation and how they sustain the upper classes. Indeed, it takes one to understand one, and since Ben was once a lumpen, he has enough sympathy to their employees.
What I want to stress on this part is the fact that capitalism is so rampant in our society. Landlords knew how to work the system against illiterate, so the wealth is concentrated among those who belong on the upper ranks. The author must have had his own experience with the injustice caused by capitalism since most of his stories depict such scenario.
B. War Lessons
“This war. This uncertainty.” (p. 97)
The dominant atmosphere of the novel is the war that is going on during that time. Truly, the author successfully expressed himself to its reader since as I read the novel, it seemed to me that I am included in the war and that I have taken delight from the lessons that I have learned from the experiences of Ben himself. I believe that this ‘war lessons’ are worth including in this paper so I condense them into three points: (1) every generation has a test and war is one of such; (2) war can change everything; and (3) war push people to fulfill the primordial need of man which is to survive.
“This war, this occupation, Ben – it is a test for us, how we can survive
with our integrity intact” (p.85)
When these words were uttered by Mrs. Singson to Ben, the latter does not really understand what it meant. If we are going to refocus our mind, the war that Ben and other Filipinos had experienced during that time does not only do the Japanese a favor, but also gave Filipinos a chance to reset their thinking about their world. After the war, Filipinos regard things with greater vigilance because of the lessons they had learned from the war. The World War II, just like every other tests that generations experienced and will face in the future, allows the nation to show their state of being unimpaired and wholeness. When Ben had a conversation with his daughter, he finally realized what the words of Mrs. Singson denoted.
“I do not think the future looks good for my people,
and for you Filipinos as well” (p.38)
The second point that occurred to me about the war is the fact that war can change everything. The character of Mr. Yoshida made me think so. When Ben was at the Fort Santiago, he found that a member of the group who tortured him is the Japanese gardener who took care of those bonsai in Don Alfonso’s garden. However, he was not called Mr. Yoshida anymore, but Colonel Yoshida. He was not really a bad man in fact he was admired by Ben before, but war just turn things upside down. This will lead me to the third principle that surfaced in the story regarding war which is the idea that war only impels people to fight against their nation’s foes. It pushes them to do not the things that they enjoy doing but the things that would allow them to survive.
“I think I love him, too, a little. I don’t want to be poor Ben” (p.152)
Stressing the primordial need which is the instinct to survive, the author reiterated this tenet many times in the story as Ben battled against the Japanese Army who ran desperate to disband their group and as Remy Lacson decided to marry their landlord. This idea also saddened Ben as he grasped at the bottom of his understanding that it must be him who betrayed the drama group to which Nena belongs in times of weakness as he was tortured by Colonel Yoshida’s minions. Truly, war is bad. It is beyond evil. It caused man to appear man no more but a ruthless beast clinging on the unlikely just to survive.
C. Ben’s Formula to Survive
“Let them call me and your mother whatever they like. Let them call
you a coward, too. It does not matter. Be meek – that is how the poor survives.” (p.21)
Although Ben had certainly gone through so many struggles in his life, he managed to end things victoriously. He became a famous novelist, he became rich, and he was even able to travel to different countries. He was able to do these things, not because he was noble, a sufferer, or a martyr, but because he is patient, submissive, and humble. This character let him do the right thing. It had manifested when he just let his uncle hit him where in fact he has all the strength to fight back. He does not even try to avoid the blows as they came. His choice of just accepting that fact that he has no rights to blend with Nena because of him being only a servant proved this point. Also, I see it as he just let Nena leave and marry another man when Nena is asking him to elope.
In some ways, I think that this personality served him convenience. This is also the character of many among us. Being meek made Filipinos durable people. We can endure so much injustice and abuse because we are meek.
However, this character made Ben to be so passive and so as many Filipinos. Ben just let things happened as they are. Whenever he failed, I cannot see any effort from him to do better next time. For instance, I think that he never really wish to help Alex in the middle of that war zone. He helped because he is just there.
D. Positive Values
One thing that I would commend about the author is his technique of instilling positive values through the realizations of Ben Singkol. It is so inspiring that I would want going all over again the book after I have read it.
“it was only through education that I could leave a life of a hampaslupa” (p.131)
Much has been said about the value of education and I wish not to delineate on reflecting on it any further. What I just want to say is that Ben typifies a man who knows how important education is. This trait of him was even more displayed when it was mentioned in Chapter 11 that he is considering his schedule at the university in looking for a job. Great enough, his dedication to finish his studies yield success.
“But though my parents never gave me gifts, I loved them and knew
that they loved me, too… for love is not just in mundane material presents, but in the manner his parents talk with him, look at him, embrace him” (p.20)
“There were many things that I did not have, but yes, it was a happy childhood” (p.180)
Another inspiring thought that I could obtain from the novel is the non-materialistic love that Ben shared with the significant persons in his life. It may be true that poverty constrains people from many life features but it can never prevent them from showing love.
EVALUATION
On the final analysis, Ben Singkol is a real advocate of social justice and change towards the betterment of Filipino living. It was an imaginative and encouraging chronicle of an imperfect man to whom Filipino readers might see themselves. It is then asserted that the purposes of the writer in writing this work, which I have identified a while ago, were achieved satisfactorily. It tackles social reality at an unprecedented level, that rarely do we see from other works.
Moreover, it does implicitly give solutions on the societal issues that transpired in the entire novel. In the scene where Josie celebrated her 20th birthday at their house, Ben had a chance to talk with them and answer their questions on what should be done in order to fix things right. This is also the time, I suppose, where Jose aired his inference on the matter (pp.205-207).
The work gave its reader a personal perspective on an untold story behind history. Despite the long range of time this fictional novel had dealt with, the author was in great control of the plot so that it would not confuse the reader. Conflicts are well-presented in a manner that it has logical connection with the main theme.
It deserves a general patronage not only to the Filipinos but also to foreign audiences. F. Sionil Jose does a good job in explaining culture at his work. It highlights Filipinos’ practice, good or bad, in a way that transnational readers can appreciate.
Surely, Ben Singkol is one of the well-loved fictional characters.
Pain can be of different kinds. It can be any sensation of hurt or strong discomfort caused by an injury or disease. It can be a distress or suffering, mental or physical, due to anxiety or grief. Fortunately, drugs like morphine and opium are available to relieve the pain. Depressants can lower the rate of nervous activity when one is depressed. However, I just learned about a man who have had experienced an unbearable pain that no drugs can numb, which according to him, the pain that “most humans have never felt”. His name was Benjamin “Ben” Singkol.
Ben Singkol is such a remarkable character fashioned in a novel by Francisco Sionil Jose, one of the most widely-read and well-acclaimed Filipino writer in the country ( ). Autobiographical yet fictional by nature, the novel was written in a direct narrative prose with a notably distinct lines that aesthetically walks the reader through the life of an ordinary Ilokano man from an unknown town called Selasor. He was brought by his aunt to Manila to work and study where many individuals and history itself take a part to his maturity. The story focuses on the adversity that he and other Filipinos had experienced during the Japanese occupation, as well as his life after the war. Conflicts arise as the protagonist contended with the different facets of fear – fear of being rejected, fear of discrimination, fear of a tormented past that hunted him very badly, and fear of the reality that his character has lapses that usually get him into trouble. He certainly has gone through too much in his life so we can learn a lot of life lessons from him. He is not a perfect hero to adore, but indeed he will occupy a space in the heart of any Filipino reader for his character was very Filipino. Unfortunately, his complacency and contentment with the things that just came along his way seems to be a setback on his personality which I will explain later.
Ben Singkol is an inspiring story of love perfected by hate, triumph, and pain. It is such a delight to have the opportunity of reading this wonderful work and at the same time, write a review on it; that is to say, I am not only to tell what the book is about, but also how successfully the book explains itself. This writing, therefore, will include a short biography of the author, my analysis on what I infer is the purpose of the author in writing this novel, a short characterization, my insights on the main points of the novel, and my evaluation on the totality of the work.
VIEWPOINT AND PURPOSE
I have identified the novel as being autobiographical, yet it is also fictional as indicated in the book itself. Throughout the narrative, the author chose to tell the entire plot through the perspective of Ben. The novelist allowed us to know the thoughts of Ben. It seemed that Jose used the appropriate words and thus successful in doing so because I feel exactly what Ben is feeling on the page. I felt tormented when Ben was excruciated. I felt pain when he was beaten. I think I am in love with the character of Nena, too. I loathed the Japanese for he did too. Also, as the book explains what the eyes of Ben can see, I almost imagine myself at his very place as he stroll the city shattered by the war (pp.120-122).
As for the purpose of the novel, it transpired to me that the author wish to expose the abominable reality of the Philippine society in a very subtle way that we can relate its theme up to this moment, where in fact the story mainly concentrated on the situation of the country way back the Japanese occupation. Definitely, Ben Singkol was a timeless work. It tackles the realities that we usually deprived ourselves to be reminded of. It talks about the flaw of the Filipino character, the moral decay. It made us fathom the fact that more than how we guard our nation against foreign oppressors, we must be even more vigilant on what the author supposed is the worst enemy of the Filipino people who are Filipinos themselves.
I also think that Jose expressed his anti-elite views in this novel as he demonstrated the struggle of Ben with the reminder of him being always “Singkol from a nameless Barrio”. It is just a proof of how the masses that belong to the lower echelon of our capitalistic society toil endlessly as those of the higher ranks dominate. It talks about poverty, landlessness, love, and many others.
Lastly, I think the book is written to make most Filipinos realize that something must be done with the passivity of their character and the cowardice of their hearts, just like that of Ben, because even though these things are sometimes commendable for they demonstrate durability and endurance, there may come a time that they will yield pain and regrets.
MAIN POINTS
I know exactly that this was not meant to write a reaction paper, but rather a review of the novel. However, I believe that the best way for me to analyze how the book tried to achieve its purpose is to express my reaction on the issues that transpired in the novel. So what I am going to do right now is to quote several statements from the work which I believe stand for these issues, then I am going to tell my insights and thoughts that came to me as I am reading the book.
A. Social, Moral Decay
I have presumed that the main purpose of the author in writing Ben Singkol is to expose the abominable societal realities in the Philippines. One evidence in which the author proved his points is the fact that our worst enemies are ourselves.
“You will find that our enemies are our own kin. It is they who will betray us.
So learn this most important lesson – in the end, our worst enemies are ourselves.” (p.65)
This silent and dreadful truth arises as Benjamin had watched his fellowmen fought for liberty against the Japanese. Filipino versus Filipino – betrayal lurked every scenario. This certainty is also evident when Ben’s mother joined the Japanese willingly while chanting, “we will not be hungry”. Just the fact that his mother and other Filipinos opted to join the people who raze their own land is an obvious streak of betrayal.
After all, this attitude had been the customs of most of us, generations ago and now. Apo Iro experienced it during the Spanish and American colonization, by Ben during the Japanese, by Josie when our own president abused his fellow Filipinos.
“He put a small envelope in my shirt pocket.”(p.162)
Corruption is also another way that Jose used to say that the Philippines will really go a long way in eradicating the decay that has weakened our nation’s foundation. Ben experienced corruption while he was still working at the editorial desk of the Department of Health and Education of the Globe. He was also forced to write about President Marcos being at the Bessang Pass, where in fact, he was not. This made him ask himself if there is a tragic flaw in our character that might have had originated from our history as a nation.
So real, system does not change up to now Indeed, rarely do we find a noble government official who would choose a bus rather than traveling in an expensive suit like Dr. Moriga.
“I was Ben Singkol, will always be Singkol from a nameless barrio
somewhere in that vast Central Plain” (p.186)
With Ben’s argument with Alex about him approving the union, it surfaced how much he regarded the masa as the backbone of the nation and how they sustain the upper classes. Indeed, it takes one to understand one, and since Ben was once a lumpen, he has enough sympathy to their employees.
What I want to stress on this part is the fact that capitalism is so rampant in our society. Landlords knew how to work the system against illiterate, so the wealth is concentrated among those who belong on the upper ranks. The author must have had his own experience with the injustice caused by capitalism since most of his stories depict such scenario.
B. War Lessons
“This war. This uncertainty.” (p. 97)
The dominant atmosphere of the novel is the war that is going on during that time. Truly, the author successfully expressed himself to its reader since as I read the novel, it seemed to me that I am included in the war and that I have taken delight from the lessons that I have learned from the experiences of Ben himself. I believe that this ‘war lessons’ are worth including in this paper so I condense them into three points: (1) every generation has a test and war is one of such; (2) war can change everything; and (3) war push people to fulfill the primordial need of man which is to survive.
“This war, this occupation, Ben – it is a test for us, how we can survive
with our integrity intact” (p.85)
When these words were uttered by Mrs. Singson to Ben, the latter does not really understand what it meant. If we are going to refocus our mind, the war that Ben and other Filipinos had experienced during that time does not only do the Japanese a favor, but also gave Filipinos a chance to reset their thinking about their world. After the war, Filipinos regard things with greater vigilance because of the lessons they had learned from the war. The World War II, just like every other tests that generations experienced and will face in the future, allows the nation to show their state of being unimpaired and wholeness. When Ben had a conversation with his daughter, he finally realized what the words of Mrs. Singson denoted.
“I do not think the future looks good for my people,
and for you Filipinos as well” (p.38)
The second point that occurred to me about the war is the fact that war can change everything. The character of Mr. Yoshida made me think so. When Ben was at the Fort Santiago, he found that a member of the group who tortured him is the Japanese gardener who took care of those bonsai in Don Alfonso’s garden. However, he was not called Mr. Yoshida anymore, but Colonel Yoshida. He was not really a bad man in fact he was admired by Ben before, but war just turn things upside down. This will lead me to the third principle that surfaced in the story regarding war which is the idea that war only impels people to fight against their nation’s foes. It pushes them to do not the things that they enjoy doing but the things that would allow them to survive.
“I think I love him, too, a little. I don’t want to be poor Ben” (p.152)
Stressing the primordial need which is the instinct to survive, the author reiterated this tenet many times in the story as Ben battled against the Japanese Army who ran desperate to disband their group and as Remy Lacson decided to marry their landlord. This idea also saddened Ben as he grasped at the bottom of his understanding that it must be him who betrayed the drama group to which Nena belongs in times of weakness as he was tortured by Colonel Yoshida’s minions. Truly, war is bad. It is beyond evil. It caused man to appear man no more but a ruthless beast clinging on the unlikely just to survive.
C. Ben’s Formula to Survive
“Let them call me and your mother whatever they like. Let them call
you a coward, too. It does not matter. Be meek – that is how the poor survives.” (p.21)
Although Ben had certainly gone through so many struggles in his life, he managed to end things victoriously. He became a famous novelist, he became rich, and he was even able to travel to different countries. He was able to do these things, not because he was noble, a sufferer, or a martyr, but because he is patient, submissive, and humble. This character let him do the right thing. It had manifested when he just let his uncle hit him where in fact he has all the strength to fight back. He does not even try to avoid the blows as they came. His choice of just accepting that fact that he has no rights to blend with Nena because of him being only a servant proved this point. Also, I see it as he just let Nena leave and marry another man when Nena is asking him to elope.
In some ways, I think that this personality served him convenience. This is also the character of many among us. Being meek made Filipinos durable people. We can endure so much injustice and abuse because we are meek.
However, this character made Ben to be so passive and so as many Filipinos. Ben just let things happened as they are. Whenever he failed, I cannot see any effort from him to do better next time. For instance, I think that he never really wish to help Alex in the middle of that war zone. He helped because he is just there.
D. Positive Values
One thing that I would commend about the author is his technique of instilling positive values through the realizations of Ben Singkol. It is so inspiring that I would want going all over again the book after I have read it.
“it was only through education that I could leave a life of a hampaslupa” (p.131)
Much has been said about the value of education and I wish not to delineate on reflecting on it any further. What I just want to say is that Ben typifies a man who knows how important education is. This trait of him was even more displayed when it was mentioned in Chapter 11 that he is considering his schedule at the university in looking for a job. Great enough, his dedication to finish his studies yield success.
“But though my parents never gave me gifts, I loved them and knew
that they loved me, too… for love is not just in mundane material presents, but in the manner his parents talk with him, look at him, embrace him” (p.20)
“There were many things that I did not have, but yes, it was a happy childhood” (p.180)
Another inspiring thought that I could obtain from the novel is the non-materialistic love that Ben shared with the significant persons in his life. It may be true that poverty constrains people from many life features but it can never prevent them from showing love.
EVALUATION
On the final analysis, Ben Singkol is a real advocate of social justice and change towards the betterment of Filipino living. It was an imaginative and encouraging chronicle of an imperfect man to whom Filipino readers might see themselves. It is then asserted that the purposes of the writer in writing this work, which I have identified a while ago, were achieved satisfactorily. It tackles social reality at an unprecedented level, that rarely do we see from other works.
Moreover, it does implicitly give solutions on the societal issues that transpired in the entire novel. In the scene where Josie celebrated her 20th birthday at their house, Ben had a chance to talk with them and answer their questions on what should be done in order to fix things right. This is also the time, I suppose, where Jose aired his inference on the matter (pp.205-207).
The work gave its reader a personal perspective on an untold story behind history. Despite the long range of time this fictional novel had dealt with, the author was in great control of the plot so that it would not confuse the reader. Conflicts are well-presented in a manner that it has logical connection with the main theme.
It deserves a general patronage not only to the Filipinos but also to foreign audiences. F. Sionil Jose does a good job in explaining culture at his work. It highlights Filipinos’ practice, good or bad, in a way that transnational readers can appreciate.
Surely, Ben Singkol is one of the well-loved fictional characters.
October 25, 2018
It is my third attempt. Finally, I have finished Ben Singkol by F Sionil Jose. This is my first Filipino book to finish by a contemporary author -- and hopefully not my last.
It took me years to summon up the courage to read another Filipino writer. I used to believe that Filipino writers were shallow and their works substandard. And God! How wrong I was!
Ben Singkol is a searing masterpiece. Never had I thought that I would finish it, but there was this tiny gleam of hope that I would one day be able to understand the perspective of a Filipino writer. And who better else to start with but the great Manong Frankie?
The one thing that most surprised me is that, because of the immense power of Jose's pen, I doubted myself I had abandoned it before halfway. It felt like I was doing a second reading all along. It was so much our experience that one would find it hardly difficult to live through the narrative. It was my story. It was the Filipino's story.
It was a story of cowardice: of how the lead role, Ben Singkol, had run away from the ritual that transforms a boy into a man; of how the same person had escaped his war post, only to find out he had headed toward the frontline he was trying to avoid.
It was a story of hypocracy: of how Ben Singkol had been reluctantly forced to accept the fate of his only daughter who had decided to go underground and fight an oppressive regime; of how Ben had kept on lecturing the youth about patrionism and selflessness when he had never made any sacrifice for his country, that he was an accidental hero put into the lines and had to fight for his life. Ultimately, whether wilfully or not, we forget or betray our memory for personal gain.
It was a story of redemption: of how Ben had thrown back those hand grenades after having pushed himself mistakenly into the territory of his foes; of how he had carried another army (Ben was with Red Cross) from the crossfire and covered a great distance with he himself wounded; of how he had nurtured him back to health despite their precarious situation; and ultimately, of how he had been lifted from that dungheap up that pedestal because of this sacrifice.
It was the story of us. That it was never the Spaniards, the Americans, the Japanese, that were our enemies. It was (still is) ourselves. We were tested by these other people and we failed miserably. We consorted with them, sold our freedom for safety, sold our friends for comfort, sold our memory for truffles. We did not know our identity as Filipinos. Do we now know? I highly doubt it.
Sionil Jose is a testament that non-native English writers are as good as -- even better than -- their native counterpart. He is wished to be the first Filipino Nobel prize awardee, but I find it utterly sorrowful that such an award would never be pinned on him now that he is becoming more infirm. I fervently wish he gets it. Of all Asian writers, he most deserves it.
It has never occurred to me that I would get delighted by a Filipino writer. But he is in the league of T.H. White with his The Once and Future King. They have this habit of injecting their opinions in the narration. They are digressions that reinforce their immense grasp of their work. They don't, however, crush into broken pieces the grace of the tale; in fact, these commentaries deepen the experience of the human experience. These people are exceptional. Manong Frankie, with his laserbeam perceptive, is that old man in town who doesn't tire his grandchildren with his long-winding stories. He is a master weaver of Filipino story.
It took me years to summon up the courage to read another Filipino writer. I used to believe that Filipino writers were shallow and their works substandard. And God! How wrong I was!
Ben Singkol is a searing masterpiece. Never had I thought that I would finish it, but there was this tiny gleam of hope that I would one day be able to understand the perspective of a Filipino writer. And who better else to start with but the great Manong Frankie?
The one thing that most surprised me is that, because of the immense power of Jose's pen, I doubted myself I had abandoned it before halfway. It felt like I was doing a second reading all along. It was so much our experience that one would find it hardly difficult to live through the narrative. It was my story. It was the Filipino's story.
It was a story of cowardice: of how the lead role, Ben Singkol, had run away from the ritual that transforms a boy into a man; of how the same person had escaped his war post, only to find out he had headed toward the frontline he was trying to avoid.
It was a story of hypocracy: of how Ben Singkol had been reluctantly forced to accept the fate of his only daughter who had decided to go underground and fight an oppressive regime; of how Ben had kept on lecturing the youth about patrionism and selflessness when he had never made any sacrifice for his country, that he was an accidental hero put into the lines and had to fight for his life. Ultimately, whether wilfully or not, we forget or betray our memory for personal gain.
It was a story of redemption: of how Ben had thrown back those hand grenades after having pushed himself mistakenly into the territory of his foes; of how he had carried another army (Ben was with Red Cross) from the crossfire and covered a great distance with he himself wounded; of how he had nurtured him back to health despite their precarious situation; and ultimately, of how he had been lifted from that dungheap up that pedestal because of this sacrifice.
It was the story of us. That it was never the Spaniards, the Americans, the Japanese, that were our enemies. It was (still is) ourselves. We were tested by these other people and we failed miserably. We consorted with them, sold our freedom for safety, sold our friends for comfort, sold our memory for truffles. We did not know our identity as Filipinos. Do we now know? I highly doubt it.
Sionil Jose is a testament that non-native English writers are as good as -- even better than -- their native counterpart. He is wished to be the first Filipino Nobel prize awardee, but I find it utterly sorrowful that such an award would never be pinned on him now that he is becoming more infirm. I fervently wish he gets it. Of all Asian writers, he most deserves it.
It has never occurred to me that I would get delighted by a Filipino writer. But he is in the league of T.H. White with his The Once and Future King. They have this habit of injecting their opinions in the narration. They are digressions that reinforce their immense grasp of their work. They don't, however, crush into broken pieces the grace of the tale; in fact, these commentaries deepen the experience of the human experience. These people are exceptional. Manong Frankie, with his laserbeam perceptive, is that old man in town who doesn't tire his grandchildren with his long-winding stories. He is a master weaver of Filipino story.
April 8, 2016
Set in Japanese occupation - perfectly and well crafted !
February 1, 2018
It's been a few years since I've read FSJ but the strong qualities of his writing remain even if the time between "Tree" and "Ben Singkol" is 23 years. He has a propensity to weave his characters and narratives effortlessly within and throughout Filipino history. A lot of his ideas present in the Rosales series continue to be present in "Ben Singkol", especially with regards to Filipinos rising from poverty and the vaulted reverence of the conqueror (Spanish, American, Japanese, etc.). Tenses in writing shifted, which was distracting—though I'm not sure if that was stylistic, owing itself to the characters, or not because the prose in the Rosales series was very tight and tidy. I wish the book could have gone on a little longer although it was a satisfying character arc for the titular protagonist.
October 25, 2019
Definitely well written. The novel seems to be leading up to a major event during the ML years but swerves at the last minute to leave the fate of Josie to the reader’s imagination.
Particularly enjoyed the depiction of the post WW2 years. The struggle to re-integrate into normal society after years of war is something that not many have done, but which this book has done well. Also, by depicting Manila before, during, and after the War, the book gives readers a good sense of the impact of War on Manila and even creates a sense of nostalgia for “the good old days”.
Particularly enjoyed the depiction of the post WW2 years. The struggle to re-integrate into normal society after years of war is something that not many have done, but which this book has done well. Also, by depicting Manila before, during, and after the War, the book gives readers a good sense of the impact of War on Manila and even creates a sense of nostalgia for “the good old days”.
March 1, 2021
Read this when I am in college.
March 18, 2019
I don't usually read fiction books because I find it boring, but Ben Singkol proves that all of my assumptions were wrong. Ben Singkol is indeed an interesting book and his experiences from his boyhood to where he is now will teach you a lot of things about the irony of life.
April 25, 2015
I'm not really a lover of historical fiction novels but this book is just outstanding!
We were given this book as an assignment in class and I loved it! I never thought that historical fiction can be this good! And it's made by F Sionil Jose!
This book is just excellent, the characters, the plot, everything! That ending, I want more! It's just so beautiful!
We were given this book as an assignment in class and I loved it! I never thought that historical fiction can be this good! And it's made by F Sionil Jose!
This book is just excellent, the characters, the plot, everything! That ending, I want more! It's just so beautiful!
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February 27, 2013issues
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