Summary of the Bread of Salt by NVM

Gonzales
It was his assigned duty to be up early in
the morning and be on his way to the
bakers to buy rolls and pan de sal for the
breakfast table. He was fourteen and he
has already got used to his task. On his
way he thought of the bread of salt pan
de sal and wondered how it was made,
what gives its flavor and shape. He looked
around the landscape at daybreak and once
again remembered how much he adored
Aida, the niece of the old Spaniard whom
he thought he was destined to serve, just
like his late Grandfather. At times he
thought it was his duty to stay in the house
in the service of the young maiden. He
even dreamed that she likewise keeps an
intense emotion for him, which she will only
dare manifest in the right time.
He was a diligent student and violinist. It
didnt take long before he was transferred
from second to first violin and before long,
he was invited to join Pete Saez band and
perform in one engagement after another.
He was happy to earn money through his
own skill, although it was with utter
bitterness that he had to endure rehearsals
despite the outward disapproval of his aunt
against his chosen field. She thought
musicians are no better than dogs
scurrying to get their mouths on food
scraps in trash bins. But he didnt mind,
thinking that the money hell earn from
playing the violin will allow him the
capacity to buy a brooch and beautiful
stationery for his ardent love letters to
Aida.
Then he was invited, together with Saez
band, to the asalto for Don Esteban's
daughters who were arriving from Manila.
He was honored to be in a sophisticated
gathering and get a magnified look at
Aidas stunning beauty. He was beside
himself with immeasurable joy and pride
but will later on be displaced by an equally
immeasurable embarrassment at the buffet
table after Aida caught him sneaking some
sweets into the packet under his shirt. She
nonetheless offered him a big package of
food after the party but due to his intense
shame, he lost the composure to react,
along with the entire ardor he used to
shower the maiden with. After the party
they led the guests home with their music.
Then with Paez, he went to the bakery to

buy pan de sal with his own money. But the

bread wasnt ready yet so they waited.

Buod ng IMPENG NEGRO

ni Rogelio Sikat
Sa giray na batalan ay naghuhugas ang
maglalabing-anim na taong gulang na si
Impeng ay natigilan nang dahil sa
pangangaral ng nanay niya sa kanya.Baka
mapaaway na naman siya.Sa apat na
magkakapatid ay tanging si Impeng lamang
ang maputi sapagkat sina Kano,Boyet at
DingDing ay mapuputi lalo na si Kano.Pagalis niya ay isinuot niya ang kamisetang
dati ay masikip ngayo'y maluwag na.

Parating sinasabi ng kanyang ina na huwag

na lamang pansinin si Ogor dahil ito ay
basagulero talaga sa kanilang lugar.Laging
tinatandaan ni Impeng ang sinabe ng
kanyang ngunit hindi niya
matagalan ang panlalait nito sa kanya.Si
Ogor ay hindi itinuring na kaibigan si
Impeng.Siya ang malakas na agwador sa
kanilang lugar.Di nagtagal ay tinanggap
niya na lamang dahil yun naman talaga ang
totoo.
Pagkadating sa niya sa may gripo ay agad
siyang pumila.Sa paglipas ng oras, ay
nakaipob na agad siya ng sisenta sentimos
at may isa pang nagpapa- igib sa
kanya.Kahit naiinitan siya ay hindi nalang
siya sumilong sapagkat sina Ogor at iba pa
nitong kasama.Nang si Ogor naman ang
iigib ay biglang siyang sumingit,dahilan
iyan upang umuwi na lamang ngunit bigla
siyang pinatid nito.Dahil dyan ay dumugo
ang pisngi ni Impeng.
Pagkatapos ay sinipa siya at gumulong siya
sa mga balde.Nagtawanan ang mga
tao.Sinipa ulit siya at sa akmang sisipa ay
kinagat ni Impeng ang paa kaya't
pumailalim si Ogor at si Impeng ang nasa
ibabaw.Pinaulanan niya ito ng mga suntok
dahilan upang humina at sumuko.Tumayo
at tinignan ang mga tao, ang mga ito ay
nahihiya na sa kanya.Dahil dito ay

natuklasan niya ang kakaibang lakas na

taglay at nadama ang tibay,katatagan at
kapangyarihan.Sa gitna ng sikat ng araw,
siya'y naging sugatang mandirigma na ang
tangning hiling ay ang kapayapaan kahit na
siya ay iba sa lahat.

Buod ng Impeng Negro

May isang binatang lalaki na nagtatrabaho
para sa kanyang ina at mga kapatid, siya
ay nagngangalang Impen. Siya ay
kadalasang kinukutya ng mga tao sa
kanilang lugar dahil sa kanyang kaitiman at
kulot na buhok. Isang araw, siya ay
pinaalalahanan ng kanyang ina na huwag
na lang pansinin ang mga nang-aasar sa
kanya para makaiwas sa gulo. Sinubukan
nyang huwag lumaban, lalo na kay Ogor na
nangunguna sa pang-aapi sa kanya. Ngunit
nang siya ay patuloy na naasar at inunahan
sa pagsalin ng tubig, hindi nya napigilan ni
Impen ang kanyang sarili at dinagukan si
Ogor kahit na ito ay matipuno habang siya
ay payat na payat lamang. Nagpalitan sila
ng dagok pero sa bandang huli, napasuko
ni Impen si Ogor at walang nakakibo sa
mga agwador. Kinagulat ng mga tao ang
nangyari at pinangimian nila si Impen.
III. Mga Tauhan

Taba - pagbibilhan ni Impen ng gatas para

sa kanyang kapatid
IV. Mga Tema
Responsibilidad ng Lalaki
Sa maikling kwento na ito, makikita natin
na ang lalaki ay inaasahan ng pamilya. Sila
ang kadalasang nagtatrabaho para may
makain at mabuhay ang pamilya.
Pagkakaiba ng mga Tao

Nasa kwento na ang pagkakaroon ni Impen

ng ibang kulay o pagiging maitim ay naging
dahilan ng pangungutya sa kanya ng mga
tao dahil sya ay naiiba.
Pagkakaroon ng Lakas ng Loob na
Ipagtanggol ang Sarili
Nagawa ni Impen na lumaban kay Ogor
kahit na ito ay mas matipuno kaysa sa
kanya dala ng matinding pagkaapi at pagapak sa kanyang katauhan.
The God Stealer: Filipino Identity in
Fiction
The story God Stealer, like F. Sionil Jose's
other novels concentrates on the
debilitating effect of the colonial rule in the
Filipino identity formation.

Impen - isang lalaking labing-anim na taong

The story begins with two officemates Philip
gulang, laging kinukutya ng mga tao dahil
Latak (an Ifugao from the Mountain
sa kanyang kaitiman
Province now working in Manila) and Sam
Ogor - matipuno ang kanyang katawan,
Cristie, an American on the bus to Baguio.
laging nangunguna sa pangungutya kay
Philip (Ip-pig) now lives in Manila against
Impen
the wishes of his immediate family,
Inay - nangangaral at nagpapaalala kay
particularly his grandfather who intended
Impen na huwag makipag-away
to bequeth to Philip his share of the famous
rice terraces. They are on their way to
Kano - pitong taong kapatid ni Impen na
Baguio for one purpose: Sam wants to buy
maputi
a genuine Ifugao god as souvenir and Philip
was to help him find an authentic one
Boyet at Diding - mga nakababatang
through his local connections.
kapatid ni Impen
Philip is a Christian who no longer has any
mga agwador - kasamahan ni Impen sa
pag-iigib ng tubig na palaging nangungutya respect or affection for the Ifugao customs
and religion.
sa
kanya

He considers himself a city boy and has no

inclination to return to mountain life.
Despite this attitude, his grandfather is

pleased to see him and decides to throw a

big party in his honor. On the day of the
party, Sam and Philip discover that no
Ifugao is willing to sell his god. And as a
last resort, Philip offers to steal the god of
his grandfather because he feels it would
be his way of showing his gratitude to Sam
for giving him a rise at work. The
consequences of this act are severe.
The next day, his grandfather died because
he discovered that his god was stolen. He
also informs Sam that Philip will no longer
be going back to Manila. Curious, Sam
looks for Philip and find him working in his
grandfather's house. Philip poignantly
explains his reasons for choosing to stay in
the mountains:
"I could forgive myself for having stolen it.
But the old man- he had always been wise,
Sam. He knew that it was I who did it from
the very start. He wanted so much to
believe that it wasn't I. But he couldn't
pretend - and neither can I. I killed him,
Sam. I killed him because I wanted to be
free from these. These cursed terraces.
Because I wanted to be grateful. I killed
him who loved me most.." a faltering and
stifled sob.
In the dark hut, Sam noticed that Philip is
now attired in G-string, the traditional
costume of the Ifugao. Furthermore, Philip
is busy carving another idol, a new god to

replace the old one which Sam will take to

America as a souvenir.
Philip's repudiation of his Ifugao heritage
may be extrapolated to mean that Filipino's
rejection of his own roots and its
replacement with colonial values.
Philip- Philippines
Sam- American (Uncle Sam)
It is significant that Philip steals the God for
Sam out of gratitude.
Thus is it the Filipino gave up his most
precious symbol of his past traditions to the
Americans as an expression of gratitude?
And by giving this symbol away, the Filipino
murders his own roots. Again, we see Jose's
thesis:
The colonial culture has been a negative
force in the Philippine History and hence,
the tru Filipino is the tribal Filipino, or the
poor Filipino least touched by colonial
culture.
Jose presents the Filipino as confused,
emotionally disturbed and helpless,
plagued by the fact that he repudiated his
past, or that he could not do anything to
help the suffering.
JSTOR:
Symbolic of the foreigner's exploitation and
imperialistic ambitions on the Filipino.