The Boy Named Crow: Critical Analysis

         The Boy Name Crow is an excerpt from the novel Kafka on the Shore written by Haruki Murakami. Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer born on January 12, 1949. He is now 70 years of age. He was a product of World War I and was influenced by a surrealist writer, Franz Kafka. His works were translated to 50 other languages and millions of copies were sold in his country.

        

          

         His excerpt “The Boy Named Crow” was published in 2002 in the Japanese language and 2005 in the English language. It was all about a boy named Kafka planning to run away from home. He plans to sail far away and live in a small library. But his other self, which is the boy named Crow, advises him to think before doing such action. He has to be the toughest 15-year-old there, Crow says. Kafka was also Crow. In the Czech Republic, a kavka is a bird that looks like a crow. Kavka is almost similar to the boy’s name (Kafka), and of course to his other self, Crow. The genre of this excerpt is fantasy fiction which is related to surrealism.

         Upon reading this story, I was a little bit confused because I can’t understand what the story was trying to portray. It was very implicit and hard to understand. Of course, when you read it for the first time, you wouldn’t know that Kafka was also Crow. So as I read it, I had to use my critical thinking to identify its hidden messages. The text’s style was unique. I haven’t read any story like this so far, and it amazed me as well. I did not realize that it was also himself who gave pieces of advice. It was effective for me particularly when Crow gave an advice about the sandstorm. If you would look into the deeper meaning of the sandstorm, that sandstorm is the struggles, challenges, obstacles, and problems you have to face in life. That sandstorm is YOU. We all have those, and you can’t just escape by running away. The more you run, the more it chases us. You have to be brave enough to face it, and in that way, you can overcome it. And once the problems are over, you will never remember how you struggled and survived. But, one thing’s for sure, you’ll be different from what you were before; stronger, tougher, and wiser version of yourself indeed.

         I haven’t experienced a situation like Kafka’s, I’m sure that this text had a great impact to other readers. In addition to the lesson you could obtain in the story, it is also somehow related to what other teenagers experience in reality. Some teenagers prefer to live independently because they want to decide for themselves, and they want freedom. Thinking wisely, running away from home does not make you free. Yes, you could be free and happy, but it will be only temporary. Your resources will be used up soon. If you really want to solve your problems, better deal with it. Remember, life is such a tricky game that will have different levels. Sometimes, it’s easy to live. Sometimes, it’s hard that you just want to give up. But if you want to survive, learn how to play the game.

           

Tanaga

Gumuhong Kastilyo

Masayang ala-ala

Nawalang parang bula

Pangarap natin ama

Humantong lang sa sana

Dalit

Huwaran

Ito ang lagi kong hiling

Sana’y lagi kang masaya

Pakatandaan mo ina

Saludo ako sa iyo

Riddle

A Review of Dead Stars

    

    “Love moves in mysterious ways,” others say. But, how can love be so mysterious when in the first place, it was all sort of an illusion? That was how the plot of Dead Stars looked like. I admired how the author described the characters and how she looked on the other side of love. Reading the story brought me mixed emotions: happiness, sadness, and confusion. The main character, Alfredo Salazar had a fiancé named Esperanza. Unfortunately, she met a beautiful woman named Julia Salas whom he fell in love with. However, in the end, things happened on how it’s supposed to be, but the love faded and withered along with time.

   He knew he would be happier with Julia. He was torn between doing what's right and what his heart wants. But when Julia Salas knew about the marriage of Alfredo and Esperanza, she left him and came back to her hometown.

  Paz Marquez Benitez showed some of the traits of Filipinos in the story. Sometimes, we tend to be careless at making decisions; particularly in love. We choose to love someone so quickly without realizing it wasn't love at all, it's just infatuation. Then, we see ourselves being put in a situation where we hurt the ones who truly love us. 

   In the end, Alfredo still married Esperanza. They were happily married for 8 years, but Alfredo's mind was still full of Julia's memories. He can't let go of her love, the what if's played distinctly and he wanted to see Julia. When he went on a business trip to her hometown, he had the chance to meet her. But when they finally met again, Alfredo realized something. He was not deeply in love anymore. It was like the magic faded away, nowhere to be found. He suddenly thought of how he was contented with his life, and with his wife, Esperanza.

   I imagined myself being in the situation of Esperanza. If I were her, would I do the same? Would I still love the man who loved someone else before our marriage? Or would I even stay for a long time even though I know that I am not the one he truly loves? Probably, yes. I would do the same. I would still love and stay with the man I love because that is what my heart wants. But if I see that      the man I'll be marrying soon is not happy with me, I will not force him to spend his whole life          imprisoned in a love he did not choose. Instead, I will set him free. 

   The story was written in 1925 when people did not accept broken relationships and marriages. For me, it was connected with the story because Alfredo still married Esperanza in spite of his love for Julia. Benitez also emphasized some of the cultures of Filipinos when it comes to marriage. A Filipina or Filipino should marry and have children before reaching the age of 30 years old.

   At first, I wondered why it was entitled Dead Stars. In the end, I realized it had a great symbolism. Dead Stars refers to Alfredo's dreams of being broken. His love for Julia was gone. The light that once sparkled in his world slowly lost its brightness. Just like the stars that die in the galaxy. It's always there, but it can't be brought back to life anymore. Just like Alfredo’s love for Julia, it cannot be brought back anymore, because it is now lifeless.

A Review of Fray Botod

    Fray Botod is a satire that portrays a bloated, cruel priest as a symbol for the abuses of the Catholic Church as part of the colonization of Spain in the Philippines. It was written by Graciano Lopez Jaena as his first work when he was only 18 years old. Reading his piece made me see how brutal the Spaniards were when they colonized our country. 

   Fray Botod came from Aragon, son of unknown parents. He was raised by a muleteer but chose to leave his foster parents. He was found by Augustinian Fathers and soon entered the convent. He was sent to the Philippines at the age of 21. Fray Botod was not his biological name. He was named Ano, after the feast of Sta. Ana, but he preferred to be called Botod, which meant big-bellied.

   I saw the symbolism of his name. it only means that he was a priest that only cared for himself, a lazy man who was a well-fed pig. He sleeps and thinks of nothing but to satisfy his appetite. He was a priest only by position, but not by actions. He took young girls and made them slaves for his own pleasure. These girls were called canding-canding. They were voluntarily given to Fray Botod by their parents in exchange for a promise of a better future, which was not even true.  It depicted how these priests took advantage of Filipinos, knowing they were not that aware of their hidden agendas. He had no justice, no sympathy, no empathy for the people around him. He was self-centered, just like any Spaniard during the 333 years of colonization. 

   As a caricature oppressing the Catholic Church, Jaena was closely punished for exile from his own country. Here, I could imagine how boastful and possessive Spain was. They wanted the Philippines to be their own, which became an inspiration for Filipinos to raise a propaganda movement.

   Fray Botod is one of the works of Filipino people that made their patriotism be awakened, and hope rose because of revolution. It symbolizes the bravery and the eager to save our country from colonizers. It only shows that we do not accept defeat. We will fight until we get our freedom, and we will not let anyone rule us again.

  Spaniards may have the longest period of colonization, but the Philippines is not just an ordinary country that can be easily controlled by power. Filipinos have their own minds, minds to think that they should not be imprisoned to some hypocrite empire. They should raise freedom, they should fight for democracy.

“Without literature, life is hell.” -Charles Bukowski

“Without literature, life is hell.”  -Charles Bukowski

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        Literature is important in our lives. Poetry and novels are some examples of it. Many writers use literature to express their feelings and opinions about a certain topic or idea, while other writers just use literature for pleasure and enjoyment. It is believed that books can move you places by just reading and understanding its story. A book is also one example of literature. Literature is a creative technique of putting words together to create a message for the readers. It is made for us to understand and analyze. It also improves our reading and writing skills. A person would not see the beauty of literature if he’s not interested; if he doesn’t love literature.  The beauty of it is not only seen on how the author constructed its plot or how he applies the technical rules in writing, but also on how the reader understands and implies the lessons he learned in the story to his own life. Literature gives us the ability to think outside the box; to create scenarios in our heads that enhances our imagination. It gives us wings for us to explore new concepts. It also helps us to acquire knowledge about something we do not know or we wish to know more. But, can you imagine life without literature? What would it look like if we don’t have any literary works to read and ponder?

           

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            “Without literature, life is hell,” Charles Bukowski said. In this quote, it was clearly stated that literature makes our lives easy, because we can use it as our way to let our feelings and opinions out. Without it, there’s no other way of conveying our thoughts but with the verbal method only. It’s like a bird without a wing; it’s incomplete. You cannot fly. You cannot explore and experience adventures. Life would be lame and miserable. It’s like a world without colors, all are grey. Literature gives the colors to our lives. Without it, we’re all living in a plain land where everyone knows nothing.  Literature is also connected to our past. Different countries have different pasts, and literature served as a way for our ancestors to share their stories to the next generations. The best examples are Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed), the novels written by our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, that tells our history during the colonization of the Philippines under Spain. Since then, literature was used to represent the events occurred in our history. Without it, how would the youth know what their country’s history felt like, why all of those sufferings and sacrifices happened, and how our country was saved from colonization? You cannot visualize what has happened, so it leaves you like a flower not being watered. Your life has not been poured with knowledge and wisdom of literature, making you clueless. And as time passes by, the sun could burn that little flower without tasting heaven. It’s like us. We cannot enjoy life without literature, until all we are waiting is our end. Any piece of literature really changes our perspective in life. Writers are the instrument of literature and literature is the key to open a person’s eye and heart. It teaches us a very simple lesson that turns out to be a complex one. In life, you should know empathy. And in literature, you should use empathy. Put yourself on other’s position, so you could reflect and write the best pieces of literary works. Life is hell without it – miserable, incomplete and meaningless. But with literature, life is more than what you expect. Literature is beautiful not just for a period of time, but for a lifetime. Everyone must see how amazing it is.