F. Sionil José’s ‘The God Stealer’ has to be one of the best short stories to be written since it has won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Short Story, one of the best awards to be won by a writer for his or her work. Back in 1959, José’s inspiration for writing ‘The God Stealer’ was from his own experience in Ifugao with an American cultural officer alongside his Ifugao assistant. It all started when the American’s assistant wanted to steal a god for his boss, the American since he believed that his boss was wasting money on nonsense souvenirs. After the Ifugao assistant told José about his plan, in a few days, José already had an idea and a plot in mind, thus ‘The God Stealer’ was created. There were two literary theories used in this short story. The first is Marxism. Based on Karl Marx’s criticism for a balanced economy and society, Marxism criticism talks about how literature functions with aspects such as class conflict, government, economy, and articulations of ideologies. The other literary theory used is post-colonialism. It is literature that contains the consequences resulting from the control of the colonized people in a certain area. The story does not only entertain the reader by narrating the Ifugao culture, but it also gives an eye-opening grasp of how the culture of the Filipinos is slowly dying through colonial mentality and acculturation.
The first literary theory that was present in José’s ‘The God Stealer’ was Marxism because of the parts that show how colonial mentality and acculturation is present in the Filipinos not only physically, but also mentally. According to Claveria, Marxism was present in the story when Sam looked down at Philip. This presents that Sam, as the boss of Philip, is richer and is part of the higher social class, while Philip, an Ifugao working as Sam’s assistant, comes from the oppress and is part of the lower class. Another part that shows Marxism is when Philip disrespects his culture and his family by stealing his grandfather’s god to thank Sam for his promotion. It shows that because of the culture and life in the city, his attitude and his way of living has changed, and shows that he no longer cares about his own, original culture.
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The second literary theory is post-colonialism. It was also present in the story by showing how Sam, an American, showed more power and overruled Philip, an Ifugao, in the story by easily mandating him and ordering him around. It also showed that Sam did not respect the gods as well by secretly wanting the god that Philip stole for him, even if he kept on telling Philip to return it. It also discusses on how Sam likes collecting artifacts from different cultures, such as the Japanese sword from Japan. This conveys how America, the country that once colonized us, still has its colonial power over us and our culture by controlling us and our culture. José did not just write about Marxism and post-colonialism, but he also symbolized the characters more to make the story relatable to the reader.
‘The God Stealer’ portrays the slow corruption of a Filipino throughout the years by neglecting one’s own culture and mother tongue through believing that by accepting foreign cultures, one will lead to a better life. It narrates colonial mentality and acculturation. In the end, José’s story ‘The God Stealer’ deserves to be long-lived. It entertains, narrates and informs the readers about the powerful outcomes that can happen if one betrays or disrespects his or her own culture. There are some things in life that you cannot take back, and that is abandoning one’s own culture, because in the end, one’s heart, mind, and soul are solely based on his or her culture and ideology.
“‘What happens when a man loses his soul?’, Sam asked. ‘I wish I could answer that’, Reverend Doone said humbly. ‘All I can say is that a man without a soul is nothing. A pig in the sty that lives only for food. Without a soul…’” (F. Sionil José, ‘The God Stealer’, 1959).
References
- José, F. S. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from http://www.fsioniljose.com/about.html
- José, F. S. (n.d.). Blog Archives. Retrieved from http://www.fsioniljose.com/blog/archives/09-2015
- Claveria, J. (n.d.). A Marxist Criticism of The God Stealer by Francisco Sionil Jose. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/9147216/A_Marxist_Criticism_of_The_God_Stealer_by_Francisco_Sionil_Jos
- (2018, August 21). Postcolonialism Criticism - Description. Retrieved from https://www.aresearchguide.com/postcolonialism-criticism.html
- Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.). Post-Colonial Criticism// Purdue Writing Lab. Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/post_colonial_criticism.html
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