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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.

The story begins with two officemates Philip Latak (an Ifugao from
the Mountain Province now working in Manila) and Sam Cristie, an
American on the bus to Baguio.

Philip (Ippig) now lives in Manila against the wishes of his immediate Fernando Amorsolo Smiling Plain
family, particularly his grandfather who intended to bequeth to Philip Maiden
his share of the famous rice terraces. They are on their way to Baguio
for one purpose: Sam wants to buy a genuine Ifugao god as souvenir
and Philip was to help him find an authentic one through his local BL OG ARCH I VE

connections. 2010 (2)

2009 (6)
Philip is a Christian who no longer has any respect or affection for the
2008 (16)
Ifugao customs and religion.
2007 (20)
He considers himself a city boy and has no inclination to return to December (11)
mountain life. Despite this attitude, his grandfather is pleased to see Discovering Love and the
him and decides to throw a big party in his honor. On the day of the Filipino: A Kind of Burni...
party, Sam and Philip discover that no Ifugao is willing to sell his god. Discovering Love and The
And as a last resort, Philip offers to steal the god of his grandfather Filipino: Bonsai by Edit...
because he feels it would be his way of showing his gratitude to Sam
Looking at War and the Filipino
for giving him a rise at work. The consequences of this act are
severe. How To Write a Critical Paper
Seminar Paper Reminders for
The next day, his grandfather died because he discovered that his god my Political Science s...
was stolen. He also informs Sam that Philip will no longer be going The God Stealer: Filipino
back to Manila. Curious, Sam looks for Philip and find him working in Identity in Fiction
his grandfather's house. Philip poignantly explains his reasons for
More Notes on May Day Eve
choosing to stay in the mountains:
Some Notes on May Day Eve
"I could forgive myself for having stolen it. But the old man he had Readings for the 6th Week
always been wise, Sam. He knew that it was I who did it from the More Readings on Merlinda
very start. He wanted so much to believe that it wasn't I. But he Bobis' Sadness Collector...
couldn't pretend and neither can I. I killed him, Sam. I killed him
Lecture: The Sadness Collector
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 November (9)
faltering and stifled sob.

In the dark hut, Sam noticed that Philip is now attired in Gstring,
ABOU T M E
the traditional costume of the Ifugao. Furthermore, Philip is busy
L I T1 0 2 P H I L I P P I N E L I TE RATU RE
carving another idol, a new god to replace the old one which Sam
will take to America as a souvenir. V I EW MY CO MP LET E P R O FI LE

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.

P O S T ED B Y LI T 102 P H I LI P P I NE LI T ER AT U R E AT 9: 12 P M

3 COM M EN TS :
 Anonymous said...

was it sam christie who had the epiphany?

MAY 2 , 2 0 0 8 AT 5 : 3 4 PM

Lit102 Philippine Literature said...

he had an epiphany?
JUNE 2 8 , 2 0 0 8 AT 1 2 : 1 3 A M

Anonymous said...

i am an ifugao.
i dont know if im supposed to be pleased with this story's
analogy.
its insulting at the same time very well compared.
JA NUA RY 2 1 , 2 0 1 0 AT 1 0 : 4 5 PM

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