Rolando E. Caser Jr.

BSA-1A

Less Miserable
The story is all about former prisoner Juan Balakajan, who, after being released from the
watchful eye of police officer Jobert, is unable to find work because of his status as an ex-
convict. Balakajan eventually steals from a local chapel, but when apprehended, the pastor
claims that Balakajn was given the valuables. This triggers a change in Balakajan, and he
constructs a new identity for himself as a pillar of society and a local businessman. Years later,
he adopts a young girl named Buset, whose mother Pantene, a former employee of his, became a
prostitute and died a horrible death in the gutters after being fired. As the years’ progress and the
French Revolution begins to foment, a grown Buset falls for a passionate revolutionary named
Mario, while Jobert begins to close in again on Balakajan's secret past.
The French Revolution violently overthrew the French monarchy and aristocracy,
establishing a democratic government based on equality, liberty, and fraternity. It also resulted in
the violent deaths of hundreds of people. The French Revolution, in many ways, marked the
death of the rule of kings and the beginning of democratic governance.
The story tells us that we can change our own lifestyle. From lowly prisoner who stole a
loaf of bread to feed his nephew to the factory owning mayor. This inspired me to change for the
better. If Juan Balakajan can do it, so can I. The story also showed us that the past can creep us
on us. The lesson here is you need to learn from your mistakes and reconcile them. Don’t run
away from your past. Instead, accept the past and put those mistakes to rest. The story also tells
us to forgive everyone – even our own enemies. Forgiveness is a difficult task and we all have
that one person who did us wrong. But everyone deserves our compassion and forgiveness.
Pantene teaches us that a mother’s love is endless and eternal. She shows us the harder side of
being a mother and helps us appreciate how much our own moms do for us. The greatest moral
lesson of the story is that there will be always a brighter tomorrow. In the final scene of this
musical, Pantene ushers Balakajan into heaven. His suffering finally ended and his precious
Busets finally learned the truth about his life. No matter how much you suffer or how heavy the
world feels on your shoulders, there will always be a new day to feel light and whole again.