MODULE 4

THE VOLCANO
INTRODUCTION

Bienvenido N Santos was also described in biographies as an activist. For me, he was not, he
may have written works exploring life in the Philippines but literature is universal and it doesn’t
point out to only one person. He was exiled during the Japanese Period and he voluntarily exiled
himself in the United States after his work, The Praying Man (about the political corruption in
the Philippines) was banned during the time of Ferdinand Marcos.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Analyze the excerpt of the Volcano by BNS by answering the activities; and
2. Write a critique of the excerpt using historical and moral-philosophical approach.

AN EXCERPT FROM THE VOLCANO

The first two novels of Bienvenido Santos were written almost simultaneously. He finished Villa
Magdalena first then The Volcano after. He wrote Villa Magdalena during his second Rockefeller
Fellowship and wrote The Volcano on Guggenheim. Here’s an excerpt of his novel The Volcano
about “an American family living in the Philippines who struggled to survive the Japanese
occupation and ended with anti-American sentiments after the war” (Enotes).

Answer the activity below before reading the excerpt.

He is Markian of Smile Squad. His videos are all over social media. What do you think about
him and other foreigners who are living in the Philippines?

Photo taken from:

https://www.facebook.com/markianb/photos/a.397271560398144/1952600281531923

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I don’t have any qualms about foreigners living in the Philippines. I also don’t mind if they use
the Philippines as one of their content in their vlogs because it gives our country exposure which
may invite more foreigners like Markian to pay a visit to your country.____________________

Foreigners who are living in the Philippines in this generation are having completely different
experiences during the time of the Japanese occupation. Find out about the experience of the
Hunter Family. Read the excerpt of The Volcano and answer the questions that follow to
analyze the poem.

The Volcano (Chapter 1)

Bienvenido Santos

The Hunter’s family was reminiscing their memory of their son, Junior. Junior builds a volcano in
front of the Mission House. It was made of bamboo that was so light that a breeze, not at all
gusty or strong, broke its moorings and blew it away. After he finished it, he was complimented
by someone who saw it. However, it was blown away by strong wind. Later Junior built a bigger
volcano, almost 5 feet high. And it was made of cement and wire. And that volcano looked
permanent and hardly to remove. And Junior painted it the color of the real volcano, using
mixture of oil and water repellent paint. The rain fell but still the volcano is there, like Mount
Mayon in the sun after rain. All the years the Hunters lived in the Mission, through typhoons and
war and peace, it stood there, something that their son had built. Now they were leaving it
behind them, among other things. Sarah, Paul Hunter’s wife was trying to keep things, but her
husband told her it’s better to leave things here so they can travel light. Sarah noticed things
that was familiar to her, like Pots from Tiwi, clay toys, twig baskets, buttons, lampshades, and
other things. The Hunters tried to give the things that still can use, like old clothes of their
children, old toys and other stuffs.

Flashback: Junior used to pick up his father’s racket every time there was a call for the doctor in
the middle of a game with Mr. Peterson, the principal of the high school.

Dr. Hunter insisted that they take the boat one of those slow copra and hemp boats that plied
between inter-island ports with more regard for freight than time schedule and certainly less
passenger comfort.

Flashback: They came in the Philippines in 1928, in mid April. Manila felt like oven even at night.
The couple wished they could lie on benches outside under the sky instead of being cooped up
in their rooms at the Palma de Mallorca inside the Walled City, they call it, but it’s Intramuros.

They were already learning the language, which is Filipino, however, Dr. Hunter replaced
Reverend Otto McBride in Albay, and they have different dialect. They felt despair and afraid of
what they’ve heard about the eruption of Mount Mayon where they were assigned.

Even though they were lived for so long, they still strangers to people in Albay.

Source: Bienvenido Santos. (1965) The Volcano. New Day Publishers

Write a critique of this excerpt using the historical approach.

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Characters (with Conflict Setting Theme
description)

1. Junior (Son of Built a volcano figure Mission house, Struggles and

Sarah and Paul and it proved to be Manila, overcoming
Hunter) sentimental as time Albay obstacles
went by when it showed
2. Sarah (Wife of being sturdy.
Paul Hunter) Wanted to keep things
3. Paul (a Doctor Isolation
but Dr. Hunter wanted
and a family man) to give things just so
4. Reverend they can travel light
McBride

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.1

Write a critique of the excerpt using the biographical approach.

The Volcano
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Person: Paul Hunter

Where the character lived: Philippines in 1928

Continuation…

Key Players:
Junior – son; creative; young

Sarah - the wife of Paul; sentimental; resourceful

Discussion Questions:

1. What were the things you learned during your struggle here in
the Philippines?
2. What are the things you did in order to overcome such difficult
time here?

Significant Achievement: Learning the language and getting all

familiarized with the town they are residing.
Significant point explanation:

a. Why was this a significant point in their life? For me, this is a sign
of better days to come. For so long the couple found themselves
in a tough spot when they came to the Philippines under the
Japanese occupation. Learning the language is a step in the right
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direction in terms of being able to interact with the locals here.
b. How are they remembered today? Well, they are still considered
LEARNING ACTIVITY 1.2

Write a critique of the excerpt using the Moral-Philosophical Approach.

The Volcano
The theme of this literary work mainly talks about Isolation and its
effects on individuals or group of people. Isolation could be an
opportunity for people to have a new beginning. Looking at this in a
different context, people migrating nowadays to other countries find
themselves able to find peace and harmony in their life. This may not
always be the case for some people. It takes a lot more than just having
the resources to be able to live somewhere you’re not accustomed to
like language barriers, connection, acceptance from the locals and the
like. The moral implications of this story are about challenging the
readers on what measures they are willing to make or how are they
willing to go in order to be able to thrive in a place where they might
not consider as their home. Do they give up their preciously held beliefs
and uphold the localities’; do they do what the romans do? Are people
really obliged to do all of these things just
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so they can survive? If it is so,
the next logical question would be: Is it feasible? Can the people really
give up some of their beliefs in order to for them to make it in this new
SUMMARY OF CONCEPTS

● The Volcano was one of the first two novels published by Bienvenido Santos.
● It is about an American family living in the Philippines who struggled to survive the
Japanese occupation.

ASSIGNMENT

What can you suggest to the foreigners who are living in the Philippines to enjoy our culture?

I suggest that they strive to maintain their own belief system. When they see that some of the
practices or norms of this country isn’t actually contradicting their own, I will suggest that they
adapt such norms because at the very end of the day, them being accepted in this country
would be more likely to happen. If it doesn’t go against their preciously held beliefs, it would be
more practical if they acquire such practices for their own. It’s pretty evident that being able to
at least speak the native tongue of one’s locality is already a step in the right direction towards
acceptance. We can see it when a foreign artist is asked to say a statement but in our country’s
language; immediately people gravitate towards that celebrity because it shows that they at
least tried to immerse themselves in our culture even for just a brief moment.

REFERENCES

Alegre, E and Fernandez, D. (1984). The Writer and His Milieu: An Oral History of First
Generation Writers in English. De Lasalle University Press

Santos, B. (1986). The Volcano. New Day Publishers

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