THE DANCERS: A MARXISM ANALYSIS

The play "The Dancers," written by Alberto S. Florentino, is about a family's poverty-
related suffering. Tony, Nenita, Mother, Juanito, Father, Elena, and Rita are the characters in this
play. This play depicts the family's struggles at the hands of their father. The rest of the family
struggles every day to meet their father's needs, as well as their own. The play "The Dancers" is
an excellent depiction of the effects of poverty on Filipino families. It depicts how cruel poverty
is to Filipino families struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis.
This piece of Alberto S. Florentino gives a glimpse that the kind of father in this play is
prove that many children suffer from child labor. At the very young age, they were forced to
work at the bar just like Nenita, she was forced by her father to work in the bar as a dancer just
like her eldest sister, Rita. This is happening in reality wherein they must work for their families
because their father, mother, or peers forced them to do or gaslight them in ways that they do not
have a choice because they have a younger sister or brother that needs them. Juanito, the
youngest brother of Rita, is exposed to that kind of environment that he is not supposed to go in.
At that young age, he should be playing outdoors with his playmates – he is helpless, he is
traumatized in the scene where his sister, Rita entered in a room with a gentleman, he does not
know what he will react, what is her sister doing in that room. He is clueless and helpless for a
reason that there might be happen to his sister in that room and he could not do anything. Tony,
the eldest and the hardworking or bread winner in their family. He is a jeepney driver who
wanted to help his family to coped with poverty. Tony carried his entire family to survive on a
daily basis, he is determined enough to pursue his family to overcome in this such situation. Just
like tony, many of the eldest daughters and brothers, will do anything for their siblings, they will
do anything just to build a healthy environment to their families.
This play is trying to imply that poverty is cruelty. Families, children, and elders are
forced to do an act that is unlawful. This play implies that the family roles in the household is
important and a big responsibility that needs to be given to a stable person, mentally, physically,
and emotionally. Also, the mentality where the father is the head of the family has the power to
make decisions in life of his child, well in fact this should be not. A child has their own rights for
their lives, parents have the right to correct the manners and practices but do not force the child
to do so. In the family, if you are the eldest child, it assumes that the responsibilities of an
irresponsible father or mother will be shouldered by them. This kind of culture should be stop,
child is not retirement plan. Children is supposed to be free with their decisions in their own life,
they have the rights to refuse any act that is unlawful.