The God Stealer by F. Sionil Jose (Short Story) - Literary Analysis
First published in 1959, The God Stealer is without a doubt F. Sionil Jose's most popular short
story. It's a mainstay in anthologies featuring short works of fiction in Philippine literature. It's
also one of the most studied stories in literature classes in the Philippines. The story won first
prize at the 1959 Palanca Awards. It's a tale that's popular among Filipino readers because of the
themes it covers and the deeper meanings it attempts to explore.
The Main Characters
1. Sam Christie - A 28-year-old American from Boston who went to work in an "Agency" in the
capital city of Manila in the Philippines.
2. Philip Latak (Ip-pig) - A 26-year-old Ifugao man who became friends with Sam Christie
because he worked at the same agency. Philip is Sam's assistant. Philip has converted to
Christianity and embraced western culture.
3. Sadek - Philip's older brother.
4. Pilip Latak's grandfather
Plot and Summary
Sam Christie, an American, and Philip Latak, a native from the province of Ifugao, work in the
same office at an "agency" in Manila. Philip is Sam's assistant and they are good friends. One
day, Philip receives a message that his aging grandfather back home has fallen sick and that
Philip needs to go home to see him. It happens that it's also Sam's last month in the Philippines
before he heads home to the United States for a much-needed vacation leave. So he decides to
tag along with Philip for the trip to Ifugao. He also plans on buying an Ifugao god as a souvenir
to take back home.
After a long bus ride, the two travelers reach Philip's village and after a brief visit with his older
brother Sadek's home, the two head over to the house of the old man - Philip's 80-year-old
grandfather. Philip asks his grandfather where he can get an Ifugao god for his American friend.
The old man gets angry. The two leave the old man's house and head back to their lodging.
On their second night at the town, a huge feast is held at the village for Philip. A ritual is held at
the grandfather's house. Philip and Sam watch as the old man pours fresh animal blood on an
Ifugao god. The ritual is the old man's way of thanking the god for letting his grandson come
home.
After the ritual at the old man's house, Sam and Philip join in on the festivities. Sam soon gets
bored and decides to leave the party early and go to sleep. Past midnight, he wakes up to Philip
coming home drunk and carrying an Ifugao god. Sam confronts Philip and tells him he shouldn't
have stolen the god. He adds that Philip should return it and if he doesn't, Sam will return the god
himself. But Philip warns him that if he tries to return the idol, the old man will kill him. Sam
wakes up the next morning to see Philip hastily leaving to get back to the village. His grandfather
had collapsed due to a heart attack and is dying. The next day, Sam is visited by Philip's older
brother Sadek and is informed by him that their grandfather has passed away and that the cause
of his death was the loss of his Ifugao god. Sadek also informs Sam that Philip isn't going back
to Manila.
Sam decides to visit Philip at the old man's house. But Philip meets him with anger and loathing.
An argument ensues. The story ends with Sam leaving the old house and with Philip making
another god to replace the one he has stolen.
Analysis / Study Guide for Students / Questions and Answers for Discussion
1. What is the central theme of the story? - The story has three main themes. The first one is the
clash of cultures between Sam (an American) and Philip (a native Ifugao/Filipino). The second
theme is the westernization of a native Ifugao. Philip was educated in a mission school, he was
baptized and Christianized, and he turned his back on the traditional beliefs of his people. The
third theme is colonialism and its effects, both good and bad, to colonized peoples. It's often
pointed out that Sam's name is a direct reference to Uncle Sam, a name for the United States of
America. Philip's name is also a reference to the Philippines. So the interactions between Sam
and Philip in the story are metaphors for the relations between the United States and the
Philippines. Or metaphors for interactions between the colonizer and the colonized.
2. Is there a moral lesson in the story? - There's a good number of moral lessons that can be
gleaned from the tale. On the part of Philip, maybe it's not that good of an idea to completely
turn your back on the beliefs of your people and rub it in by stealing one of their gods. Getting
rid of the trappings of tribal beliefs is not necessarily bad. Actually it's good most of the time
because it often leads the apostate to a path towards reason and science. Leaving your beliefs is
one thing. Stealing a god is another matter. On the part of Sam, maybe he should get rid of the
practice of having to always take something from another culture as a souvenir. You don't
always have to take something back home when you leave a country.
3. Is there symbolism in the story? - Yes, there definitely is. As I've mentioned earlier, Sam
symbolizes the colonizer and Philip symbolizes the colonized. It's clear enough that the names of
the characters were directly sourced from the names of their origin countries. A student once
suggested that the Ifugao god can also be a symbol for something. It can be a symbol for
"something" that colonizers and their subjects fight over. For example, oil, gold, and other
natural resources. This is definitely a theory that is worthy of further exploration. I challenge the
reader/student to read the story again and keep this theory in mind.
4. Who is Sadek and what is his role in the story? - It's clear in the story that Sadek is very
similar to Philip. He has also abandoned the old beliefs of his people. Philip mentioned that
clearly enough. But the difference between Sadek and Philip is that Philip is loud about his
apostasy while Sadek keep it to himself. After all, he lives among a "hundred ignorant natives". I
guess Sadek serves as a point of comparison against Philip in the story. Sadek is what Philip
could have been had he decided to not leave his village for Manila.
5. What's the main conflict in the story and the corresponding resolution? - This is a difficult one.
I had to wrestle with this a bit. If you read the story, it's riddled with conflicts most of which
received their resolutions. But which of these several conflicts represent the glue that keeps the
story together? I don't know. I have an idea but I'm not sure. So I'll leave it at that.
Who is Francisco Sionel Jose?
Francisco Sionil José (born 3 December 1924) is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in
the English language. His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class
struggles and colonialism in Filipino society. José’s works — written in English — have been
translated into 22 languages, including Korean, Indonesian, Czech, Russian, Latvian, Ukrainian,
and Dutch.
About “The God Stealer”
“The God Stealer” is a short story by Filipino National Artist F. Sionil José.
It is José’s most anthologized work of fiction. It is not just a tale about an Ifugao stealing a
religious idol, but also about the friendship that developed between a Filipino and an American,
a representation of the relationship that developed between the “colonized” and the “colonizer”.
The story was a first prize winner during the 1959 Palanca awards in the Philippines. It is
included in the book by José with a similar title, The God Stealer and Other Stories.
Who are the main characters in the story “The God Stealer”?
The main characters in “The God Stealer” are Philip Latak and Sam Cristie.
Philip, also known as Ip-pig, is an Ifugao who became a Christian and lived in Manila. By
becoming a city dweller, Philip became less sentimental about his cultural identity, beliefs, and
customs. His name was derived from his country, the Philippines.
On the other hand, Sam Christie was an American who wanted to view the rice terraces of the
Mountain Province (also known as the Cordilleras). He was also interested in purchasing an
original figurine of an Ifugao god. His name was derived from Uncle Sam, a representation of
the United States. Philip and Sam were co-workers.
What is “The God Stealer” all about?
Philip, a Filipino boy, and Sam, an American boy went to Baguio City, where Philip was
honored during a feast for his return. Unfortunately, both were irritated by the Ifugao people’s
unwillingness to sell any of their prized Ifugao statues. In return, Philip planned to steal his
grandfather’s god in return for a raise in salary from the Americans.
What does the story “The God Stealer” tell us?
The God Stealer tells us that colonialism, though it brought many benefits to the Philippines, also
helped to create an atmosphere of confusion and turmoil.
At one time in history, colonialism brought to the Filipinos a state of confusion, embarrassment,
troubled emotions, torment, helplessness, and the inability to embrace the past. Philip’s thievery
represented the Filipinos’ rejection of their tribal origins and traditions, to be replaced by an
“unnatural” Western culture brought by colonialism.