A Tragedy Without Villains: A Close Reading Literary Analysis on Benjamin Pascual’s “Ang Kalupi” Every man on Earth looks up to a higher being than himself. It can be a god, a spirit, or a mystical entity. The form does not really matter, as long as it instills some kind of hope that life is worth living despite the suffering. This higher being is glorified that reigns victorious in commanding humans how to live their life. Hence, a man who takes inspiration from superheroes in fictional movies is guaranteed to turn a tragedy into triumph by slaying all villains that get in the way. However, reality is not a fiction and life is far from a movie — superheroes can be villains, the innocent can be killed, and tragedies can last forever. These things happen when a mere inspiration transforms into a desire for a better life at the expense of other people’s lives. Ang Kalupi by Benjamin Pascual uses foreshadowing and conflict to convey the theme that poor families across developing countries in the world are often the victims of injustice, which may result in insolence and prejudice to others within the same social status. Superheroes as Villains Pascual emphasized the global reality that an individual’s experiences and aspirations in life are highly influenced by their level of education, income, and occupation or collectively called as socioeconomic status. They are the superheroes within a society that can alleviate almost every form of poverty. For instance, Aling Marta envisions a beautiful life for her daughter which can be achieved through finishing education and marrying off someone who possesses a sort of wealth or power. She also celebrates the achievement of having a family member who will graduate from high school (Pascual 1). This further supports that one’s socioeconomic status plays a significant role towards achieving a better life. Therefore, its absence can truly affect the way an individual interacts with others, and with life in general. Andres Reyes can pass as evidence since the story narrated that he did not know how to read nor did his family have a permanent home. Pascual also described the kid as possessing the common qualities of what a kid from a poor family looks like; a slashed shirt, long pants that he seems to share with his father, and food which only costs 20 pesos (Pascual 2). Ultimately, this is the premise of Marxist Criticism, which reveals that our socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience. It encapsulates the implications and complications that class differences bring, particularly, the consequences of the capitalist system that exists prominently in developing countries (Tompkins and Brizee 1). One of the significant consequences of the capitalist system is the conflict between classes which can stem from having a stronger desire for a certain resource than the rest of the members of society. This is the instance wherein the so-called superheroes can turn into villains. When Aling Marta found out that she lost her wallet, she instantly jumped to the conclusion that the poor kid whom she bumped into is the culprit. She did not even consider that it might have accidentally fallen from her pocket while she was on her way to the market, or maybe she unintentionally left it at their house (Pascual 2). This behavior can be triggered by a need for justice which comes from the struggle on who performs the labour and who obtains the benefits from this labour (Gingrich). In the story, Aling Marta fears the idea of being scolded by his working husband who is the primary provider of the family. Thus, she did not want someone else to benefit from the fruits of his labor (Pascual 6). One aspect of the Marxist theory can support this argument on desire and the conditions of life which states that, “the restricted relation of men to nature determines their restricted relation to one another, and their restricted relation to one another determines men’s restricted relation to nature” (Marx). Aling Marta has a restricted relation to nature specifically on income because in developing countries, if there is only one family member who has a job that helps provide for their basic needs, then it is presumed that they will most likely struggle in the long run. As a result, she has also developed a restricted relation with Andres whom she judged as someone who will get in the way of avoiding this struggle. This was notably recognized by her prejudice and insolence which unexpectedly led to a life-threatening tragedy. The Innocent Can be Killed Death is a part of life because it is the fate of all humans. However, it comes very quickly, especially for those who enjoy little of the resources that God provided to humanity. Capabilities are opportunities such as being well-nourished, educated, or being able to seek justice as one way of participating in public life (Sen). Aling Marta’s desire for justice grew bigger especially that external factors significantly played a role. The presence of the people in the market further clouded her judgment towards Andres, because they suggested that poor kids like him are frequent to pickpocket, thus must be reported to the police (Pascual 3). In addition, the presence of the policeman who came into rescue to stop the commotion highly contributed to the unfortunate destiny of the poor kid. The lines, “maghintay kayo rito sandali at tatawag ako sa kuwartel para pahalili,” and “ang pulis na umuusig ay tila siyang-siya sa kanyang pagtatanong at pagsusulat sa kuwaderno” are only a few evidence that he just remained observant of the situation, clearly indecisive and slow, which reflects the justice system of some developing countries that handle important matters with no urgency, as if lives are not at stake. Justice only really favors those who are wealthy and powerful. Thus, it is heartbreaking to know that aggrieved poor families automatically perceive such cases to be hopeless ones. They do not bother going against them because it would only complicate their lives that are already difficult as it is. They would rather use their time, energy, and little amount of money to work multiple jobs so they can achieve even just the most basic needs. To make matters worse, leaders of some countries who are expected to be the superheroes of the people are the same ones who would fail them. In the Philippines, there are laws that push poor people into further poverty. For instance, the Presidential Decree No. 1563 states that “mendicancy breeds crime, creates traffic hazards, and endangers health (Blimkie 15-16). It was not necessarily the case for Andres because he did not beg for money nor was he arrested because there was not even a chance to put him in jail, as Aling Marta physically pressured him into telling the narrative that he indeed stole her wallet (Pascual 5). Andres developed the same desire for justice yet his life came into a full halt. It goes to show that even if an individual reaches death, it still does not guarantee that justice will be served, especially in a society that ceases to exist without inequality. Tragedies Can Last Forever Ideally, there is no such thing as tragedies that last forever. Death does not even count as one if a human fully accepts the truth that life is just borrowed from God. Therefore, it must be lived in a way that adheres to the greatest commandment of loving Him and loving others. Otherwise, it becomes a life of tragedy in which the only way to escape is to end it. This is the fate of both the protagonist and antagonist of the short story which the author orchestrated in a poetic yet morbid way. Aling Marta foreshadowed her ill-fated life through the words that directly came from her mouth since she was partly at fault for Andres’ death.“Kung lahat ng kawalang-ingat mo’y pagpapasensyahan nang pagpapasensyahan ay makakapatay ka ng tao” (Pascual 1). Aling Marta may not be the one who got shamelessly hit by the jeepney, still, she spoke and acted in such carelessness, and so her life can be just as good as dead since she will forever be haunted by the horrors of her past. This can mirror the presence of foreshadowing in the South Korean film, “Parasite” which highlights the relationship between the wealthy and the poor families in the country (Sagar 1). For instance, the matriarch of the Park family said in the beginning of the movie that none of her son’s art teachers lasted a month. This came true when Jessica, the second child of the Kim family who fraudulently obtained the position, died at the end (Bong). As the director said, every character remains in a gray zone; they are not criminals nor gangsters and yet the narrative still ended with a disaster (SBIFF). This proves that even in developed countries, capitalism is essential to exist, which also results in injustices that torment mostly the poor. In conclusion, Ang Kalupi by Benjamin Pascual uses foreshadowing and conflict to convey the theme that poor families across developing countries in the world are often the victims of injustice, which may result in insolence and prejudice to others within the same social status. It is a tragedy without villains because Aling Marta and Andres Reyes were in fact the superheroes of their respective stories. The former is just a mother who genuinely wants the best for her family, while the latter is just a son who simply wants to survive life. Neither of them directly caused the suffering of the other because all they really wanted was to achieve justice, which should be easily obtained since God created everything and everyone equal. The insolence and prejudice are just a byproduct of this desire that should not even exist at all if only equal opportunities for education, income, and employment are provided to every human being. Therefore, the chief villain in this story is capitalism that can turn superheroes into villains, can kill the innocent, and can make tragedies last forever. Works Cited "ANG KALUPI (Maikling Kuwento)." Sining Ng Filipino, 28 Jul. 2013, http://siningngfilipino.blogspot.com/2013/07/ang-kalupi-maikling-kuwento.html Bong, Joon Ho, director. Parasite [Gisaengchung]. Written by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin-won, 2019. IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6751668/. Blimkie, Alicia. “Crime and Poverty: Criminalization and Empowerment of the Poor in the Philippines.” International Human Rights Internship Program | Working Paper Series, vol. 7, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-40. McGill University, https://www.mcgill.ca/humanrights/files/humanrights/ihri_v7_2019_blimkie.pdf Gingrich, Paul. “Marx's Theory of Social Class and Class Structure.” Sociology 250, University of Regina Department of Sociology and Social Studies, 28 September 1999, http://www.u.arizona.edu/~gradisek/STORIESmarx.html. Marx, Karl. The German Ideology. 1845. Marxists Internet Archive, https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01a.htm. Samy, Sagar. “Film Analysis of Parasite in the Light of Marxism.” International Journal of Literature and Arts, vol. 11, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1-4. Science Publishing Group, https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231101.11.pdf. "SBIFF Cinema Society - "Parasite" Q&A with Director Bong Joon-ho." YouTube, uploaded by OfficialSBIFF, 9 Oct. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mWlhIvV9_w. Sen, Amartya. Development as freedom. OUP Oxford, 2001. Tompkins, J. Case, and Allen Brizee. “Marxist Criticism (1930s-present).” Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism, 2008. OWL at Purdue, https://wp.lps.org/akabour/files/2013/12/Literary-Theory-and-Schools-of-Criticism_-Mar xist-Criticism-1930s-present-The-OWL-at-Purdue.pdf.
