In the story "Bread of salt" by NVM Gonzales, what is the image of man and woman?
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In the story "Bread of salt" by NVM Gonzales, what is the image of man and woman?
To summarize the discussion on The Bread of Salt by N. V. M. Gonzalez, the story painted the image of a Filipino woman as secretive, meek, poised, and elegant. Aida was playing hard to get seeing that in the olden days, women must appear conservative. The traditional idea of courtship comprises a woman, who needs to be dazzled with wealth and material things, and a man to suffice it. Seeing that the man must provide implies his superiority over the woman. But in the case of the suitor, only his flourishing love and a brooch are there to offer to make him a little worthier. In the latter part of the story, the boy, who was out of Aida's social…
With the ideas presented above, N.V.M Gonzalez's The Bread of Salt explicitly conveyed the life of Filipinos during the American regime. The division among social classes was very evident in the text. Being talented was not enough to be commendable, but being talented, wealthy, and well-known would make a person worthy of the limelight. Furthermore, earlier society saw Filipino women as meek, secretive, elegant, and conservative hence courtship was a crucial process in which a man would pursue a woman by writing love letters. However, a woman was perceived unsuccessful if she failed to have a husband or a family. Lastly, although the protagonist displayed the tenacious and optimistic character of Filipinos, the size and color of the pandesal could refer to what the other countries used to demean…
I understood your point on how pandesal possibly symbolizes the perception of the other countries towards Filipinos. You mentioned how we Filipinos adjust and reinvent ourselves to fit in society. What do you think are the roots of this thinking? And is it still visible in modern times?
I would like to add to what Michael Angelo stated with regards to discrimination in one's profession. Besides measuring success through salary rates, there is also discrimination in terms of what job fits a specific gender. Filipinos before and a number until this time would label which profession belongs to male and female. Gladly, we have delved into the 21st century, and no matter what one's gender identity is, we are free to choose the profession we are passionate about. After all, careers have no gender.
Hello, Christine. First of all, I would like to thank you for appreciating my response to the story. With regards to your question, I would say that poverty could be a reason why discrimination towards chosen profession happens in our country. Since money is essential and work from different fields were unpaid equally, they are being reminded to seek jobs with a higher salary, thus compromising the wants of a person in exchange for the needs of many. Also, it is evident that people only measure success through the amount of money a person will earn from a specific profession. If you receive a small income from your job, they would consider it a failure. As a result, discrimination occurs.…