NOVEL REPORT IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
LALAKI SA DILIM
Ni Benjamin P. Pascual
I. Title
In the title of the novel itself, you can tell that the protagonist is a male and the novel depicts a dark and illegal action of a man. As you can see in the cover, it only shows red eyes of a man in the dark. It shows that the novel focuses on the point of view of a man, and an ability to see and understand the surrounding is important.
Rape is maybe a discriminatory issue in the society but the author did a wonderful story out of it and the novel turns around on how money, purity, dignity, sorrow, deception and hope affects the characters. The novel also explores the dominant idea of virginity as the emblem of honor for women.
II. Author
The author of the novel is Benjamin P. Pascual. He was born in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. He is known for being a great storyteller before he became a novelist. He studied Journalism at Far Eastern University but did not finished it. He started writing during 1950s and contributed in some comics, until he was appointed to be a staffer of Liwayway.
He was awarded of Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature because of his story of "Landas ng Bahaghari" (1965) at "Di Ko Masilip ang Langit" (1981). His novel, "Utos ng Hari" got a Grand Prize at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1975. "Lalaki sa Dilim" was first published by Liwayway with the title of "Shhh... Ako ang Lalaki sa Dilim" in 1976.
He was also the author of "Sapalaran, Walang Tanungan" in 1997, which is a comedy about love and it was made into series by Liwayway. He also became a Filipino Section editor of People's Journal Tonight in 1981 and editor in Valentine Romances. After of many decades of heartfelt writing, he was acknowleged by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) in 1994 for his contirbutions in writing short stories, essays, plays, and novels.
His other works are "Ang Kalupi," "Babaeng Misteryosa," "Selmo Comes Home," "The Happy Time of an Ilocano Boy," "The Barber of San Miguel," "Handuwaran: Antolohiya ng mga Tula na tumanggap ng CCP literature grants" and many more stories and essays.
III. Characters
· Rafael Cuevas - also known as Raf, Dr. Cuevas. He is an eye specialist/ an ophthalmologist. He is also a son of a rich man, a womanizer and a man who loves to drink together with his friends. He raped a blind woman after he escaped from a police who runs after him because of a fight that breaks in his stag/bachelor's party. At first, his character is dominantly bad and obnoxious. He was blinded by lust. As the time goes by, he changed and realized all his bad deeds. He admitted his fault, he found love from the woman he have raped and finally escaped from darkness to follow the light.
· Ligaya - a blind woman raped by Rafael Cuevas. Even though she cannot see, she values herself very much and loves her family dearly. She became firm after of what she had experienced with a man in the dark. She has adorable principles in life even if she didn't go to school. She learns to forgive and to love. She should be a model of women.
· Nick Cuerpo - an ultimate womanizer and was blinded by it so he didn't realized his responsibility as a husband and a father. He is a friend of Rafael. He is a character that should not be imitate by anyone. He did not changed until the end of the story. He died together with his mistress. In this novel, he serves as an eye opener to the readers which shows that if you did something wrong, you will pay for it and you should repent it.
