OLI IMPAN BY ALBERTO S.

FLORENTINO A Classical Analysis

The adage says that literature is a mirror of the milieu wherein it was written. It represents or imitates the reality in a given time and place. True enough. Oli Impan very well copies the impoverished lives of Filipinos especially that of people who have found their homes in places they are not really allowed to stay- the squatters, who in real life can be seen in almost every part of Manila. It also shows the difficult and helpless state they are put into whenever they are being sent away by the government. This is revealed in the story of the boy and the girl whose families, together with others, were being forced to evacuate five days before Christmas. Mimesis in this One-Act play by Alberto S. Florentino does not come as a surprise at all for he is known to be a realist as a writer. This observation is similar to a review made by Rosalina RaraSarabosing, M.A. of the Holy Name University: To say that Alberto S. Florentino is a realistis a

correct political classification of his literary genius. Two of his favorite elements in the genre were setting and themeoftentimes overlapping into each other as characterscome from the slums and denizens of Tondo. Along with this, reading it in a childs perspective evokes the readers feelings of pity and fear which produces catharsis. There is a feeling of pity

towards the children who, young and nave as they are, were already exposed to such confrontations, and for their loss of homes. Pity can also be felt towards the children and their families for having to spend Christmas like that. While other people would be very busy preparing for Christmas, they would be left preoccupied on where they are to spend their next days and nights at. Florentino also allows for readers to share the same feeling of fear that the girl suffers when his father gets arrested by the police, and for their uncertain future. Given that it accurately portrays reality (i.e. the existence of the poor and deprived), which is our primary basis, it must not be censored from being published and read. Furthermore, these realities allow for the reader to realize the lessons embedded in the text. Its main purpose, as I see it, is to make one be more

conscious of his environment. This opens us to the reality that such social illness exists and to the fact that we are fortunate to have our own homes which other people still have to fight for. The language of Oli Impan cannot be considered sublime using the standards of Longinus. First of all, it uses simple language and its style is not any different from the ordinary. There is also not much presence of the figures of speech which is very important for one text to be called sublime in style. (What according to Longinus are the sources of the sublime and how does he distinguish the true from the false sublime?, 2010)

References:

Gueria, Karen R. (2009). Oli Impan by Alfredo S. Tolentino. Retrieved from http://developmentalbookworms.blogspot.com/2009/12/oli-impan-alberto-s.html

NeoEnglish System. (2010). What according to Longinus are the sources of the sublime and how does he distinguish the true from the false sublime?. Retrieved from http://neoenglishsystem.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-accordingto-longinus-are-sources.html

Sarabosing, Rosalina. (2007). Degree of Realism in Alberto S. Florentinos The World Is an Apple. Retrieved from http://www.hnu.edu.ph/main/publication/kinaadman/1180307/11803077.pdf