Critique Paper for Puppy Love by Francisco Sionil Jose

            

source:Mymodernmet

             In “Puppy Love,” Francisco Sionil Jose began the story by hinting a present part of Jacobo Salcedo, the main character, where he narrates his childhood life bringing him happy and sad memories as a village boy and a friend of the richest family in their town, the Garcia family. His childhood life brought him to a nostalgic feeling where he made friends to Lito and Gina Garcia. The friendship he was able to build with Gina little did he knew the start of his growing feelings towards her, the discovery of his young love.

            The plot of the story follows the conventional plot where it is used in most of writings for a short story. The elements of a plot can be easily identified as I read the story.  The crisis arise when occurrence of the death of Jacobo’s father. During that time, the town was taken over by the Japanese. Gina’s entire family went to Manila. Jacobo was left with no assurance when will they meet again. After the war he left the town and lived with his uncle in Manila. In the present Jacobo Salcedo is now a lawyer, a bachelor gentleman in his 30s, he is more known to Jake by his colleagues. The climax of the story is when Gina agreed to Jake’s request to have a date in Alberti restaurant but unfortunately Jake got engaged with Don Carlos appointments where he left to abroad. The two of them did not meet and got separated again with no assurance of meeting again.

            I already expected that the two of them would not end up as a couple, definitely in the time where Jacobo is now happily married with Jenny, who he has three kids with. The sudden turn of events where Gina Garcia, the girl he fell in love with in his childhood, the memory of a beautiful, sweet girl he knew, now end up imprisoned because of a murder she had committed to her own husband. The last scene where Gina burst out of tears because of the discovery of the man she had spent time with when she was a hostess in Alberti restaurant was Jacobe all along.

            The main character of the “Puppy Love,” is Jacobo Salcedo, he grew up in a place where his character, virtues and believes mold him to what person he is in the present. Jacobo is only an ordinary village boy who lives with his mother, who sells fish and salt in the market while father, who owns earns money from cockfighting. During his childhood, he had a confusion to himself on what he really feel towards Gina yet the undeniably feeling of caring and loving at the same time was felt by Jacobo.

            Jacobo’s determination brought him to be a successful man today. I’ve waited for the big transformation of Jacobo that is now he is now very successful in his career while Gina’s family got poor when the hacienda was sold and the family need to pay for debts.  All of his fortune came in but the lingering feelings he first felt to Gina did not vanish along his youth.

            Gina Garcia, the girl Jacobo fell in love with. Gina’s humble beginnings as a daughter of the richest family in town mold her to be a good person. Her attitude of not bragging about her family’s wealth is only a manifestation of her real intention of being friend with Jacobo. At the very young age, Gina already knew what love is, as she read the novel of “Wuthering Heights,” she already development her belief to what really love is. From the line she said “Someday, when I fall in love, I will be faithful to him just as I expect him to be faithful to me always.(5)” Those words made her hold to believe that love is giving faith to your other half.

              Gina’s transformation through the story made her a different person, she live a life very mysterious and hidden to people. Who would be proud anyways to someone who was born with a golden spoon but now having only a hand to mouth to make a living? Despite Gina’s situation where she works as a hostess she still keeps her virtue of believing that time will come a man will be faithful to love her.

            Sionil Jose described Philippines, the settings of the story, as a country that disregard to the idea of class. From this type of surroundings Filipinos can able to build a strong bond to each other, just like for Jacobo and the Garcia siblings, although they have a very different status in society they were able to treat each other as a very close friend. The story took place during the Japanese occupation (1941-1945). As I researched for the following ideas that are related to the setting in the Puppy Love, according to Wikipedia, San Jacinto is one of the town in Pangasinan. In the scene were a war happened in San Jacinto where it led to Gina and Jacobo’s separation.

            During the Japanese occupation, Japanese colonies tried to conquer the Philippines. From the scene, Jake Salcedo accompanied two Japanese in a club where they hired a two hostess for them. In congruency to the history during Japanese era in Philippines, according to Philippine history the term “comfort women,” was used that is known to be a sexual slavery.

            Sionil Jose created the setting where each character from the story created their own perspective and beliefs in life to surpass the challenges in life. For as Jacobo he face the reality having differences in social status yet he overcome it as he grew up and made a name for himself.   The story was written in a first person point of view, where Jacobo Salcedo narrates his life and the discovery of his young love. Through my analyzation, I think maybe Sionil Jose wrote the story in a first person POV to Jacobo Salcedo because he is likely to symbolize a Filipino who struggles in the idea of social status in the society. Through Jacobo’s perspective I was able to understand his situation where not in general poor and rich families should be separated at all and also Sionil Jose wanted to deliver a message to his readers that social status should not be a reason to keep distance in each other.

            If only the story is written in a third person omniscient, I could also know Gina’s perspective in what is happening in her life. It would be justifiable for me to know what are the reasons and things that bugs in her mind for refusing Jake every time he tried to asked her out. What most important for me is her thoughts on the murder she had committed to her husband. Those actions she had done came from a very deep beginning because it is not normal at all to commit a murder especially to her other half.

            The overall impact of the story made me realize that not all love that we have and shared to someone will return as it is love also. For creating the title of “Puppy Love,” Sionil Jose, it really showed the discovery of young love between Gina and Jacobo. It is a love that was not given a chance to express to each other, it is a love that should create a nostalgic feeling every time you visit your memory lane, too sad to remember yet a part of who you are today.

            The involvement of social class in this story depicted what is currently happening in reality. Though through the story it tries to give a positive view to every individual where we should perceive the idea of class by disregarding it in having a relationship with other people. It is only one way of accepting reality the way it should be. It should not be a basis to degrade someone’s dignity rather shed a light for every Filipino to pursue their dreams the way Jacobo perceived its light through the darkness of self-imprisonment from the idea of class.