The politics of Ilustrado AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 07/20/2010

The politics of Ilustrado

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 07/20/2010 The two major characters in Miguel Syjuco’s novel Ilustrado, the young “Miguel Syjuco” and the elderly Crispin Salvador, are, although separated by two generations, ilustrados, members of the educated elite. Each is filled with shame at the serial compromises and betrayals, past and present, of his class, and disappointed in his own failure to “make a difference.” The failings of the elite are exemplified by those of the two men’s families, although the similarities between those of character “Syjuco” and author Syjuco sometimes make the reader feel like an uncomfortable intruder in a private feud.  “Syjuco” has broken with the grandparents who raised him, just as Syjuco reportedly broke, temporarily, with his father. The grandfather of “Syjuco,” like the father of Syjuco (Iloilo’s Augusto Syjuco), is a traditional politician. When convenient, the grandmother of “Syjuco,” like the mother of Syjuco (Judy Syjuco), occupies her husband’s seat.  In The Enlightened, an early Salvador novel, as his grandfather Cristobal prepares to leave Spain for a Philippines where the revolution is imminent, his lover protests, “You belong here. Not there.” He replies, “I know.” Cristo fears for his wife and children should revolution come. Only upon hearing “her and the children’s breathing, do I find the bravery to shirk my ideas of independence.” Torn between reform and revolution, he turns to superstition: “Blessed Mary, Ever Virgin, assist me.”... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100720com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL SM, NSO tie-up lies begin FRONTLINE No Solomonic solution focus Obama: Big wins, little credit MR. EXPOSE Good for both NO HOLDS BARRED No way AN OUTSIDERS VIEW The politics of Ilustrado