Portrait of a Great Man
By Manuel A. Viray
Manuel A. Viray (1917-1995?) has compiled poetry anthologies, essays on Philippine literature, and was editor-in-chief of Archipelago Quarterly. He worked in the foreign service corp of the Philippine government until his retirement. (Source: https://essaycatalog.org/philippine-essay-with-author)
Vocabulary
- capricious- changing according to no discernible rules; unpredictable.
- chauffeur- a person employed to drive a private or hired car.
- Bundy Clock- a person employed to drive a private or hired car.
- protégée-a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person.
- stenotypist- a keyboard machine resembling a typewriter, used in stenotypy.
- treatise- a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject.
- Kaywoodie- a brand of pipe
- appal-greatly dismay or horrify.
- red tape- excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities.
- placated-make (someone) less angry or hostile.
- jurisprudence- the theory or philosophy of law.
Characters
- Dr. Rufino T. Ventanilla- the doctor and the deputy commissioner in the story. Known to be someone who is picky about details, and someone who does not trust his subordinates' abilities.
- Marcos Montalbo II- the special assistant, and a good friend of Adriano Perez
- Adriano Perez y Tiron- a doctor and the Deputy Commissioner who had succeeded Ventanilla at the end of the story.
- Zabala- the typist
- Lita- mistress (?) of Ventanilla, not seen much in the story
- Serafin- the chauffeur of Dr. Ventanilla.
- Del Mundo and Estabillo- assistants on mechanization
Setting
It was implied in the beginning of the story that it was "5 minutes to eight", and that the story occurred in the bureau office. The conversation between Perez and Montalbo occurred in the restaurant. The story is set in a day wherein the Commissioner is absent (a deputy commissioner is in charge when the commissioner is absent) and Dr. Ventanilla will be promoted after a few weeks.
PLOT
Exposition
The story starts of with Dr. Ventanilla riding the car to his office. He was seen as easily annoyed, and someone who is arrogant due to his position, yet kind of subservient to those superior to him. Other characters were also introduced in the story, such as Zabala, and Serafin.
Rising Action
As he entered the office, it was shown that his desk was piled up with papers which he needs to check one by one. His easily irritated and perfectionist personality was further shown when he reprimanded Perez about a missed semi-colon in his treatise, and when he ordered his subordinate to order things which Lita requested from him. Another instance was when he ordered Zabala to take a bottle from the fridge. As we can see, the conflict introduced in this part is the unlikeable personality of Ventanilla, and how his co-workers look at him.
Climax
The problem was introduced when he was choosing a new deputy commissioner who will replace him. I believe that this is the climax since his insecurity was shown in this part. Another part which I believe is the climax is when he was discussing parts of the contract with Del Mundo and Estabillo, wherein his problems in the story are piling up. As he tries to resolve everything, he felt nervous and went to the "House of Commons". I also believe another part which I can call is the climax of the story is when Perez and Montalbo discussed Ventanilla's personality, and his past problems with the Commissioner. It was shown here that he was trying too much to prove that he is capable of something.
Falling Action
While I did include the conversation of Perez and Montalbo in the climax, I also believe that a part of the falling action was here, since they were also discussing how Ventanilla might be appointed as a Director of Internal Affairs, which happened later on in the story. Furthermore, they also discussed what Ventanilla should've done in the duration of his term in the office. In the later part of the story, Perez was appointed the new Deputy Commissioner, and Ventanilla was apparently working hard as the Director of Internal Affairs.
Ending
Perez was appointed the new Deputy Commissioner, but his personality has also changed into what resembles Ventanilla's personality. Ventanilla is now relaxing as he was appointed as Director of Internal Affairs. Perez is now shouldering Ventanilla's responsibilities, which lead to Perez slowly neglecting his employees' status.
Symbolism
I believe that how they refer to the sun as "an intruder of sleep and stolen love" symbolizes how the sun starts a new day of work and stress for employees who need to wake up early. However, as for the "stolen love", I believe that this refers to Ventanilla's affair with Lita, since there are times when these kinds of affairs will stop during the day, and they have to go back to their daily lives with their respective families. I also think that this affair symbolizes a person's outlet (?) or way of relieving stress after a day's worth of work.
Another thing which I noticed in the beginning of the story was when Ventanilla was annoyed with Serafin's dirty nape and unkempt hair. This may represent two things: an employer's cruelty to his employee, or how the rich looks at the poor. I said that it may be cruelty because he had to wake his chauffeur up early in the morning, even causing him to not take a bath just to keep up with the demands of the doctor. I believe that this represents a subordinate trying to fulfill his boss' demands, even if he has to neglect his well-being. I also think that this refers to how the rich looks at the poor because the rich always looks down at the poor, and they may look annoyed.
The clock and Ventanilla's pickiness which is seen in the semi-colon incident represents a man striving for perfection and a man's pride. I believe that man can never be perfect, for if man will be perfect, we cannot be called as such anymore. However, some still strive to be as close as we can be to perfection, even at the cost of pulling others down, and finding mistakes in other people's hard work.
The pile of papers in Ventanilla's desk represents the mental stress and problems he has to endure everyday in work. This pile of paper confronts him everyday as he goes in his office, and this may have changed him for the worse, since he neglected different people as he worked in this office. This shows how problems and stress may shape a person into a different one.
Ventanilla's argument with the Commissioner may represent a man's pride. It was seen how the Commissioner tried to silence Ventanilla, yet he still answered back, since he was someone who studied law in a prestigious university. This shows how people can be prideful if they have achieved something, and act like a know-it-all.
I also believe that the conversation between Perez and Montalbo represents how man can be ignorant of the hardships of others. They say things behind other people's back even without knowing of the circumstances, or even experiencing their hardship.
Lastly, the title "Portrait of a Great Man" may represent the imperfection of man, since the characters in the story were depicted as someone far from perfect. It shows a contrast of what makes and doesn't make a great man.
Lesson:
- Think of other peoples' circumstances before talking about them.
- Do not be insecure of what others have that you don't.
- Always remember to look back from where you came from.
- Always try to be good to others, even when you are filled with problems
To read the full story, check this link: http://www.sushidog.com/bpss/stories/great_man.htm
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