The White Horse of Alih (Analysis)

Characters:
Alih – A Moro who plans for killing the people celebrating the Filipino-American Friendship day
Omar – The older brother of Alih who dictates him on what to doing every aspects of his life
Imam – The village priest who tried to dissuade the two brothers, he explains to them that the prophets did not teach to do it
Lucy – Girl who lived in the reservation area where the americans live, she is the first girl Alih liked
Fermina – a beautiful bar maid with a mole near her mouth, Alih likes her so much but the woman doesn’t like him because of his impertinent manner towards her.

Setting: The story happened on July 4th in a city with a parade of people.

Plot:
Exposition: Alih is a young Moro and a non-Christian who live in the village across the river on the edge of the sea where the nipa-thatched houses were perched on the posts above the water. Alih is not as brave as his brother Omar. He has a good heart but easily frightened unlike Omar he's a brave man and ready to kill anytime for their beliefs and traditions. They moved along the crowd which was celebrating the fourth of July celebration.

Rising Action: he saw a float with a girl whom he thought of as Fermina. He went near the float and assisted the girl to go down to the ground and found out that it is Fermina when he saw the little black mole on the corner of the girl’s mouth.

Climax: As he was about to hold her completely, Omar came but to his surprise, he was drunk all along, he realized that Omar had been drinking tuba. Omar was about to kill Fermina.

Falling Action: Alih kills his brother despite their plans to gain the white horse for him to protect Fermina.

Resolution: Alih is arrested by the authorities, his fate remains ambiguous

Themes: 1) the short story tells about the tradition, beliefs and faith of the Filipinos
2) Religion: Moro
The white horses
Moral justification
3) Bravery: Insisting
Not drinking tuba
Prying for cowardly action
The Man Sampang
Protecting Houri
4) Brotherhood: Showing respect
Teaching/Sharing Knowledge
Caring
Spending Time

Literary approach used:

Historical Approach:
Since the author was born on 1925, this may influence his work on The White Horse of Alih. The setting of the story happened on July 4th in a city with a parade of people. The author might experience this big event in the history wherein the July 4th is considered as Filipino-American Friendship Day.

Mimetic Approach:
The text is can be related to the reality. If there were discrimination among races, differences among religions and traditions. And the moral aspect of killing is an issue of their faith.

Freudian Approach:
The main character tries to overcome his feelings on this text but Alih shows his intention to Fermina in the middle of story when he ask for a kiss to the lady.

Analysis:
The story started of as Alih the protagonist, moved along the crowd which was celebrating the fourth of July celebration. They were expecting a lot of people in this event because they planned a mass assassination in the town. The story then went on concentrating on the actions and what the characters are thinking before their planned killing. Alih was thinking of his houri and the past memories of their family. His father was accused of killing a man that he did not kill. Alih and Omar’s father was the hadji back then and that he attended the Mecca. The Americans wanted him to submit to the judgment of the Americans. The story continued with the life of Omar and Alih as merchants. They sold their house, their boats, fishing nets and even their mother’s pearls. They then worked for Lim Ching which was a Chinese merchant. They were then robbed by men with guns and clubs. They then went back to sea and stayed there for a long time. After the consumed all their stock of food and water Omar began thinking of killing and dying. By killing we can wash our shame away’ said Omar while staring into the space. The story then went on moving to the parade. Alih saw a girl which resembled his friend that he rode with in the carousel. After confirming that the girl he is looking at is really Fermina, his brother Omar then went berserk and unsheathed his sword and killed people. Omar then went to kill Fermina but Alih protected her and killed his brother Omar.Alih did not want to kill but the fear he had for his brother while he was growing urged him to the killings and also because his brother taught him that killing will be their way to wash away their shame and gain respect for their father had died by the american soldiers without any reason.