Good day, reader!
This blog is a (short) reflection of Manuel A. Viray's piece Portrait of a Great Man. This is my first blog for the course 21st Century Literature of the Philippines and the World, under supervision of our instructor, Mr. Ezra Antonio.
We have our characters here, the people who make up the story.
DR. RUFINO T. VENTANILLA - the story's main character.
SERAFIN - he is Dr. Ventanilla's chauffeur.
ZABALA - Ventanilla's stenotypist.
DR. ADRIANO PEREZ
EDROSA
Now, let us move on to the vocabulary, or words that are seemingly difficult to understand.
Let us skip to the end part.
Two weeks into the story, Perez was eventually appointed Deputy Commissioner to succeed Ventanilla. However, he seems to be the bossy type, who takes bad notice of even the slightest mistakes. The story ends with a clerk who asks Perez to have his voucher signed for a partial salary since his wife is (terribly) sick, to which Perez shrugs the clerk off, citing that he does not want to be bothered.
Moral of the story: As much as possible, we must appreciate even the smallest good stuff. And we must try to not look at ourselves too high, high enough to be called "bossy" or "cocky".
That ends my review for the short story, Portrait of a Great Man, for now. And for the theme, the story is all about valuing even the smallest things in life, and not stretching your ego too far.
Thank you for reading!
DR. RUFINO T. VENTANILLA - the story's main character.
SERAFIN - he is Dr. Ventanilla's chauffeur.
ZABALA - Ventanilla's stenotypist.
DR. ADRIANO PEREZ
EDROSA
Now, let us move on to the vocabulary, or words that are seemingly difficult to understand.
Chauffeur - a person whose job is to drive people around.
Bundy Clock - a time-keeping clock used to log in when an employee has timed in or out of work.
Protegee - a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person.
Stenotypist - a typist who records dictation in shorthand by the use of phonetic symbols.
Kaywoodie - a smoking pipe.
Schenley - a liquor brand.
The story is set on Ventanilla's workplace, which is located on a street leading to Mabini Avenue.
It starts with Dr. Ventanilla and his chauffeur, Serafin, driving to his place of work. They managed to avoid the snarled traffic of Avenida Rizal, which could have caused them a delay. He then checked in through the bundy clock which logged his time-in for work.
He (seemingly) hurriedly went into his place of work where he was told by a girl working in the office that there is still five (5) minutes to eight (8) in the morning, to which he shrugged off laughingly and said to himself "doesn't she know I am the Deputy Commissioner?". After that, he strode into his office where he'd find himself barricaded by a hill of papers on his desk (too much papers to deal with!).
He then comes across with Zabala, his stenotypist, who types into the keyboard with machinegun precision (yes, he types that fast). Ventanilla also comes across with Dr. Adriano Perez 10 minutes apart, in which Perez asks Zabala where the Deputy Commissioner (Ventanilla) had been, and adds that if ever Ventanilla returns and wants him, he should be informed that Perez and Mr. Montalbo are at the restaurant.
Let us skip to the end part.
Two weeks into the story, Perez was eventually appointed Deputy Commissioner to succeed Ventanilla. However, he seems to be the bossy type, who takes bad notice of even the slightest mistakes. The story ends with a clerk who asks Perez to have his voucher signed for a partial salary since his wife is (terribly) sick, to which Perez shrugs the clerk off, citing that he does not want to be bothered.
Moral of the story: As much as possible, we must appreciate even the smallest good stuff. And we must try to not look at ourselves too high, high enough to be called "bossy" or "cocky".
That ends my review for the short story, Portrait of a Great Man, for now. And for the theme, the story is all about valuing even the smallest things in life, and not stretching your ego too far.
Thank you for reading!
