Theme in “How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife”: The Struggles of Adaptation
“I do.,” she said. This sentence closed off the deal, two individuals officially married. But is marriage really the happily ever after of this story? Or the beginning of another crazy adventure? Two of the main characters of the story, the married Maria and Leon, arrived at the province and they would be fetched by Leon’s brother Baldo. In the story “How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife,” the author uses local colors to depict the hardships and experiences of someone trying to adjust to new environments. Manuel E. Arguilla brings to light both the perspectives of someone from the rural area and someone from the city.
Manuel uses symbolism in foreshadowing the struggles that the characters will go through as the plot progresses. In the beginning of the text, we notice that when the couple arrived in the province, it was already sunset. When the sun sets, light fades and darkness follows, this could symbolize Maria’s incoming obstacles. Before the sun could completely sink and disappear, the author emphasized how the light shone over Labang’s white coat and its horns appeared tipped with fire. In this context, the cow may symbolize beginnings and the color white may represent purity and truth. The light of the setting sun shining over Labang’s white coat stands for the new beginning the characters are headed to, although full of hindrances, their intentions would be pure and true. In addition, Labang was restless at first which resembles how beginnings are terrifying and overwhelming at first, especially if one is in an unfamiliar environment, but with the help of someone familiar, like Leon, things would be more at ease.
The struggles of the characters of the story were hinted by the author through the utilization of symbolism. Labang the cow played a big role in bringing the characters towards a new stage in their lives, a married couple’s start in a new environment. The sky implies the obstacles they were about to face, and as the sky grew darker, the situation became more challenging. These subtle details helped intensify the build up of the conflict of the story.
- Tiffany