TODAY I yield my column space to yet another review of my story “Donato the Hunchback”. This time by a teacher of DepEd in Roxas City. Jay C. Blancaflor teaches senior high school Creative Writing, Creative Nonfiction, Practical Research, General Mathematics, and Statistics and Probability at Bago National High School in Roxas City.
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Of Chances and Choices
A reading of P.S. Nery’s “Donato the Hunchback”
by Jay C. Blancaflor
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He left me with the chance to live.
That is the powerful and most inspiring last line of Peter Solis Nery’s award-winning short story, “Donato the Hunchback”. It leads me into another level of deep thought, and more importantly, it gives me hope for humanity. It is a satisfying conclusion to a piece of literature that challenges the reader’s moral position and philosophical opinion. I am confident that reading Nery’s important masterpiece will help readers become more mindful of their choices and decisions in life, and will make them realize that for every decision they make, they must consider the consequences they are going to face.
As a story, “Donato the Hunchback” proves its magnificence in clear images and symbolism. In one of the passages, just one sentence does the trick like magic: I was born with a hunched back, was underweight, had a misshapen head, and was as thin as matchstick.It immediately makes me imagine a character who is really deprived of good attributes in physical appearance. Yet, despite this characterization of the protagonist, the author imbues Donato a lot of positivity even as he explains the etymology of Donato’s name (which was given to him by Father Tino in the story). Witness this passage: I related to her Padre Tino’s explanation of how I got my name. “Taken from Donatello, an Italian name meaning ‘given.’ He said I was a blessing from the Almighty.”In addition, the adopted Donato is described as old Father Tino’s source of joy. Despite his deformed physical appearance, Donato was given by the priest the chance to live in the world with some sense of love and contentment.
Symbolism in literature is an important literary device that helps the reader recognize and realize a deeper sense of significance and meaning of certain objects, characters, and even plot events. It serves as an aid for a better understanding of the story. The gecko, for example, is a well played image in “Donato the Hunchback”. The creature of the lizard family, a reptile, best represents Donato’s appearance, and how he is dealt with in the world of the story. Culturally speaking, and perhaps also scientifically, the physical features of a gecko is disliked, if not feared, by many. How unique a gecko is corresponds to how different Donato is as described by the author. And just how the gecko is harmless, Donato is presented as someone who has made a choice to live in goodness and right.
When his mother left the infant Donato on the front steps of the convent, he was placed in a shoebox with his mother’s necklace. The necklace represents the link (like a maternal chain, or a metaphorical umbilical cord), and perhaps the mother’s hope that, in God’s time, their paths will cross again. Through the necklace, Donato was recognized by his mother two decades later.
Another important symbol in the story is Donato’s twin brother Jed. Jed is the epitome of a cruel and nasty society. He is pure evil—narcissistic, ungrateful, and possessed of an angelic beauty that is deceiving. Yet, for Donato, his twin brother is another opportunity, a chance to make a good and righteous choice.
Donato’s life is full of chances: a chance to live, a chance to love, and a chance to be loved and accepted. Despite his deformed body and dreadful appearance, he is a person full hope and positivity. In his wretchedness, he still hopes that society will accept him. This story made me question our modern life that is focused on cosmetological aesthetics and senseless materialism. It made me think about the real choices people should be making to live meaningful lives.
In the end, Nery’s outstanding and inspiring story is an embodiment of real life chances, and the choices people make. Donato was first given the chance to live; and in the end, was given the chance, and choice, to give life (or at least, to extend it) to his brother. Very clearly, this is a story of redemption, and life’s meaning. In it, we may believe that all of us were created by God, and though we may be big or small, perfectly beautiful or physically deformed, we will serve a purpose in His time./PN
