The World is An Apple

A Political-Economic Interpretation

Group 7

Precy Ann Serafica Michelle Albano Leonard John Ocupe Ritzel Dumat-ol Richard Angelo Tiu

Poverty plays a major role in this story; it depicts how the lack of economic opportunities can

drive individuals to the point of desperation in order to provide for the ones they love in a system that

victimizes the poor by failing to protect them. Living in an "improvised home behind a portion of the

Intramuros walls", Mario and Gloria were a poor couple in their late twenties who struggled to care for

their sick daughter, Tita, especially as Mario had just lost his job for "stealing" an apple a week prior to

the setting of the story. The apple was meant for Tita who wanted one but Mario did not have money

for it ("Do you remember the day I took her out for a walk? On our way home we passed by a grocery

store that sold 'delicious' apples at seventy centavos each. She wanted me to buy one for her, but I did

not have seventy centavos"). Because of his unemployment, Mario reached out to his old friend Pablo, a

rich but shady character whom Gloria resents very much. Though not explicitly stated, it is evident that

Mario and Pablo were old cohorts and engaged in criminal acts and illicit activities to acquire money,

Mario made a reference to his police record when Gloria told him to complain to the company for firing

him ("They would dig up my police record."), Gloria referred to their past pursuits as "dishonest ways"

and she also feared that Mario could get "shot in the head or sent to jail".

Firstly, the apple signified everything Mario and Gloria could not give Tita due to their station in

life. Given the fact that Mario did not have money even for a single apple meant they were very poor,

not to mention their inability to take Tita to a doctor and buy her medicine. However, Mario loved Tita

very much that he said, "I wouldn't mind losing a thousand jobs for an apple for my daughter!". This

phrase can be taken to mean that Mario would do anything to give Tita a comfortable life, especially

after he and Gloria "sort of promised her everything she had a right to have in life". In short, Mario was

willing to resort to any means necessary to give the whole world to Tita, as a good father should be.

Moreover, given Tita's medical condition, Mario became all the more desperate to find work because if

he was willing to lose his job for an apple (a non necessity), one can only imagine what he would resort

to in order to save his daughter's life, if not, at least to relieve her from excruciating pain. Secondly, the

story also depicts the relationship between worker and employer, both in the examples of Mario's

previous job and his malicious ventures with Pablo. Mario's sudden termination illustrates the cruel

nature of the absence (or lack of enforcement) of labor laws and worker's unions. After his termination,

not once did Mario mention suing the company or seeking the help of the union and the only solution

Gloria could think of was to "complain". Given that Mario was terminated for the mere "theft" of a

single apple implies two things: (a) lax labor laws and the lack of government protection for the worker's

rights can have very drastic consequences, especially for poor laborers and; (b) assuming that Mario was

a contractual worker as he was terminated "so that they may bring their own men (regulars) in"

provides a glimpse of the contractual worker's demise; most of them do not get the same benefits as

the regular employees in the companies they are being contracted to work for, their wages are

significantly lower, and the companies that contract them cannot be held responsible for the violation of

labor laws the agency that they work for has committed. In addition to this, contractual workers

generate surplus value for their employing agencies as the contracting companies pay the agencies for

the service of their workers but the contractual workers are only paid by the agency according to their

work hours to the contracting company in order to make more profit. Even with Pablo's illicit activities

this relationship still exists. Pablo owns the "means of production", he has knowledge of the business,

the connections, and the resources to run such illegal activities while Mario works to help run his

"business".

The story is a familiar one. Poor people constantly experience injustice under a system that

deems them to be less utilitarian and more of a hindrance to society. As a consequence, their rights are

often undermined and they are often victimized a second time because of government's lack of interest

in their welfare. This leads many into lives of crime and mayhem as they believe society has failed them

and that they have to do whatever it takes to survive. However, many of them hope and pray for better

lives and, like Gloria, believe that God is not letting them down. But most continue to live on prayers

that have gone unanswered due to the unjust system that inhibits all from living lives free from want.