generations by ninotchka rosca

the author wrote of the people as if they were comparable to animals. that was something noticeable. it could be that it was the author's way of saying how some families lived when martial law still loomed over the entire nation. the members of the family in the story lived desolate lives. the father was a drunkard. the mother was physically abused. the grandfather was always left mumbling in some corner. and the kids had nothing to do but endure the dreadfulness of their lives. the girl, for example, was beautiful. she could have been an actress. but she was not able to properly utilize her God-given resources for her own sake. instead, she was obligated to help her family the best way she could. but what about herself? what about her own future? surely, the family was not normal. they were not like those families whose portraits hung proudly in a large room in a gargantuan house. luck was not on their side. as if their life was not terrible enough, the father found himself in trouble, and the girl was forced to have herself desecrated by men in whose hands the fate of her father lied. in the end, the father still died. what was weird was the way the family members took it all too lightly. the children's taking a bath after the news was divulged was a sign that indeed, after the funeral, the laundry. they knew they couldn't dwell on the sadness because there was life.. life they must fix if they wanted it to be so much better. their eating together including old selo was a sign of solidarity, and so was the children's taking a bath. they went through things together, and that's what's important to them. and maybe the title says that the problems get passed from one generation to the other. the problems could get worse, have the same intensity, or better yet, be remedied in the future. but i think the children of this family will be encumbered for a long time.

i guess times like those one couldn't really afford to severe his ties with the last few bony shoulders to cry on.