People always say that we are created equal. Yes, we are. But the differences of our
situations make some of us think that there really is an invisible stairs for stages of hierarchy. In
this chapter, the scenes portrayed the pitiful situation of innocent powerless people.

Sisa, mother of Crispin and Basilio, let her children go to that church everyday so they
can study and be sextons someday. Not knowing that her two boys, ended up being victims of
child labor. Unfortunately, the load of work did not reflect to the money they earn and the way
they were treated in the church.

Evident in this chapter the abuse of power of a governing body to its subordinates. An
elder mercilessly beat up a child because of mere speculations. They do not even have a concrete
evidence that Crispin really steal the money. How can a child defend himself when all of the
priests and sextons are pointing their fingers on him? He was not given the chance to prove his
innocence in the first place.

The way Crispin felt in that situation describes the current feeling of most Filipinos. Base
on the written analysis of the LitCharts about this chapter, Crispin felt that, if the government
treats its citizens like criminals, it may indeed turn innocent people toward subversion, since
they’re already forced to live the consequences of breaking the law. We cannot deny that still,
there exists elders who cannot accept being corrected by younger people. And that, takes away
our freedom of opinion and expression. Some resolves this issue by using their power – creating
laws perhaps.

This novel do not generalize the behavior of the existing characters. It is just stating the
fact that those people really exist in this world. I wonder how the world would turn out if there’s
no one able to see the truth.