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A Convict's Twilight: A Haunting Short Story

The short story "A Convict's Twilight" is set in a convict labor camp in Davao, Philippines, and follows a group of convict laborers returning from a day of hard work. It explores the isolation of life in the camp compared to imprisonment in Manila. The narrator, a doctor, recognizes a former patient who moved to Davao to be near her imprisoned husband. The story builds to a moving and powerful scene at its close that may bring readers to tears. It is a culturally significant work that helps keep alive memories of the Philippines before modernization.

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Mika Jusay
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427 views1 page

A Convict's Twilight: A Haunting Short Story

The short story "A Convict's Twilight" is set in a convict labor camp in Davao, Philippines, and follows a group of convict laborers returning from a day of hard work. It explores the isolation of life in the camp compared to imprisonment in Manila. The narrator, a doctor, recognizes a former patient who moved to Davao to be near her imprisoned husband. The story builds to a moving and powerful scene at its close that may bring readers to tears. It is a culturally significant work that helps keep alive memories of the Philippines before modernization.

Uploaded by

Mika Jusay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Summary of 'A Convict's Twilight'

The short story entitled "A Convict's Twilight" is a very powerful haunting work set in a

convict labor camp near Davao, a seaport town on Mindanao Island, located in the
southern Philippines.  It is not clear if  it should be considered an essay based on
medical field work of the author or a short story and it could find little information on the
publication history of the text.

As the text begins, a group of convict laborers are returning to camp after a day of very
hard work clearing the rain forest to make way for farms.  It is hard for those in the great
urban mega city of Manila to grasp existentially that in the time of their great
grandparents much of the country was a rain forest.  Rotor does a magnificent job
making us feel the power of the forest, enemy and intimate friend.  He poigantly
meditates on the relative oppressiveness of being a prisoner in Manila behind bars with
at least the bustle of the city near you versus isolation in the convict camp in Davao.
The convicts have at most two hours of their own time.  The narrator recognizes a
woman he treated in his medical practice back in Manila.  Her husband is at the convict
camp and she moved to Davao to be near him.  She is nearly overwhelmed with
emotion when she recalls the kindness of Dr. Rotor. Her emotions are deepened by the
cruel hand fate has dwealt her.  There is little kindness in her world now.

There is a very moving powerfully rendered scene at the close of "A Convict's Twilight"
which may well bring tears to many eyes.  

Historically this work and others by authors of this period are a precious world class
cultural treasure helping keep awake the past, of a country before social media, fast
foods, and mega malls took over.

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