THE BREAD OF SALT

1. Bread Of Salt
By: N.V.M Gonzales

2. N.V.M Gonzales
• Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez (September 8, 1915 – November 28,
1999) was a Filipino novelist , short story writer, essayist and poet.
Conferred as the National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in
1997. His alma mater was National University of the Philippines but
he was unable to finish his undergraduate degree. While in Manila,
Gonzalez wrote for the Philippine Graphic and later edited for the
Evening new Magazine and manila Chronicle his first published essay
appeared in the Philippine Graphic and his first poem in Poetry in
1934. Gonzales made his mark in the Philippine writing community as
a member of the Board of Advisers of Likhaan. His some notable
awards are Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Palanca Memorial
Award for Literature , City of manila Medal of Honor and Philippine
national Artist. Gonzales later taught at the University of California,
Santa Barbara, California State University, Hayward, The University
of Washington, The University of California, Los Angeles, and the
University of California, Berkeley.

3. Characters
• Boy or The narrator – main character of the play but he doesn’t have a name in the story.
• Aida – object of the boy’s affection and niece of Don Esteban
• Don Esteban – the Old Spaniard and uncle of Aida.
• Pete Saez – the leader of Minviluz Band and the one who invites the boy to join his band
• Mr Custudio – in charge in school orchestra
• Josefina and Alicia – Aida’s cousins
• Other band mates – preferably two

4. settings
• In the bakery or bakeshop – the boy always buy pandesal in five in the
morning.
• School – everyday he went to school, and wishing he can walk together
with Aida. And in Christmas Party where Aida get a hairbrush and a
powder case.
• Aida’s House for the Party – the narrator and his band played for as alto.
And the boy saw Aida in a long flowing white gown and wearing an arch
of sampaguita flowers on her hair. And also in this party happened the
most embarrassing moment in the narrator’s life.

5. Plot Synopsis
• The story is all about a boy who love to eat bread of salt also known as pansdesal. Every
morning he walks by the old Spaniard’s niece Aida whom the boy liked. He would do
anything to confess his feelings but he doesn’t have courage to confess with Aida. Until
he joined the band of Pete Saez, the Minviluz Orchestra but his aunt doesn’t want him to
joined because they say musicians eat last. He joined this band because he want to buy
Aida some present and also to become a famous violinist. One day their band was asked
to perform in as alto that Don Esteban and Aida prepared for Don Esteban’s daughter. As
his aunt said that the musician eat last, the boy is so hungry that he packed some food to
bring home and that embarrassing moment was seen by Aida. The boy decided to go
home and get his part in the band. He decided to buy some pandesal with his first salary
but the bread was still not ready.

6. Plot Pyramid
When Aida caught the
boy pocketing or packing
some food from the
party.
When the boy
threw away the
food he packed
from the party
It is when the
narrator or the
fourteen year old
boy started to learn
and play or master
violin
It started with a
boy that buys pan
de sal every
morning so he
can see his crush
Aida.
The boy
realized like
pan de sal, he
is still not yet
ready to face
life and reality

7. Conflict
• The conflict in this story is when his aunt doesn’t
support him to perform in public or parties
because she think that the musicians are the last
to eat during parties. It is Man vs. Society and
Man vs. Circumstances.

8. Theme
• It’s theme is to show a simple daily routine in life. Just an ordinary people
who like or love to eat pandesal sometimes with coffee or together with
yema. It is a very Filipino tradition.
• Another one is, Love between Social Status. In the story the boy is living
in a simple way while Aida is a niece of an Spaniard. Also the grandfather
of the narrator work in Don Esteban before. So it’s love between social
status.

9. Symbolisms
• Pandesal – symbolizes the low and simple life of Filipinos and the boy, not
being ready to face life and reality just yet.
• Yema – symbolizes the higher class of life where in it was only a food for
the richer family, and because of that the narrator didn’t even knew what it
was or what’s it called when he ate at pocketed some at the party.
• Bread Of Salt – symbolizes like the same with yema but it’s more on
social status and the difference of the higher classed people and the low
class people and it also symbolizes the complicated life of the people back
in the days and maybe even now.

10. Plot Type or Plot Devices
• The Bread of salt was episodic because it
contains or consist of a series of loosely
connected parts or events like for example in the
story when Aida caught the boy packing some of
the food which is in the party.

11. Point of View
• It’s point of view is First Person because the
narrator tells everything about the story or about
him. The narrator and the boy which the story is
revolving o the same so it’s first person.

12. References
• Sachi Garcia, “Bread of Salt” by NVM Gonzales retrieved on
December 03, 2017 from
https://www.slideshare.net/chie888chie/group2bradofsalt
• Michie San Luis (2014). “Bread of Salt” retrieved on December
03, 2017 from https://prezi.com/bread-of-salt
• “Bread of Salt” retrieved on December 04, 2017 from
https://slideshare.net//images.google.com.ph

13. List of Members
• Baluyot, Jea Pauline
• Casabueana, Abegail
• De Luna, Mallane
• De Lara, Georgia
• Guzman, Aileen
• Matic, Erelyn
• Sabino, Clarel Jade
• Santiago, Ericka