Uncovering Literary Conflicts in F. Sionil Jose's Novel-My Brother, My Executioner

Literature as it mirrors life and society, unravels varied forms of literary conflict. This paper uncovers this harsh and conflicting struggles among characters using F. Sionil Jose’s novel My Brother, My Executioner. Using discourse analysis, the paper uncovers lenses of conflict in literature depicted by the author through his work. This includes internal, where character battles within the self (man vs self), triggered by their feelings, fears, and contradictory impulses. Second, is external conflict, where confrontations occur in the outside environment as collision between external forces occurs. This form of conflict is manifested through man vs. man, man vs. society, and man vs. fate respectively. Finally, the paper revel and speculate underlying issues posited in the novel formulating societal conflict themes unveiled in the story. These brutal insinuations and portrayal of the gaps between peasants and the elites, and the opposition of ideals and beliefs between two brothers leading to a greater understanding of the elusive meaning of freedom and rights in which the life Filipinos are reflected.