Historical- Bigraphical Approach on "A Child Sorrow" by Zoilo Galang

"A Child of Sorrow" was the first Filipino novel written in English and was first published in 1921. It can be a reflection of Zoilo Galang's personal life. It also symbolize the social and intellectual currents in which Galang composed his novel. The novel omits a phenomenon of wonder, simplicity, beauty, urbanity, language, and history nevertheless it is also a revelation of man's wickedness.
There are many examples of historical and biographical influence on the novel. The years that Zoilo spent in living in the bucolic town of Bacolor, Pampanga add a vivid description of simplicity and mundane lifestyle to the life of the novel’s protagonist, Lucio Soliman. The lifestyle in which Zoilo lives his life clarifies the milieu in which the novel takes place. As Lucio Soliman traverses from the dying Spanish regime to the spring time of Filipinos intellectual prowess in Commonwealth period as well as the mundane provincial life in Fertile Valley and Merry Town, it brings the readers to the time of Zoilo Galang, allowing them to live through his thinking, beliefs, culture, and code of ethics albeit for a short period of time. Additionally, Galang manifests the typical provincial and conservative kind of romantic relationship since during that time Filipinos were traditionalist and old-fashioned.
Also, during the mid-18 to 19thcentury there was a sentimentalist movement in Europe and it greatly affected the literary traditions of all writers in the world and one of them was Galang. In reference to the historical movement of Sentimentalism during the 18th century, this is a European idea that emphasized feelings and emotions, a physical appreciation of God, nature, and other people, rather than logic and reason. The impact on the people was that love became as important in marriage as financial considerations. European sentimentalism arose during the Age of Enlightenment, at the same time as sentimentalism in philosophy which can be found in the story.