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1. Name: Blessie Bea B. Retonio
Course & Year: BSCE-3A
Subject: Lit10 – Literatures in Mindanao
Analysis of
The White Horse of Alih
By Mig Alvarez Enriquez
CHARACTERS:
• Alih
➢ The main character or the protagonist of the story.
➢ A Moro who plan to kill all the people who are celebrating the big American
Holiday.
➢ A man who loves to have it’s own horse.
• Omar
➢ Alih’s older brother and the accomplice of Alih’s plan.
➢ He was the one who always influence and dictate Alih about what action he
should always do.
➢ The one who is shaping Alih’s belief and actions.
➢ The was the reason behind Alih’s quest for revenge.
• Imam
➢ The village priest.
➢ The one who told the brothers that killing is an appropriate action because it is
against to their prophet teachings.
• Lucy
➢ The little girl in the reservation across the river where the Americans live.
➢ The first girl whom Alih liked when he was in his first grade.

2. • Fermina
➢ The bar maid and a Christian girl.
➢ The woman who gad shared Alih’s mat and sheet.
➢ Alih like and adore her so much, but she don’t like him due to his rude behavior
towards her.
SETTINGS:
• The main settings of the story occurred on the 4th
day of July in a city which is very
crowded and busy because of the parade of people which is part of the celebration of
the big American Holiday.
• The following time and settings are just the other settings which was introduced in the
story:
➢ Village across the river on the edge of the sea – it is where Alih reside.
➢ Reservation across the river – where Lucy, the American girl lived.
➢ One afternoon at the fair – it is where Alih saw Lucy again and rode on a merry-
go-round beside the little girl.
➢ Beer garden at the clock – where Alih did something terrible and impertinent
towards the bar maid, Fermina and that was the reason why he was imprisoned
for six months.
PLOT:
• Introduction/Exposition
The story began in a town where all people are busy celebrating for the
American Holiday which is usually held on the 4th
day of July of the year. Everyone are
enjoying the parade and all people are having fun from the various activities which is
part of the celebration. While everyone is busy, Alih was also looking for his brother,
Omar. That day was supposed to be the day which they will execute plan, and that is
to kill all the people in the parade. He looked for his brother in the midst of the crowd
but he was failed to find it. And then he decided to went out of the crowd and sat under
the balete tree. There, he remembered his past, his childhood, and growing years. As
he was observing the crowd, he saw a man riding a horse and he remembered how
we wanted and longed for a horse for himself which also made him to spend his
earnings just a ride a merry-go-round. He remembered the first girl he liked, Lucy, the
little girl who lived in the reservation area where the Americans live. He also recalls all

3. the words his older brother told him. From the tragedy happened on their father down
to how his belief and action were shaped by Omar. He also think of again the bar maid
whom he like the most but doesn’t like him back, it was Fermina, as well as also the
misfortunes he faced after doing some impertinent behavior towards her.
• Rising Action
The parade was still ongoing and yet, Alih failed to find his brother, Omar.
Suddenly he had a terrible thought that made him overthink. It is about the white horse,
in which Omar told him about his belief that Allah will give you a reward, which is to
ride a white horse if you will kill as many people as you want. The reason behind this
belief was all started when the bitterness and revenge was instill in their hearts and
mind after the tragic loss of their father and this definitely led them to vengeance.
However, Alih think that this belief of Omar may be untrue and it is really against on
the prophet’s teachings.
Due to the noises of cheering and clapping from the people on the parade,
Alih's thought was cease. His attention turned to the track and there he saw someone
who is very familiar to him. He thought that the girl on the float is Fermina. As the truck
approaching, he also went closer to vehicle and as he was about to help the woman
out, Omar showed up drunk.
• Climax
Omar shouted, which signifies that it was the right time to kill all those people,
but he cried and you can really noticed in his face that he was afraid and trembling. As
he jump around, his weapon, the fatal blade fell and withdraw from his pockets. This
made the crowd to scattered, they screamed, everyone is panic and frightened about
the unexpected chaos. Omar swings his blade around and killing people. The girl on
the float jump and tries to escape from danger but she was stocked because of her
dress and this caught Omar’s attention. He's coming towards her. Alih was furious as
he saw a man coming towards to girl, and in that very moment, Alih confirmed that it
was really Fermina, the girl he loves.
• Falling Action
Alih defended Fermina and immediately took his own blade and swung it down
on his brother’s back repeatedly until Omar died. He killed his brother not to gain the
white horse but to protect his love.

4. • Resolution/Denouement
After the tragic incident happened during the event, a lot of speculations was
made. Some said, he became insane due to his fasting or he really hated his brother
in the first place. But the truth is that, Alih refused to attain the reward. He did not want
the white horse anymore and his love towards the girl is what really matters the most.
KIND OF PLOT
• Man in a tub
➢ Omar’s teachings towards Alih really changes he innocence he had. He was
the one who is responsible behind the violent ideology of Alih. He wizened is
brother's mind with lies and fanaticism — the existence of white horse as a
reward for killing, and the driving force of Alih's quest for vengeance. As a
result, Alih got swayed and blinded, but it does not last until the very end and
this is very evident on the last part of the story. Alih realized that he don't really
need nor like the white horse. His love for Fermina changes his belief and that
he chose love over violence and lies.
CONFLICT:
• Man vs. Man
➢ This conflict is evident in the story when Omar killed the people around him and
when Alih killed his own brother.
• Man vs. Himself
➢ Based on the story, this conflict is shown not only in Alih’s side but also in
Omar’s. As for Alih, this happen when he had a sudden thought about what his
belief, which is actually shaped by Omar. The confusion he had during that
thought already explains why this conflict exist and that is, if everything he
believed is true or not. In addition, the way Omar dictates everything he will
do, also support the said conflict, because it seems like he definitely controlled
by him and he can’t decide anything for himself. As for Omar, he also
experienced this kind of conflict. It is when he pretend himself to be brave and
reckless but the truth is, he have fear of killing and afraid, and this something
he’s been hiding all along with himself and to Alih.

5. • Man vs. Society
➢ This conflict is truly highlighted in the story, and it can be read on the first part
of it. It really shows the racisms that occurs in the town. They perceived and
defined Moros as bad people. They always labeled Moros as different from
other people in town, they are prone to injustice and inequality. In short, in this
story, it depicts that there is a Moro community’s marginalization that occurs in
town.
POINT OF VIEW:
• Third person point of view
➢ The author is the one who’s narrating the story about each characters, referring
to them by name, or used pronouns like he, she, him, her, his, her, himself,
herself, it and them.
THEME:
• The first idea that exposed in the story is the racism or the racial discrimination among
Moros communities. It was said in the story how Americans offered injustices towards
Moros. This is evident on what happened to Alih and Omar’s father. They always
believed and labeled Moros as bad, violent and untrustworthy. Although they are living
in a same town, but people always prove that they are different and also gives Moros
unfair treatment in order for them to feel and realized that they are not part of the
community and they do not belong on it.
• Obviously, the whole story is all about violence and quest of vengeance and how the
protagonist was able to get through all these things. The story showcase how hard and
very impactful it is to someone, who witnessed their loved ones to experienced injustice
from the community and its people. It can affect their overall perspective in life, this
may cause them to change their behavior and even their beliefs, and for the worst part,
this will lead them to seek for revenge. A revenge which can be execute in a good way
but, certainly, people do revenge though negative way such as doing harm and
violence. Consequently, in this story, it highlights that a revenge that is performed
negatively will not surely effective in the end hence, this will just lead you to a more
worst situations which you, yourself can’t even control nor stop.

6. • We can definitely say that being violent is not an inborn characteristics. Someone can
be violent or not depending on what kind of environment he have, it can be people and
even experiences from the people around you or even from your own experiences.
These things may influence someone’s perspective and belies in life and might be the
reason why these people choses violence over everything. In this story, Omar was the
one who made Alih to become revengeful. Through his teachings and beliefs that he
shared to Alih, he made his younger brother to take the perilous path of violence. This
signifies that individuals are not mere instruments of violence, but are shaped by their
experience, relationships and doubts.
• The story also offers the idea of religious teachings about how it is being applied by
someone or how it was being used by someone, it’s either to used it as an
enlightenment or to used it as a weapon to control and manipulate someone. Based
on the story, Omar’s fanaticism and distorted interpretation of religious teachings serve
a cautionary action, because some people uses religious ideologies just to manipulate
someone’s faith and swayed everyone by their radical ideas which will influence them
to commit inappropriate actions, such as violence even though is not really according
to the holy scriptures.
• In this story, is also depicts human emotion and how it can affect to someone in many
ways. When Alih fell in love with Lucy, he exhibits his capacity for innocent love and
hope. He shows how a child usually acts when they like someone. That time, he really
showed himself the vulnerability and innocence of a child. On the other hand, as to
what he feel towards Fermina, he shows the real and more matured side of him. He
reveals his capacity for compassion and love which is very contrast to what his
character firstly conveyed. The love he felt to Fermina serve as his key to unlock
himself from the imprisonment of Omar’s beliefs, and that when he finally opened his
eyes and awakened to the reality that violence was never a good option to everything
and it will never be a solution, perhaps it could be another way creating problems. His
love towards the bar maid opened his doors to realization, reveal his desire for human
connection and most specially, an emotional fulfilment. In general, love always win and
it definitely changes everything.