Name: Ben Zayb
Sex: M
Race: Indio
Occupation: Writer
Aliases: Fray Ibanez or Padre Ibanez, Ink-slinger
Affiliations: El Grito de la Integridad (newspaper column)
Background
Ben Zayb’s background is not explained. He is currently a journalist who has his own column, called “El Grito de la Integridad”. He writes under the name Ibanez. People often call him “Padre Ybanez” because he looks like a friar, but he denies the resemblance. Throughout El Filibusterismo (El Fili) he is shown to have a rivalry with Horatius, a writer for “Pyrotecnia”. Even though he is well-connected and is considered a prominent figure in Manila, Ben Zayb lives in a basement room shared with other people.
Story
Chapter 1: Ben Zayb is first introduced while reading the steamship Tabo. He is sitting on deck with the friars, Dona Victorina, Don Custodio and Simoun. He can be seen arguing with Padre Camorra about water levels, rivers and Indios. Later, Don Custodio complains to him that Simoun suggested an expedition to the Caroline Islands, which means having to build a cruiser. After that, as the group argues about how to straighten the river and develop ports in the area, Ben Zayb agrees with Don Custodio’s suggestion that townspeople should breed ducks to eat snails so that the process of gathering snails will cause the river to deepen.
Chapter 3: The group shares legends about the river, and Padre Salvi tells them about the Miracle of San Nicolas. Ben Zayb says he wants to write an article about the Chinaman in the legend, who prayed to a random saint instead of Confucius or Buddha. He wants to use that detail to prove that Catholicism is superior and that the yellow race is “illogical”.
As the boat enters the lake, Ben Zayb asks the skipper about the spot where Ibarra is killed (although he gets Ibarra’s name wrong). Ben Zayb also asks where the body is, and Padre Sibyla tells him that it joined the body of Ibarra’s father, who was a subversive. Ben Zayb notices that Simoun is quiet and asks if he is seasick.
Chapter 11: Ben Zayb visits Capitan General’s house in Los Banos, and plays billiards with Simoun. Capitan General is asked by the secretary about what to do about a schoolmaster asking for a new school, since his building is roofless. This irritates Capitan General who thinks it is rude to request that when other people are dying of hunger, and Ben Zayb comments that the country should come before anything else but everyone ignores him.
While discussing the topic of Juli asking for her grandfather to be freed, Capitan General tells the secretary to have him released, to show they are forgiving and compassionate. After saying that, he looks at Ben Zayb, who winks at him.
Chapter 16: Ben Zayb is present at Chinaman Quiroga’s dinner at the top floor of his bazaar. He argues with Padre Camorra about the mummified human head at Quiapo Fair. Ben Zayb insists that the illusion is just due to optics. He tries to prove his point by taking down mirrors but they don’t show the effect he’s trying to prove. He repeats that it is just optics.
Simoun suggests that they should all see the sphinx and Ben Zayb promises to ask Mr. Leeds to give them a private exhibit. He also says they will be admitted for free because he doesn’t want Ben Zayb to discover his “fraud” in front of Indios. Ben Zayb joins Don Custodio, Padre Salvi, Padre Camorra, Padre Irene, Simoun and Juanito Pelaez as they go to Quiapo Square.
Chapter 17: At the Quiapo Fair, Padre Camorra sees someone beautiful (Paulita Gomez) and pinches Ben Zayb’s arm by accident. The group visits a booth selling statues depicting different races and professions. Ben Zayb sarcastically says a statue of a thin friar sitting at a desk looks like Padre Camorra, making everyone laugh. Padre Camorra then points at a statue called “The Philippine Press”, showing a woman ironing clothes. Later, Simoun disappears and Ben Zayb says it is because he doesn’t want to see Mr. Leeds humiliated. Ben Zayb mentions again that it is all just mirrors.
Chapter 18: While Mr. Leeds shows them his exhibit, Ben Zayb asks if he can see the trick. Mr. Leeds tells him that it is alright as long as he doesn’t break anything. Ben Zayb looks for mirrors but doesn’t find any. He asks Mr. Leeds where they are, but Mr. Leeds is confused. Mr. Leeds shows them a box and Ben Zayb says it smells like a church. When Mr. Leeds puts the box on the table, Ben Zayb asks for the tablecloth to be lifted and Mr. Leeds agrees. After seeing the trick, Ben Zayb admits that it does not use mirrors. He publishes an article the next day about the science of the occult. There is a note at the end of the chapter that Ben Zayb was right all along: the mirrors were actually under the floor and would rise when the box was placed on the table, pushing a spring.
Chapter 20: Ben Zayb is said to always mention Don Custodio in his articles, believing him to be a reliable source of advice and information.
Chapter 21: Ben Zayb supports the Les Cloches de Corneville performance even though the friars are against it, but is stated as only doing so because he wants free tickets to the play. Close to opening day, Ben Zayb is appointed as critic and translator of the story plot, but is nervous because he doesn’t know French.
During opening night, outside the theater, Tadeo points out Ben Zayb to his townmate and says he is a great writer.
Chapter 24: Isagani sees Ben Zayb near the Anda monument. Ben Zayb is telling someone that Simoun got sick the night before, and couldn’t attend the play.
Chapter 25: Pecson quotes a line from Don Custodio that was mentioned in one of Ben Zayb’s articles.
Chapter 28: Ben Zayb is happy when he learns about the poster incident. He believes it confirmed what he wrote a few days ago, that education is bad for the Philippines. Horatius, his rival, made fun of him for saying that, and called him a Muslim when he writes (because Muslims burned the library of Alexandria).
Everyone in town is tense after the students get arrested, and Chinaman Quiroga visits Ben Zayb to ask if he should arm his bazaar. He sees Ben Zayb armed, using revolvers as paperweights, so Chinaman Quiroga locks himself in his house.
The next morning, Ben Zayb takes a walk and sees a corpse near the Luneta wall. It is that of a half-naked India. He wants to write about it in the papers but everyone else is talking about simple accidents. Instead, Ben Zayb writes about a cyclone in America, saying that the Philippines should be glad it doesn’t suffer natural disasters like that because charity is less common in Catholic countries.
Horatius (in Pirotecnia) criticizes Fray Ibanez for ‘reducing himself to pleading for the Philippines’ because he is not Catholic.
Chapter 31: Ben Zayb hears about Padre Camorra leaving Tiana, and pities him, saying he had a good heart.
Chapter 32: Ben Zayb announces that Simoun has recovered. He heard a rumor that Simoun will hold a fiesta to celebrate his recovery and departure from the Philippines, since both him and Capitan General will leave in May. Ben Zayb suggests that Simoun should have bought Capitan Tiago’s house instead of Don Timoteo Pelaez.
Chapter 35: Ben Zayb attends the wedding fiesta of Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez. He is there already when the couple arrives, and calls them “Cupid and Psyche”. Ben Zayb also compares Capitan General to Zeus, and calls Padre Irene and Padre Salvi greater gods. Ben Zayb calls Don Timoteo Pelaez “Mighty Jupiter” and compares Capitan General’s wife “Juno”.
Chapter 36: Ben Zayb is the main focus of this chapter. It starts during the wedding fiesta. He hears the commotion in the dining room and enters, seeing everyone when new lights are brought in. He goes home and is excited to write a great article. He exaggerates the story and presents Capitan General as a hero, Padre Irene as brave for going under the table, and Padre Salvi fainting because he felt pity for Indios. Ben Zayb also describes everyone frozen with fear as being calm, and says the thief was scowling and of a different race. Ben Zayb argues in his article that the theft is why a permanent military tribunal should be established.
He ends the article with the line “Go peacefully, brave warrior” (speaking to Capitan General) and promises he will find the stolen lamp because it is a monument to his bravery. Ben Zayb finishes writing the article before dawn and goes to sleep.
When he wakes up, there is a note from the editor saying Capitan General banned any talk of the incident. This saddens Ben Zayb. It is revealed that in a month or two he will go to Spain, and knows he cannot publish the article there because in Spain, facts have to be proven first. Ben Zayb thinks his articles have impact in the Philippines but in Spain, people won’t care.
Ben Zayb wishes another crime would be committed. He goes to see his editor but the editor says that Capitan General doesn’t want to search for the thief. The integrity of the nation would be threatened if people found out there was a robbery. Ben Zayb thinks Capitan General’s choice is an act of heroism.
He is happy when he hears about a crime. There was a raid on a villa in Pasig, and Ben Zayb exaggerates the situation, saying there were 50 bandits who attacked a priest and took 10,000 pesos, the priest defending himself with a chair. When Ben Zayb goes to the villa he finds that the wounded priest is Padre Camorra. He is disappointed to find out there were only three robbers and Padre Camorra was barely injured. He tells Padre Camorra that his story is wrong and they start arguing.
Ben Zayb goes to Don Custodio armed with revolvers. Don Custodio is working on a project against American jewelers. He whispers something to Ben Zayb. Ben Zayb gets scared. Don Custodio makes a signal with his arms, of Simoun creeping up on them. Ben Zayb asks about the diamonds. Don Custodio mimes a windmill, implying sweeping away objects. Ben Zayb imitates swallowing air.
Physical Description
“That man with the face of a friar.” (Tadeo on Ben Zayb, Chapter 21)
Ben Zayb is said to look like a friar (and is once described as a ‘journalist-friar’), implying that he is overweight, but other than that his physical appearance is not described.
Personality
“Ben Zayb thought it his duty to reply; with his standing as a journalist he was supposed to be well-informed about everything.” (Chapter 1
Ben Zayb is a writer who often mentions to people what his next article will be about. He is fond of showing off his knowledge in various topics, particularly science, and can be very self-centered, refusing to believe he is wrong and not caring about other people’s suffering as long as he gets something out of it. He sees himself as one of the few intelligent people in the Philippines and believes having a wide knowledge is necessary for journalists. He is one of the few people happy after the poster incident because he believes it helped prove his point (Chapter 28) that education is bad. He even gets upset when he has nothing to write about, and wishes that a crime would take place just so he can write an article about it (Chapter 36).
“Great writer […]; He has talent.” (Tadeo on Ben Zayb, Chapter 21)
Even though Ben Zayb can be uncaring toward the population as a whole, Ben Zayb is loyal to his friends to the point that he always praises them. In return, Ben Zayb’s peers don’t take him seriously. Padre Camorra is always arguing with him, and his rival Horatius always insults him. Despite this, people of Manila seem to respect Ben Zayb: among the students, Tadeo calls him a great writer and Pecson quotes Ben Zayb’s articles.
Even though he is friendly to most people he talks to, Ben Zayb has his biases and believes himself to be the only intelligent Indio. He also thinks Chinese people are “illogical” despite knowing Chinaman Quiroga personally.
Skills
Flattery
Ben Zayb always compliments his friend, and treats them with respect, as shown in Chapter 1 where he agrees with Don Custodio’s idea. He praises Padre Salvi’s story in Chapter 3. Ben Zayb rarely disagrees with anyone and will usually support a friend’s argument, even if his words are ignored. In Chapter 21, Ben Zayb supports the opening of the play just to get free tickets, so it is possible this may be the reason he is always complimenting people: so they can do him favors in return.
Determination
“For Ben Zayb that was like killing a son so handsome and so valient, born and nurtured with such pain and fatigue.” (Chapter 36, after his article is rejected)
Ben Zayb will do almost anything to win an argument, like inspecting Mr. Leeds’ exhibit to expose him as a fraud (Chapter 18). One of his most important goals is to write articles that everyone will read, and he has a dream of writing the greatest article ever so he stays up all night writing it. He is so obsessed with finding topics to write about that he wishes for bad things to happen.
Relationships
Beliefs
On Religion
Ben Zayb’s attitude toward religion is inconsistent throughout El Filibusterismo (El Fili). Even though Ben Zayb denies the claim that he looks like a friar and often argues in the name of science, he openly claims that Catholicism is superior to other religions (Chapter 3) just by hearing about the Miracle of San Nicholas. However, Ben Zayb also admits the flaws in Catholicism, such as pointing out that charity is less common in Catholic countries, which causes Horatius to insult him and mention that he is not a Catholic (Chapter 28). Ben Zayb also supports the Les Cloches de Corneville performance despite knowing that all friars are against it (Chapter 21), although it is revealed he only does so to get free tickets.
Ben Zayb’s true feelings on religion and Catholicism are never established. It is difficult to take anything he says seriously since it is implied he will say anything in order to impress someone he admires. However, Ben Zayb appears to be knowledgeable about multiple religions since during the wedding, Ben Zayb compares people he knows to Greek and Roman gods (Chapter 35).
On Education
Ben Zayb publishes an article openly bashing education (Chapter 28), complaining that it is “disastrous” for the Philippines. Whether Ben Zayb looks down on education in general or Philippine education in particularly is not specified. While in Los Banos (Chapter 11) he also doesn’t care about the plea of a schoolmaster whose classroom has no roof, saying instead that the country should come first.
Trivia
- Ben Zayb said he would arrange for Mr. Leeds to give them a private exhibit. It is never explained whether Mr. Leeds giving the private exhibit was indeed due to Ben Zayb.
- During the wedding, it is mentioned that the less successful guests arrive first. Ben Zayb is revealed to already be at the party when the rest arrive.
- People often call Ben Zayb “Ybanez”, which sounds like an anagram of his name, except with an additional B (Yb Banez = Ben Zayb).
Quotes
“If only some other crime could be committed tomorrow or the day after.” (Chapter 36)
