Analysis — Bob Ong and RJ Ledesma

Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo
3 min readApr 23, 2021

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I have always seen comedy as the genre of self-indulgence. I grew up reading Alamat ng Gubat, Pugad Baboy, and various crack social media seryes to pass my time, and this has greatly influenced how I recognize and appreciate different forms of humor. It is pretty well-known that Bob Ong and RJ Ledesma are both experts in the comedic genre. However, the way they express their experiences through their comical works are vastly different, catering to different kinds of humor and different kinds of people.

Growing up, I have always believed that Bob Ong was an absolute comedic genius. I made this conclusion at age 12 when I stole my cousin’s copy of Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin, a book which I’m sure, I should not have read at that age. I had really high expectations for Stainless Longganisa, mainly because even the title immediately piqued my attention. However, I think that the excerpt I read was a bit different from his other works that I have previously read. It contained more of the humour that would make you think, as opposed to the kind that would make your mind go blank from too much laughter. I think it was purposely a little bit confusing, since it is written from a First Person POV. It shows the kind of ideas that would pop into your head randomly and make you think for days, no matter how nonsensical it is.

Pero kung magkakahiwa-hiwalay ang katawan mo, sino ang ikaw?

This was the most memorable line that I recall, and despite the story being a little bit confusing, the use of language was pretty easy to understand. I realized that Bob Ong’s works are more satirical; it drives you to ponder on things, and think about the issues hidden beneath, but it still gives you the laugh you need.

RJ Ledesma’s I do or I die on the other hand, was just pure comedy. The humor involved was more general, despite the story being personal. It talked of his ‘plights’ as he ventured into marriage, and the entirety of it was just so light and playful. It is also relatable, even for people who have not yet experienced getting married, because it is something that most of us have already witnessed from TV, as well as from other people. It gives us an idea of the process involved, the different thoughts, as well as the ‘first world problems’ that I laughed at within the text.

“Why are you crying?” I asked.
“Because this is not the dress I wanted to wear for my engagement.” We both laughed.

Overall, it was easy to follow and understand, being written in a way that is more structured and chronological. This story is something that I genuinely enjoyed reading, and I think that most people who will read it will enjoy it too because as mentioned before, the humor used is way more common than the previous text.

The two stories gave us an example of the different types of comedy that will cater to different people. However, aside from this, it gave us a glimpse of the lives, personalities, and joys of the people who wrote it. Since both of the stories were written with the subjective approach, it contained actual thoughts and feelings, giving readers an easier time to know what to react. In line with this, the use of First Person POV in both stories played a part in making it feel more personal and relatable. It was refreshing to read something humorous, because as I previously said, comedy is self-indulgent. It helps you forget problems even for just a little while, and reading works from people with the same humor as you makes the laugh you get even better.

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Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo
Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo

Written by Chelsea Elizabeth Naredo

Unti-unting humahakbang papalayo sa mundong nakasanayan.

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