How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife is a story written by Manuel Arguilla about Arguilla about a man who comes home to his province to introduce his wife from the city to his family. This short story won first prize in the Commonwealth Literary Contest in 19!. Characters •
Baldo " Baldo " younger brother of Leon# fetched Leon and Maria from the road to $agrebcan
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Leon (or Noel) " Noel) " older brother of %aldo who studied in Manila where he met his wife
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Maria " Maria " the beautiful and stunning wife of Leon from Manila
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Labang " Labang " the bull whom %aldo considers as his &pet'
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Norman Tabios " Tabios " Maria(s e)"boyfriend who happened to be a loro
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agambino " agambino " Leon(s favorite fictional character who gave him lots of guts to study in Manila Churita " Churita " Labang(s girlfriend*fiance girlfriend*fiance
!yno"sis %aldo %aldo and his older older brothe brotherr Leon Leon were were both both waiti waiting ng for the arriv arrival al of their their visitor visitor riding riding the carretela. +eeing his brother(s wife# %aldo was easily ta,en away by the beauty of the woman from city as he narrates their -ourney to $agrebcan. The idea of meeting with Leon(s parents for the first time made made Maria Maria a bit an)ious. an)ious. %ut along along their their way home# Maria discover discovered ed the peculiarities of the life in $agrebcan as opposed to their life in the city where she met and fell in love with Leon.
!ummary %aldo and his older brother Leon were both waiting for their visitor riding a carratela. hen %aldo sa his older brother(s wife# who is Maria# he was amazed by her beauty as he narrates their -ourney to their home in $agrebcan. Maria was felt a bit an)ious because of meeting Leon and %aldo(s parents for the first time# but along their way home# she discovered the differences of the life of the people lived there and the life in the city where she met and fell in love with Leon.
Characters# • • •
Leon*$oel " Maria(s husband# older brother of %aldo Maria " Leon(s wife %aldo " Leon(s younger brother# also also the narrator of this story
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Mother and /ather of Leon and %aldo Aurelia " Leon and %aldo(s younger sister Labang " the carabao
!etting# $agrebcan# %auang La 0nion
$lot# • •
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Leon and %aldo waited for the arrival of Maria at the barrio. Maria was afraid that she won(t be accepted by Leon(s father because she may not able to adapt their way of living in the province. %aldo was ignoring to his older brother(s uestion about why did they have to go to aig instead of Camino 2eal. 3The reason is that their father wanted to test Maria if she is worthy to be Leon(s wife.4 %aldo discussed their travel to his f ather. Leon(s entire family tal,ed to Maria. his /ather(s voice became livelier than before when he tal,ed to her 3which means he accepted her wholeheartedly.4
Moral Lesson# • • • •
e should respect and accept one(s life. +ocial status is not a hindrance if you truly love each other. Meeting your special someone to your family is the right thing to do. 5ne may have to sacrifice small part of his*her life in order to have a happy life.
A Critical Analysis on
%How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife&
%y6 Manuel 7stabillo Arguilla
+ubmitted to6 +ubmitted by6
8rof. %ernadette ap Araula
Acas Arnel M.
Litt. 11: ;6
How my brother Leon brought home a wife# A critical analysis
Characters#
=%aldo ' >e was one of the main characters in the short story. >e was Leon?s
younger brother. %aldo was unperturbed man# and he was uiet. >e was the narrator of the story.
=Leon ' >e was the oldest brother of %aldo. >e was the husband of Maria. Maria
called him $oel.
=Maria ' +he was a beautiful and lovely. >er forehead was on a level with his mouth#
her nails were long# but they were not painted# and have a small dimple
appeared momentarily high up on her right chee,. +he was tall and very still. >er fragrance was li,e a morning when papayas are in bloom.
=Labang @ The bull of Leon and %aldo.
=/ather >e was mildest @ tempered# gentlest man. >e was the father of %aldo and
Leon.
=Mother @ >e was the mother of %aldo and Leon.
= Aurelia @ +he was the sister of %aldo and Leon.
!ummary !yno"sis#
Maria was a wife of Leon. +he was lovely and beautiful. >er fragrant li,e a morning when papayas are in bloom. Leon was lived in far place of $agrebcan. Leon brought Maria to $agrebcan to introduce to his father. The couple en-oys tal,ing while in traveled riding in the cart hitch to Labang. %aldo who is uiet and observing his brother and spouse. hen they arrived home# %aldo went to the room of his father. The room is uiet and dar,. >is father was smo,ing while sat in the big armchair by the western window. And they tal, about Maria. Afterwards the door opened# and Leon and Maria came in. %aldo loo,ed to Maria and went out to watered Labang which his father told to him.
Characteri*ation#
%aldo is the narrator of the story because he is the one who relates us what happened to the story. ere %aldo is the younger brother of Leon. %aldo is a uiet person. t is very detectable that %aldo is observing his brother Leon and spouse how is Maria. hen his father as,s him &as she afraid of LabangB' %aldo lied and says &$o# /ather# she was not afraid.' 7ven though Maria afraid. t means that %aldo li,e Maria as a wife of Leon but inside# he also admires the beauty of Maria. n here# the main characters were the couple Leon and Maria. Leon has a strong
personality because he did not afraid to present Maria to his father as her wife. >e was very proud of Maria as her wife. Maria truly love Leon because she fight for what she believe was right# it doesn?t matter if the world told her that it?s wrong. could say that Maria and the mother of Leon plays and represent the /ilipino women. The father of %aldo has a deep personality. >e was a responsibly father because he use his righteous way as a head of the family. t only means that the father or the man is the authority. >e doesn?t want Leon to go to the wrong way. +o# he ma,es some trials to Maria trying to test Maria?s characteristic# her attitude# her loo,s# how she tal,s and the way she handle the situation. >is mother was a responsibly mother. +he does the light of the family and represents the /ilipino women.
!ettings#
The setting of the story was in $agrebcan# Leon?s hometown. This story ta,es place in a farm where people would usually ride in carabao. The place was in the local province. n the story# Maria who was Leon?s wife described physically and with her posture as a conservative and traditionalist which would probably described as a /ilipino woman. As an alternative# they too, a shortcut in a field. n my opinion# one can visualize that there is some ,ind of a test for the two of them. Maria must surpass that trial. t was as there family of Leon is trying to test Maria?s characteristic# her attitude# her loo,s# how she tal,s and the way she handle the situation.
$lot#
The plot is compose of inciting action# rising action# clima)# falling action# and conclusion. The inciting action was when &+he stepped down to the Carretela of Ca Celin with a uic,# delicate grace. +he loo, lovely# she was tall. +he loo,ed up to my brother with a smile# and her forehead was on level with his mouth.' The rising action was when they too, the dry bed of aig as a substitute of passing the Camino 2eal and it was the wish of there father to go by aig. The clima) of the story was when Maria told Leon that she was afraid of his father in law maybe his father thin,ing of not li,ing her. The falling action came when Leon was searching for their father and her mother told them that his leg is bothering him again. The conclusion was when %aldo
cross the threshold of his father and as, him about Maria. Afterwards the door opened and Leon and Maria came in. %aldo loo,ed to Maria so lovely and went out to watered Labang which his father told him.
Themes#
The theme of the story is Love ma,es Maria and Leon go straight whatever struggles come will be ignore to them. don?t ,now if there relationship will last long because Maria is a city girl while Leon is a barrio boy.
+eactions of the story#
My reaction of the story is the story is good and it reflects to the modern youth even if the story is very old. describe Maria as an e)ample of /ilipino women and also her attitude as a &mahinhin'. The couple Leon and Maria faces many trials while in traveled to $agrebcan. 7ven though# Maria passed those trials. +o# therefore Maria is very understanding ,ind of girl. The story tal,s about the characteristic of Maria# her attitude# her loo,s# how she tal,s and the way she handle the situation that riding a bull and passed through aig. Therefore# basically a woman creates for men.
Manuel Arguilla 31911 to 194 was from the big island of Luzon# in the north in %arrio $agrebcan# %auang# La 0nion. >e grew up spea,ing lo,ano# the third most spo,en language in the 8hilippines. Most of his stories are about the common people in the small town he grew up in. After finishing high school he moved to the Manila area 3this had to have been a two or three day at least commute in those days4 to attend the 0niversity of the 8hilippines# not far from where live# in fact. >e received a %.+. in education# was president of the 0niversity literary club and married Lydia illaneuva# another talented writer we hope to post on one day. After graduation he taught creative writing at the 0niversity of Manila and also wor,ed for the government at the %ureau of 8ublic elfare as the editor of their publication. >e was a dedicated patriot and during the Dapanese occupation he organized and led a secret intelligence organization against the Dapanese and ended up being tortured to death by them. E>ow My %rother Leon %rought >ome a ifeE is a story about an occasion that would be a big day in the life of any family# the day one of the sons of the family brings hope the woman he intends to marry. The story is told in the first person by Leon(s younger brother. The opening of the story is -ust so lovely feel a need to uote from it a bit to give you a feel for Aruilla(s elegant prose
+he stepped down from the carretela of Ca Celin with a uic,# delicate grace. +he was lovely. +he was tall. +he loo,ed up to my brother with a smile# and her forehead was on a level with his mouth. Eou are %aldo#E she said and placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. >er nails were long# but they were not painted. +he was fragrant li,e a morning when papayas are in bloom. And a small dimple appeared momently high on her right chee,. EAnd this is Labang of whom have heard so much.E +he held the wrist of one hand with the other and loo,ed at Labang# and Labang never stopped chewing his cud. >e swallowed and brought up to his mouth more cud and the sound of his insides was li,e a drum. laid a hand on Labang(s massive nec, and said to her6 Eou may scratch his forehead now.E +he hesitated and saw that her eyes were on the long# curving horns. %ut she came and touched Labang(s forehead with her long fingers# and Labang never stopped chewing his cud e)cept that his big eyes half closed. And by and by she was scratching his forehead very daintily. >ow can you not love a sister in law or daughter in law that the famiy water buffalo li,es as soon as he meets her. 7verybody gets n a cart and Labang ta,es them for a ride around the small town they live in. t is the first visit of the wife to the town. +he is a lady Leon met when he went to Manila to to school. As read this passage toward the close of the story you can really feel the love and the picture of the community ma,es me wish could live there.
loo,ed bac, and they were sitting side by side# leaning against the trun,s# hands clasped across ,nees. +eemingly# but a man(s height above the tops of the steep ban,s of the ait# hung the stars. %ut in the deep gorge the shadows had fallen heavily# and even the white of Labang(s coat was merely a dim# grayish blur. Cric,ets chirped from their homes in the crac,s in the ban,s. The thic,# unpleasant smell of dangla bushes and cooling sun"heated earth mingled with the clean# sharp scent of arrais roots e)posed to the night air and of the hay inside the cart. ELoo,# $oel# yonder is our starFE Geep surprise and gladness were in her voice. ery low in the west# almost touching the ragged edge of the ban,# was the star# the biggest and brightest in the s,y. E have been loo,ing at it#E my brother Leon said. EGo you remember how would tell you that when you want to see stars you must come to $agrebcanBE Ees# $oel#E she said. ELoo, at it#E she murmured# half to herself. Et is so many times bigger and brighter than it was at 7rmita beach.E EThe air here is clean# free of dust and smo,e.E E+o it is# $oel#E she said# drawing a long breath. EMa,ing fun of me# MariaBE +he laughed then and they laughed together and she too, my brother Leon(s hand and put it against her face.
