Philippine Literatures Reviewer Unit 1: Imaging the Filipino Man Patriarchy has institutionalized masculinity as the bedrock structure that defin es power, language, and perception Feminists claim that o Patri atriar arch chy y act acts s as as the the mod mode of of cul cultu ture re whi which domin ominat ates es and and den deni igrat grates es wo men Basing from psychology’s definition o Patri atriar arch chy y cre creat ates es car caricat icatur ures es whi which are damag amagin ing g to to bot both h men men (pere perenn nnia ial l conquerors) and women (perpetually conquered) “Mill of the Gods” – EstrellaAfon Radical depiction of the Filipino man as an ignoble father and husband Foregrounds the plenitude of literature in exploring how culture and politics em blematize the patriarchal figure Patriarchy o Pio as the antagonistic husband, father and womanizer o The man who left Martha for another woman o The do doctor wh who ha had a wife an and se secretly ha had an an af affair wi with Ma Martha Images/Symbols o Pigtails: youth o Knife/Gun: power, violence, bloodshed o Window: freedom or lack thereof o Flowers: beauty, ge gentleness, ad admiration or or death o Darkness: evil, ignorance, danger o Saliva: disgust, hatred o Mill of of th the go gods: re retribution or or pu punishment (s (slow bu but ce certain) o Crucifix: justice Figurative Speech o Simile: “…life must seem like a road given us to travel…” o Hyper yperbo bole le: : “…b “…bot oth h of of the them m str stru uggle ggled d an and pa panted nted and and had had alm almost ost no no br breath eath lef left for words.” o Irony rony: : “E “Even ven in in pl play, ay, the ther re wa was so some part art of of her her that hat nev neve er man manag aged ed to tak tak e too great a part—she was so content if they always made her “it” in a game of tag, i f only they would let her play… if only they would only include her in the fascina ting games she could not play alone.” Point of views o Omniscent point of view if the story is all-knowing o Dramatic like a play; dialogues Biblical allusion, Muthological allusion, Legendary allusion Characters o Engracia flat character o Martha dramatic/round character Fates o Clotho – weaver o Lachesis – measure o Atropos – cut Espleta community Twelve years old received a first scar from the gods Literary pieces that bolster the myriad possibilities of interpreting the Filipi no man as text and as a decentered object of desire: To the Man I Married & The Spouse “To the Man I Married” – Angela Manalang-Gloria Romantic poem which delineates the man as the beloved Presents a specific value judgment for a woman’s man – lover, protector, provider, e lemental Angela Manalang-Gloria
o o Woman o o
Is versatile; lyric poet, pianist and editor “Poems” first and only pre-war anthology of poetry in English by a Filipino Rival of Jose Garcia Villa An idealist turned pragmatist Metaphor: “You are my earth and all that earth implies” “…the land that stills my cries…” you are my provider
“The Spouse” – Luis Dato Explication of the young wife as the lover Love abstract in the view of the human “Her hair disheveled in the night of passion” manifestation of love Oedipus the only one who was able to answer the mystery Sender To the Man I Married The Spouse Addresser wife observer Addressee husband (earth) reader Characteristics of man provider hardworking Characteristics of woman realistic dissatisfied Male Myth in Mass Media: masculinizing the Majority Model Binary are oppositions Gender myths generally influence lives as they stem from the difference b/w the biological basis of sex and the cultural category of gender o Sex an individual’s birthright o Gender an individual’s construct in performing appropriate roles in societ y Men gaze (terrestrial beholders) and women are gazed upon (enchanting exemplars) The Nature of Hermeneutics Hermeneutics the study and the act of discovering meaning and interpretation Interests are affixed as opinions and the values of individuals who espouse them , determine their own perceptions or “world-view” Value systems determine our “world-view” Nature of interpretation is measured by the nature of the interpreter himself, d etermined by the culture he is part of People construct their own social realities because they are a product of these realities Our projection of meaning is inflected by our own truths, prejudices, and value judgments Unit 2: Imaging the Filipino Woman “Vanity, thy name is woman” significantOne or the inessential Other Venus and MariangMakiling muse of love, nature, and inspiration Medusa and Mangkukulam demonic entity casting evil spells and inflicting plagues on otherwise orderly society o Trademarks: mystery and ambiguity Luna (the moon) deliberately feminized as a result of her variegated phases Typhoons & hurricanes predominantly carry female names, evidenced by their errat iv shifting fluxions Nature characterized as an entity which can be preserved, cultivated, or destroy ed, bears a “mother” label Mater Dolorosa the silent, grieving mother whose agony and tears foreground her equally agonizing Child Femme fatale whose sly and proactive schemes lure her men of prey to their doom “TungkungLangit and Alunsina” – adapted by F. LandaJocano Panay-Visayan Folktale
One of the most stiking depictions of how early Filipino folk conjure hypothetic al answers to their seemingle problematic questions about the origin of sky, rai n, and thunder Glosses over the dichotomy of gender politics, as represented by the two gods: T ungkungLangit(active male) and Alunsina(passive female) TungkungLangit“Pillar of the Sky” Alunsina“The Unmarried One” Earth and sea trees and flowers necklace to star; comb to moon; crown to sun TungkungLangit’s tears = rain; his sobbing = thunder “BabaeAkongNamumuhaynangMagisa” – Joi Barrios Deflects the tension afforded by the male gaze in constituting the woman, thereb y rescuing her from the commodification and stereotyping brought about by patria rchal idioms Reader encounters a different kind of woman beset with a different kind of oppre ssion A woman not only denouncing the subjectivity ascribed to her by her biological n ature, but the multiple binds of being a Third World woman marginalized in terms of her gender, race, and class Chandra TalpadeMohanty renowned third world feminist; critiqued the politics of l ocation that arbitrarily positions women of color in relation to Western women i n her essay “Cartographies of Struggle” Myth as Metaphor, Symbol, and Archetype Myths have always been regarded as significant prototypes in endorsing concrete perspectives guided by customs and traditions Carl Jung’s archetype o Pictured as n image, symbol, or metaphor bearing a universal understandi ng from people regardless of time, place, and backgrounds o Are inherently universal o Bear effects on the “collective unconscious” o Evoke a representation of our existing culture, no matter how invariably diverse they are in scope and essence, from the affixed symbol o Northrop Frye – “Mythic Archetypes” “as realism is an act of implicit simile, myt h is an act of metaphorical identity” o Classical West: Pygmalion & Galatea and Samson & Delilah o Our own folk literature: Malakas&Maganda and Makusog and DaragangMagayon o Myths are frequently retold and revised in modern cultures and societies – a living proof is their permanence and relevance o Myths variantly showcase super and supra-realities determined in such a way as to highlight, appropriate or event distort universally-construed ideas an d narratives Unit 3: Representing the Filipino Family Family – universal social group that is significant in an individual’s social life; fundamental social unit in Philippine society; serves as microcosm of Philippine society; macro-social organization of Philippine society Claudia and Her Mother By: Rolando Tinio – story that proves the uncanny but tragi c relationship between an obedient daughter and her domineering mother Nora Henderson– about 30, a sophisticated career woman The mother – 62 years old, a woman of the previous generation; studied in Italy an d sang all over Europe, Milan and Budapest; got married in 1939 to Celso Ed Pasion – a journalist and man-about town Time: The early sixties First note (Talk to Mama) – found on top of the piano Second note (gold chiffon dress, yellow shoes, yellow gloves, emerald necklace) – on the table Third note (Hello. Be around) – bed Screwdriver – found in the freezer; Beer – in the piano IU Bloomington –Claudia, Nora and Ed went in college together at _______
America in 1962 – Claudia went to ____ in ____ Columbia in New York – Nora went there for her Ph.D Claudia’s grandfather – conducted symphony orchestra in Manila during the 30s Conservatory – Claud left ___ after first semester Ed’s father – valedictorian Frank Henderson– Nora’s ex-husband Motherhood – The Loneliest vocation is _____ Kenneth – Trombone player; ruining Claudia; has a wife in San Francisco Mrs. Carney – married a grocer The Sadness Collector By: MerlindaBobis- tale of Big Lady who feasts on scraps a nd mounds of sadness to save a troubled child Rica- 6 years old Big Lady – only comes when you’re asleep to eat your sadness 3 years old- Rica was ____ when her father told her about big lady and just afte r her mother left for Paris Employer of Rica’s mom – will help Rica’s mom become legal Breaking Through By Pena Reyes – foregrounds the reminiscences of a daughter about her distant father while opening a gift Box- require little labor Belt- slapped sharply against my skin 10, 000 miles of ocean Unit 4 Philippines – more than 1,000 islands Traditions – we are bound by ____ Historiographicmetafiction framework – using this we can gather, assess, and imagi ne how the past is lived through texts, traces, and traditions The Wedding Dance By Amador Daguio – questions the value of a tribal tradition tha t favors the blind perpetuation of its existence even at the expense of true lov e and happiness Awiyao and Lumnay – lovers; husband and wife Child – a man must have a ____ Kabunyan– Lumnay was praying to Chickens – Lumnay was sacrificing _____ in her prayers Madulimay– Awiyao is about to marry _____ Gangsas– playing Beads – only thing what Lumnay was asking for Unit 5: Discovering Love and the Filipino “Love will never obey our expectations for its mysteries are pure and absolute.” “love” has taken varied connotations in accordance with the histories of time past According to Ann Swindler, a historiographer, love was: o in ancient Greece: adoration of a man for a beautiful young boy who serv ed as the beloved to a lover, who functioned as mentor o in 13th century England: pure allegiance of a knight toward another man’s wife o in Puritan New England: love between husband and wife o in the Victorian era: the unconditional devotion of a mother to her definition of love in the Philippine setting: family, Christianity, and other id eological state apparatuses have set in place o specific criterion: enduring love (bet. committed lovers, husband and wi fe, parents and children, an individual to God, country and fellow human beings) o relationships combine affection, assistance, and commitment, hierarchizi
ng love on physical, emotional, spiritual levels some Filipinos are breaking free from the preconditioned norms o living together w/o the sanctity of marriage o remaining single or childless o growing no. atheists and agnostics believing in personal spirituality, n ot in communal religion love is discoursed about from various and competing perspectives o the romantics of love how this abstraction is viewed as an ideal, aesthetic, romantic concept o the imaging of love how love is projected in advertising, film, and other forms of media o the politics of love how the lover and the beloved interrogate existing roles in terms of power relat ions o the commodification of love how love is translated as goods, a form of production, investment, and capital love is discoursed about from various and competing perspectives love, though branded as a universal concept, can be concretized as distinctly Fi lipino “Bonsai” – Edith Tiempo love in its simplest and most tangible form bonsai – it is small but with complete components 2 things done to what the writer loves: o (1)fold and (2)keep “All that I love?” o rhetorical question o italics – to stand out “Why, yes, but for the moment And for all time, both.” o fig. of speech: paradoxical/oxymoron o in mechanics: use of dashsudden break in thought LOVE Conscious choice God Man/woman Sublimated Scaled down Concretized Son’s note Dad’s tie Daughter’s picture Shawl Bill
1. 2.
sublimation – solid to gas In Chemistry: it is the process to purify a substance In Psychology: it is the conversion of biological attraction to emotions what we keep: memories, love seashells – representation of God’s creations “From God’s own bright teeth,” – metaphor child – represents the product of love
“Patalim” – Cirilo Bautista accords with the metaphor of dagger the postulate of love Themes o Filipinos believe in the sacredness of marriage therefore a Filipino cou ple tries to keep their family and relationship intact.
o o
How Filipino love conquers trials and conflicts. Misunderstandings lead to a better relationship when resolved. Criticisms o Sadistic type of love o Irony- use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning o The author expresses love as sadistic type of love then uses irony to gi ve meaning to the poem “sasaksakin ko siya sa likod” “habang duguang pagsususuhin niya ang bunso” “Hindi niya ako titigilan ng saksak sa batok” “magbibilang kami ng sugat at tila mga gulanit na kaluluwa” “at magtatawanan at magsusuntukan pa” Conclusion o The poem is actually about a Filipino couple making it through the simpl e day to day family life. o Married life is not perfect as it is. All marriages will go through tria ls and hardships. o To make a marriage work, both should be committed. “Ang pagaasawa ay hindi parang kanin na basta basta na lang iluluwa kapag napaso k a.” “Laji 97” – translated by FlorentinoHornedo Laji - oldest traditional music of the Ivatans in the islands of Batanes o ancient lyrical songs that are supposed to be sung when they are merry o r just finished work Ivatans o lived in Batanes before Spaniards arrived in the 16th century o In 1686, Ivatans were "forced" to settle in the lowlands of Batanes o they plant crops that are able to cope w/ the environment such as: yam, sweet potato, taro, garlic, ginger and onion o the sea is vital to the Ivatan s way of life o delicacies: uvod and palek o houses: made of cogon grass and designed to protect against strong winds , made of limestone o clothing: vakul (a headgear designed to protect against sun and rain, ma de from abaca fiber) o 3 different folk songs: laji, kanta, and kalusan laji - ancient lyrical songs that are supposed to be sung when they are merry or just finished work kalusan - sung during work o legend: “kabbata” o rawod - chants that chronicle the adventures of the Ivatan s forefathers as they escape a disaster 1st line: a rhetorical question o “Whose face do I behold” love is something that does not die love – intellect or heart? water – an element that reflects and an element that is consumed Telling Love, Loving Tales: The tragedy of sublime romantic love Romanticism flourished in the 18th century Wirdsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, and Keats advocated “the spontaneous overflow of p owerful emotions recollected in tranquility” and “a thing of beauty is a joy forever” great Western literature has produced timeless tales of ill-fated characters o Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” o Joseph Bedier’s “The Romance of Tristan and Iseult (Isolde)” o John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” surge of “wrong love,” or “fatal love,” or “unconsummated love” struck a reverbative n Western literature among its readers and writers happy and consummated love has little history in literature
true love becomes evident only when it becomes fatal and doomed by life itself o what is moving in these stories is the realization that the character’s’ pas sion for each other will never materialize and won’t perish either passion in love requires suffering Mill of the Gods (3)Fates 1. Clotho-weave/spin 2. Lachesis- measure or make our destiny 3. Atropos- cut thread of our life (4)Allusions 1. mythological 2. biblical 3. historical 4. legendary Mill of the Gods Circle=endless; cycle Round/binamic character- character that changes Items sa Pair Work: 1. Binary 2. Hermeneutics 3. Differentiation 4. Biological 5. Gender Mga Pause sapagbasang poem? 1. End-stopped reading 2. Enjambment 3. Caesura To The Man I Married Gumamitngmetaphor Earth=everything Gravity Land Food and shelter=protector Sets my north and south=direction Final elemental clay=death Dying holds crest to crest; blue of everlasting skies= immortality;memor ies The Spouse Fashion=create Clay of wrath and sorrow- Biblical allusion Enigma= mystery Sphinx- Mythological allusion fr.Oedypus Breaking Through Synaesthesia -combination of sight and heasing sound Bonsai -“Big things come from small packages” -Edith Tiempo= only female National Artist Rhetorical question- All that I love? Ideas=oxymoron Mechanics=e.g. punctuation mark In Bonsai the dash represent continuation but sudden stop/break
Indian shawl= last winter in Iowa Money bill= prize she won in contest Sublimation= solid to gas Cupped hand’s size= container of every manifestations of love Seashells broken pieces= God’s creation; passage of time “LOVE is a CONSCIOUS CHOICE” Merest child=product of love; baby Laji 97 Interrogative sentence =Rhetorical question is the start of the poem
