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21st Century Literature from

the Philippines and the World

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Quarter 2 – Module 7: Literary genres and their elements, structures and
traditions in North America
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education - Schools Division of Pasig City

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Management Team: Ma. Evalou Concepcion A. Agustin
OIC-Schools Division Superintendent
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Pasig City

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 21st Century Literature from
the Philippines and the World

Quarter 2
Self-Learning Module 7
Literary Genres and their
Elements, Structures and
Traditions in North America

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Introductory Message

For the Facilitator:

Welcome to the21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World Self-
Learning Module 7 on Literary genres and their elements, structures and traditions
in North America!

This Self-Learning Module was collaboratively designed, developed and

reviewed by educators from the Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its
Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A.
Agustin, in partnership with the City Government of Pasig through its mayor,
Honorable Victor Ma. Regis N. Sotto. The writers utilized the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum using the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC)in
developing this instructional resource.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help learners
acquire the needed 21st century skills especially the 5 Cs, namely: Communication,
Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

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 For the Learner:

Welcome to the 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World Self-
Learning Module 7 on Literary genres and their elements, structures and traditions
in North America!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning material while being an active
learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectations– This points to the set of knowledge and skills that

you will learn after completing the module.

Pretest - This measures your prior knowledge aboutthe lesson

at hand.

Recap - This part of the module provides a review of concepts

and skills that you already know about a previous lesson.

Lesson- This section discusses the topic in the module.

Activities - This is a set of activities that you need to perform.

Wrap-Up- This section summarizes the concepts and

application of the lesson.

Valuing- This partintegrates a desirable moral value in the

lesson.

Posttest - This measures how much you have learned from the
entire module.

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 EXPECTATIONS

This is your self-instructional module in 21st Century Literature from the

Philippines and the World. All the activities provided in this lesson will help
you compare and contrast: Literary genres and their elements, structures and
traditions in North America!
Specifically, you will learn about the following:

1. Learn the history of North American literature.

2. Understand literary genres, elements, structures and traditions in

North America.

3. Write a close analysis and critical interpretation of a text.

PRETEST

Read each statement carefully and write the answers before each item.
_________1. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the
Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea,
and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean.
A. South America C. Asia
B. North America D. Africa
_________ 2. A novel in comic strip format, in which a narrative is conveyed
with sequential art and a book written and illustrated in the style of a comic
book.
A. Graphic Novel C. Chick Lit
B. Young-Adult Fiction D. Wattpad

_________ 3. A genre of fiction concentrating on young women and their

emotional lives.
A. Graphic Novel C. Chick Lit
B. Young-Adult Fiction D. Wattpad

________ 4. It is an Internet community for readers and writers to publish new

user-generated stories in different genres, including classics, general fiction,
historical fiction, non-fiction, poetry, fanfiction, spiritual, humor and teen
fiction. It aims to create social communities around stories from both amateur
and established writers.
A. Graphic Novel C. Chick Lit
B. Young-Adult Fiction D. Wattpad

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__________ 5. It is a fiction about characters or settings from an original work
of fiction, created by fans of that work rather than by its creator, Fans may
maintain the creator’s characters and settings or add their own.
A. Graphic Novel C. Chick Lit
B. Speculative Fiction D. Fan Fiction

RECAP
We have learned that Asian literature refers to the literature that was
written over a period of thousands of years, in a variety of countries in Asia.
Asian literature encompasses East Asian literature that includes Chinese,
Japanese and Korean literature; Central Asian literature comprising of
Bengali, Indian, Pakistani and Tamil literature; West Asian Literature that
covers Arabic literature, Persian literature and Turkish literature and South
East Asian Literature that is comprised of literature of the Philippines.

LESSON
North America Literature
After having been politically and culturally dominated by England, it
became necessary for Americans to develop a means of expression which
could reflect Americans habits, thoughts and ambitious. American society
demanded a literature expressed in a new style. American culture offered
characteristics which greatly differed from those of the old cultures of Europe:
democracy, the frontier and a new concept of humanity. By its very nature,
American society lacked a definite structure about which to write. Search for
identity has always been an outstanding trait in the American literature.

Here are some of the contribution of North American

literature in the 21st century literary genres.

Speculative Fiction is a fiction in which the author

speculates assumes upon the results of changing what’s
real or possible, not how a character would react to a certain
event. This could be science fiction, fantasy or horror. It is
first observed and coined by American fictionist Robert
Heinlein. Examples of speculative fictions are The
Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Canadian) and The
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (American).

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 Graphic Novel is a novel in comic
strip format. It is a book format in which a
narrative is conveyed with sequential art
and a book written and illustrated in the
style of a comic book. It was formally
introduced by American Cartoonist, in
1964. Examples of graphic novels are
Watchmen by Allan Moore (English) and
Dracula by Bram Stoker (Irish).

Young Adult Fiction is also

known as Young-Adult literature. It is
a category of fiction written for readers
from 12 to 18 years of age. These genres
are expansive and include most of those
found in adult fiction. The common
themes include friendship, first love,
relationships and identity. Examples of young-adult
fiction are The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (American) and To all the
Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han (American).

Chick Lit is a genre of fiction

concentrating on young women and their
emotional lives. American original fiction
genre that tackles the issue of modern
literary genres. Examples of Chick Lit are The
Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
(American) and Spellbound by Jane Green
(English).

Fan Fiction is a fiction about characters

or settings from an original work of fiction,
created by fans of that work rather than by
its creator, fans may maintain the creator’s
characters and settings or add their own.
Example of Fan Fiction is Twilight Saga by
Stephenie Meyer (American).

Wattpad is an Internet community for readers and writers to publish

new user-generated stories in different genres, including classics, general
fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, poetry, fanfiction, spiritual, humor and
teen fiction. It aims to create social communities around stories from both
amateur and established writers.

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Read and Analyze
Veronica Roth was born on August 19, 1988 in New York City, and
was raised primarily in Barrington, Illinois. Veronica Roth is best known for
her trilogy of novels: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant. She wrote her first
book, Divergent, while on winter break in her senior year at Northwestern
University, and found an agent by the following March. Her career took off
rapidly with the success of her first novel, with the publishing rights sold
before she graduated from college in 2010 and the film rights sold mid-March
2011, before the novel was printed in April 2011. Her first two novels sold
over five million copies worldwide by fall 2013, just as the film based on the
first novel was wrapping up.
DIVERGENT (Chapter 1)
By Veronica Roth
THERE IS ONE mirror in my house. It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway
upstairs. Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third
month, the day my mother cuts my hair.
I sit on the stool and my mother stands behind me with the scissors, trimming.
The strands fall on the floor in a dull, blond ring. When she finishes, she pulls my
hair away from my face and twists it into a knot. I note how calm she looks and how
focused she is. She is well-practiced in the art of losing herself. I can’t say the same
of myself.
I sneak a look at my reflection when she isn’t paying attention—not for the
sake of vanity, but out of curiosity. A lot can happen to a person’s appearance in
three months. In my reflection, I see a narrow face, wide, round eyes, and a long,
thin nose—I still look like a little girl, though sometime in the last few months I
turned sixteen. The other factions celebrate birthdays, but we don’t. It would be self-
indulgent.

“There,” she says when she pins the knot in place. Her eyes catch mine in the mirror.
It is too late to look away, but instead of scolding me, she smiles at our reflection.
I frown a little. Why doesn’t she reprimand me for staring at myself?
“So today is the day,” she says.
“Yes,” I reply.
“Are you nervous?”
I stare into my own eyes for a moment. Today is the day of the aptitude test
that will show me which of the five factions I belong in. And tomorrow, at the
Choosing Ceremony, I will decide on a faction; I will decide the rest of my life; I will
decide to stay with my family or abandon them.
“No,” I say. “The tests don’t have to change our choices.”
“Right.” She smiles. “Let’s go eat breakfast.”
“Thank you. For cutting my hair.”
She kisses my cheek and slides the panel over the mirror. I think my mother
could be beautiful, in a different world. Her body is thin beneath the gray robe. She
has high cheekbones and long eyelashes, and when she lets her hair down at night,
it hangs in waves over her shoulders. But she must hide that beauty in Abnegation.
We walk together to the kitchen. On these mornings when my brother makes
breakfast, and my father’s hand skims my hair as he reads the newspaper, and my
mother hums as she clears the table—it is on these mornings that I feel guiltiest for
wanting to leave them.

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 The bus stinks of exhaust. Every time it hits a patch of uneven pavement, it
jostles me from side to side, even though I’m gripping the seat to keep myself still.
My older brother, Caleb, stands in the aisle, holding a railing above his head
to keep himself steady. We don’t look alike. He has my father’s dark hair and hooked
nose and my mother’s green eyes and dimpled cheeks. When he was younger, that
collection of features looked strange, but now it suits him. If he wasn’t Abnegation,
I’m sure the girls at school would stare at him.
He also inherited my mother’s talent for selflessness. He gave his seat to a
surly Candor man on the bus without a second thought.
The Candor man wears a black suit with a white tie—Candor standard
uniform. Their faction values honesty and sees the truth as black and white, so that
is what they wear.
The gaps between the buildings narrow and the roads are smoother as we near
the heart of the city. The building that was once called the Sears Tower—we call it
the Hub—emerges from the fog, a black pillar in the skyline. The bus passes under
the elevated tracks. I have never been on a train, though they never stop running
and there are tracks everywhere. Only the Dauntless ride them.
Five years ago, volunteer construction workers from Abnegation repaved some
of the roads. They started in the middle of the city and worked their way outward
until they ran out of materials. The roads where I live are still cracked and patchy,
and it’s not safe to drive on them. We don’t have a car anyway.
Caleb’s expression is placid as the bus sways and jolts on the road. The gray
robe falls from his arm as he clutches a pole for balance. I can tell by the constant
shift of his eyes that he is watching the people around us — striving to see only them
and to forget himself. Candor values honesty, but our faction, Abnegation, values
selflessness.
The bus stops in front of the school and I get up, scooting past the Candor
man. I grab Caleb’s arm as I stumble over the man’s shoes. My slacks are too long,
and I’ve never been that graceful.
The Upper Levels building is the oldest of the three schools in the city: Lower
Levels, Mid-Levels, and Upper Levels. Like all the other buildings around it, it is made
of glass and steel. In front of it is a large metal sculpture that the Dauntless climb
after school, daring each other to go higher and higher. Last year I watched one of
them fall and break her leg. I was the one who ran to get the nurse.
“Aptitude tests today,” I say. Caleb is not quite a year older than I am, so we are in
the same year at school. He nods as we pass through the front doors. My muscles
tighten the second we walk in. The atmosphere feels hungry, like every sixteen-year-
old is trying to devour as much as he can get of this last day. It is likely that we will
not walk these halls again after the Choosing Ceremony—once we choose, our new
factions will be responsible for finishing our education.
Our classes are cut in half today, so we will attend all of them before the
aptitude tests, which take place after lunch. My heart rate is already elevated.
“You aren’t at all worried about what they’ll tell you?” I ask Caleb. We pause at the
split in the hallway where he will go one way, toward Advanced Math, and I will go
the other, toward Faction History.
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Are you?” I could tell him I’ve been worried for
weeks about what the aptitude test will tell me—Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity,
or Dauntless?
Instead, I smile and say, “Not really.”
He smiles back. “Well…have a good day.”

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 I walk toward Faction History, chewing on my lower lip. He never answered
my question. The hallways are cramped, though the light coming through the
windows creates the illusion of space; they are one of the only places where the
factions mix, at our age. Today the crowd has a new kind of energy, a last day mania.
A girl with long curly hair shouts “Hey!” next to my ear, waving at a distant
friend. A jacket sleeve smacks me on the cheek. Then an Erudite boy in a blue
sweater shoves me. I lose my balance and fall hard on the ground.

“Out of my way, Stiff,” he snaps, and continues down the hallway.

My cheeks warm. I get up and dust myself off. A few people stopped when I
fell, but none of them offered to help me. Their eyes follow me to the edge of the
hallway. This sort of thing has been happening to others in my faction for months
now—the Erudite have been releasing antagonistic reports about Abnegation, and it
has begun to affect the way we relate at school. The gray clothes, the plain hairstyle,
and the unassuming demeanor of my faction are supposed to make it easier for me
to forget myself, and easier for everyone else to forget me too. But now they make me
a target.
I pause by a window in the E Wing and wait for the Dauntless to arrive. I do
this every morning. At exactly 7:25, the Dauntless prove their bravery by jumping
from a moving train.
My father calls the Dauntless “hellions.” They are pierced, tattooed, and black-
clothed. Their primary purpose is to guard the fence that surrounds our city. From
what, I don’t know.
They should perplex me. I should wonder what courage—which is the virtue
they most value—has to do with a metal ring through your nostril. Instead, my eyes
cling to them wherever they go.
The train whistle blares, the sound resonating in my chest. The light fixed to
the front of the train clicks on and off as the train hurtles past the school, squealing
on iron rails. And as the last few cars pass, a mass exodus of young men and women
in dark clothing hurl themselves from the moving cars, some dropping and rolling,
others stumbling a few steps before regaining their balance. One of the boys wraps
his arm around a girl’s shoulders, laughing.
Watching them is a foolish practice. I turn away from the window and press
through the crowd to the Faction History classroom.

ACTIVITIES
Activity 1
Let’s try a few items as practice exercise. Answer the following questions
comprehensively.
1. Which Faction does Beatrice's family belong to?
2. Why do the Candor wear black and white?
3. List the five Factions.
4. What is the purpose of the aptitude test? Describe it.
5. What are the results of Beatrice’s aptitude test?

Activity 2

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 Write your own ending for Divergent Chapter 1 and present it as a
comic/graphic novel. Follow the listed formats and rubrics as your guide.
• Think of an idea- try to come up short adventure either at school or at
home.
• Plan a story – you’ve got four boxes, so work out what’s going to happen
in each one. Sketch a rough draft first.
• Keep your drawings simple
• Use speech bubble

RUBRICS:

Content 10
Organization 5
Grammar 5
Creativity 5
TOTAL 25pts.

Activity 3
Directions: Choose one character from Divergent Chapter 1 and complete the
story diagram below with the needed information.

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 How does
How does the
the writer
writer describe
describe the How will you describe the
the character?
character? character based on
his/her words or dialogue?

CHARACTER

How will you describe the How will you describe the
character based on his/her character based on the
actions? perceptions of other people?

WRAP-UP
To summarize, write the things that you have learned, discovered, or
realized in today’s lesson.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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 VALUING
Imagine that your school classified its class based on students’
personality traits. You would have classmates that all had the same
personality as you. Do you think that would allow students to perform better
in class or work together better as a class? Would you prefer that
arrangement? Why or why not?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

POSTTEST

Directions: Read each statement carefully and encircle the letter of the correct
answer.
1. She was born on August 19, 1988 in New York City, and was raised
primarily in Barrington, Illinois. Veronica Roth is best known for her
trilogy of novels: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant.
A. Benjamin Franklin C. Thomas Paine
B. Veronica Roth D. Thomas Jefferson

2. By its very nature, its society lacked a definite structure about which to
write. Search for identity has always been an outstanding trait in the
_____________ literature.

A. African Literature C. European Literature

B. Asian Literature D. American Literature

3. What is the faction of Beatrice’s family?

A. Erudite C. Abnegation
B. Candor D. Dauntless

4. What is the name of Beatrice’s brother?

A. Edward C. Collin
B. Dan D. Caleb

5. Which is not included in Veronica’s trilogy?

A. Divergent C. Insurgent
B. Allegiant D. Allegiance
C. Insurgent

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 KEY TO CORRECTION

D 5.
D 4.
C 3.
D 2.
B 1.
POSTTEST

D 5.
D 4.
C 3.
A 2.
B 1.
PRETEST

References
Andrew John C. Baronda “21st Century Literature from the Philippines and
the World for Senior High School” Copyright 2016 Published by JFS
Publishing Services

Marikit Tara A. Uychoco “21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the
World for Senior High School” Copyright 2016 Published by REX Book Store,
Inc.

National PASS Center “Poetry: Form, Syllables, Mood, and Tone” Copyright
2012 Published by Solutions for Out-Of-School Youth

Emilou Lindsay leazaMatam, Nerissa Cruz Gabelo, Felix M. Ambon, Edward

E. Babasa “21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World for
Senior High School” Philippine Copyright 2016 Published by MUTYA
Publishing House, Inc.

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