LITERATURE

MODULE
“There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there
have been no societies that did not tell stories”
-Ursula K. Leguin

 There will always be a story to tell because literature is everywhere, it is

already implored in our lives and we can’t change it

What is literature?
 Derived from the Latin term “Litera” meaning letter
 Any printed matter written in a book, magazine or pamphlet.
 Literature is more than a book it is because it is man’s manifold experiences
blended into a harmonious expression. We use our personal experiences in
literature to create shared experiences.

Why study literature?

1. We learn more human problems and difficulties

 A lot of literature that allows human to understand complexities of problem
and will give multiple perspective on how to overcome such problems.
2. We will know more about universality of such problems and how to
overcome them.
 Literature provides not theoretical solutions but practical solutions
3. It makes ourselves better human beings
 We gain to realize our values such as respect, loyalty, compassion and
understanding by reading literature. These values help a man live a life
dispersedly
4. International Understanding and World Peace
 Human emotion is the common ground for people to meet, through this the
world can listen to various stories that can provide commonality in enriching
world peace
5. Allows us to places we’ve never been, meet persons we’ve never met,
and encounter ideas we’ve never crossed our minds.
 By merely reading literature, we get to encounter the culture, the people and
the language

SEVEN LITERARY STANDARDS

1. UNIVERSALITY
 Literature appeals to everyone, regardless of culture, race, sex and time
which are all considered significant.
 It deals with an array of individual perceptions.
 Ex: Romeo and Julliet by William Shakespeare
2. ARTISTRY

 Literature has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a sense of beauty.

 Literature has hidden truth or hidden beauty
 Ex: Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle – Appeal to the readers

3. PERMANENCE

 Literature endures across time and draws out the time factor:
 Timeliness- occurring at a particular time
 Timelessness- remaining invariable throughout time.
 Ex: Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal – Historical
Events

4. STYLE

 Literature presents peculiar ways on how man sees life as evidence by the
formation of his ideas, forms, structures and expressions which are marked
by their memorable substance.
 Ex: How My Borther Leon Brought Home A Wife – Local colors

5. INTELLECTUAL VALUE

 It stimulates critical thinking that enriches mental processes of abstract

reasoning, making man realize the fundamental of truths of life and its
nature.
 It helps stimulate our thought and enriches our mental life

6. SPIRITUAL VALUE

 Literature elevates the spirit and the soul and thus has the power to motivate
and to inspire.
 Inspire us to become a better person
 Ex: Confucius - Known Chinese Philosopher

7. SUGGESTIVENESS

 It unravels man’s emotional power to define symbolism, nuances implied

meanings, images and messages, giving and evoking visions above and
beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience.
 Ex: The World is An Apple – Alberto S. Florentino
 Mario suffered in extreme poverty and forced to steal an apple.
TWO MAIN DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE:
PROSE & POETRY
GENRES OF LITERATURE:
a. PROSE
b. POETRY
c. ESSAY
d. DRAMA

A. PROSE
 Words in their Best order because you can use ordinary language
as long as it follows a good format
B. POETRY
 Best Words in their Best Order because you need to be creative
and selective of the words you use.
A. FICTION
 Based on the imagination

1. Novel
 It is a fictitious narrative with a complicated plot; it may have a
main plot and one or more sub-plots that develop with the main
plot.
 It is an inventive prose narrative of considerable length.
 Ex: The Kissing Booth

2. Novellette
 A novelette is also a narrative fictional prose. It is longer than a
short story, but shorter than a novella.
 The term was used for romantic and sentimental stories. Short
novella, or long-short story
 Less serious form, novelettes need greater development of
elements where short stories generally focus on a single scene,
novelettes can expand much more further.
 Ex: The Little Prince and The Violin Maker’s Wife

3. Short Story
 A fictitious narrative compressed into one unit of time, place and
action. It deals with a single character interest, a single emotion or
series of emotions.
 It is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella. Short
Stories are published in magazines or anthologies
 Has more limited focus than novels

4. Legend
 These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.
 It is a traditional story about a particular person and may include
supernatural elements, elements of mythology and explanation of
natural phenomena but associated with a typical locality or person
and told with nationality

5. Fantasy
 It is a fiction genre that uses magic or other supernatural elements
as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the
genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical
creatures are common.
 Ex: The Lord of the Rings

6. Fairytale
 A fairy tale which features folkloric fantasy characters (is a type of
short story that typically features folkloric fantasy characters, such
as dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, mermaids,
trolls, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments.)
 Ex: Maleficent and Cinderella

7. Fable
 It is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse,
that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects
or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized (given human
qualities, such as the ability to speak human language).
 Ex: The Tortoise and the Eagle

8. Folktale
 Folktales are generally passed down from one generation to
another and often take on the characteristics of the time and place
in which they are told.
 These are the stories that our grandmothers told us when we were
young

9. Parable
 A story in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive
lessons or principles
 Ex: Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Prodigal Son

10. Myth
 Traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being, a
hero or event with or without indeterminable basis of fact or
supernatural explanation.

11. Anecdote
 These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main
aim is to bring out lessons to the reader.
 Short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or
person and employed in a way that make the audience to laugh or
think more deeply in the topic

12. Play
 This is presented on stage, is divided into acts and each has many
scenes.
 The playwright uses various dramatic elements to create profound
meanings and enhance understanding of audience.
 Ex: Ang Huling Bimbo

13. Science Fiction

 Deals mainly with the impact of actual or imagined science upon
society or individuals. The premise may either be based on or flatly
contradict scientific facts and principles.
 NON-FICTION
 Based from real life experiences

1. Diary
 A daily written record or account of the writer’s own experience,
thoughts, activities or observations.

2. Autobiography
 An account of a person's life written by that person.
 Ex: Long Walk to Freedom

3. Biography
 This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself,
his autobiography or that of others.
 Ex: Steve Jobs by Walter I.S.

4. Journal
 A magazine or periodical especially of a serious or learned nature.
 Can be all about education, politics, environment or some
important topics

5. Memoir
 A specific event in a life of a person.
 History or record composed from personal observation or
experience
 Emphasis on the external events.
 Writers are usually persons who have played roles in or have been
close observers of historical events and interpret them

6. Letters
 It is a prose form in which by the force of its style and importance
of its statement becomes an object of interest in its own right.

7. News
 A news story is a factual, prose story for print or broadcast media
about a person, place or event answering these five questions: who,
what, when, where, why and how.
 8. Essay
 This expresses viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular
problem or event.
 The word essay derived from a Latin word “exadium” which
means presenting one case
 Very personalized

9. Speech
 The expression of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by
articulate sounds.

10. Oration
 This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken
in public. It appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of
the audience.
 The speaker is an Orator

11. Research
 A systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources
in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

12. Thesis
 A long piece of writing on a particular subject that is done to earn a
degree at a University.

13. Cooking Books

 A book of directions explaining how to prepare and cook various
kinds of food.
Elements of a Short Story
1. Characters- are the representation of the human being involved in
a conflict and are the ones who are portraying the role in a story.
Two main types:
 Protagonist- is the main character or the heroine in a story.
 Antagonist- is the character who is against the main character.
 Joker is one of the most hated characters of all time because Joker
was a well-played character in the story

2. Setting- is the place, time, temperature, mood and atmosphere in

the story.
 the writer uses words, gives name and lines to create a vivid
picture of the native place
 it includes temperature, mood, and atmosphere where the action
takes place

3. Theme- the central theme or idea of a story. Can be all about love,
happiness, sorrow and failure
4. Point of View- the writer’s feelings and attitude towards his
subject or in simpler terms, how the story is narrated
 First Person- it uses the pronoun I, she or he could be
aparticipant in his or her own work
 Second Person- it uses the pronoun You (You perspective) it
belongs to the person being addressed
 Third Person
A. Third person limited- the narrator only knows the thoughts
and feelings of one character. All characters are described
using pronouns, such as 'they', 'he', and 'she'. But, one
character is closely followed throughout the story, and it is
typically a main character. The narrator interprets the facts
and events through the perspective of a single character
B. Third person omniscient - is a method of storytelling in
which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of
the characters in the story, as opposed to third person limited,
which adheres closely to one character's perspective. The
writer sees all, and reports everyone’s innermost thoughts
C. Third person editorial – the facts of a narrative are reported
by a seemingly neutral or impersonal recorder or observer
5. Plot - It is a sequence of interrelated actions and events in the
story. It tells you what happens first, what happens next and what
happens last.

Pyramind of Plot (Parts of Plot)

 how the conflict is introduced
1. Exposition. It gives the setting, time, place, locale, background
information on what took place before the actual start of the story.
2. Rising Action or Complication. Events complicate the situation
that existed at the beginning of a work, intensifying the conflict or
introducing new conflict. The conflict unfolds in the story
3. Climax/Turning point. The situation makes the story intense for
the further scene. The highest point of the story. The result of the
crisis
4. Falling Action or Denouement or Resolution – untying of the
untangled problems. It shows a conflict being solved. The
complications of the rising action are untangled.
5. Conclusion. The success or failure for the main character, the
situation that was destabilized at the beginning of the story
becomes stable at once.
6. Conflict – opposition of persons of forces where the action relies
Types of Conflict
 Man Vs. Man – person vs person
 Man Vs. Nature – man vs phenomena
 Man Vs. Society – person vs values of society
 Man Vs. Himself – man vs his thoughts

Literary Devices
1. Flashback- the strategy of the author to show the readers what
happened from the past in order to understand the event in the
present.
 The writer uses the past to make an impact to the present
 Ex: Money Heist
2. Foreshadowing- the strategy of the author to foretell to the
readers what will happen in the future through the action of the
character.
  Shows what will happen in the future through the action of the
character
 Ex: Pixar Films

A. Lyric
 Verse or poem that is susceptible of being sung to the
accompaniment of musical instrument.
 Expresses intense personal emotion in a manner suggestive of a
song.
 Expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.
 Always have a musical quality and a specific melody, which
makes it easy for you to song along
 Ancient Greek Word “Lyre”, a music instrument that accompanied
the reading of the lyric poem
 Sort and written in first person point of view, there’s an existent
mood present in the lyric poem (streams in life, love, death, and
emotional experience)
 All musical poems are known for brevity (concise and exact use of
words in writing or speech),emotional intensity and musical
quality
1. ODE
 A lyric poem of some length serious in subject dignified in style. It
is written in spirit of praise of some persons or things.
  There is no strict structure or format for ode. Common for odes to
have repeated lines or stanzas.
 Often longer and obtains the dignified mode of the lyric poetry.
Odes are often about positive topics
 Example: Ode to a Nightingale, Ode to Autumn and Ode to the
West Wind.
2. ELEGY
 A poem written on the death of a friend or a poet.
 Originally had a strict structure, format of 6 foot – 5 foot lines.
Today, it doesn’t follow a specific format but presents the same
mood.
 Example: Elegy for Susan
3. SONG/AWIT
 A lyric poem in a regular metrical pattern set to music. These have
twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung to the
accompaniment of a guitar or bandura.
 Portrays a vibrant feeling, more realistic, (because its meaning is
close to history) and life experiences
4. CORRIDO
 These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited
to a material beat.
 Deep religious feeling (about legendary themes, long verse
narrative)
 Example: Ibong Adarna
5. SONNET
 A lyric poem containing fourteen iambic lines and a complicated
rhyme.
 Iambic pentameter = a line of verse with five metrical feet, each
consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one
long (or stressed) syllable, for example Two households, both alike
in dignity.
 Example: Sonnet 116
TWO TYPES OF SONNET
1. Italian
2. English/ Shakespearean
6. FOLKSONG
  These are short poems intended to be sung. The common themes
are love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope, and sorrow.
 Established among the people through the ingenuity of the simple
folks.
 Ruminates the essence living of simple folks and bringing into
focus the rudimentarily of their simple lives.
 Bursts the simony of the past such as war, occupational
behaviours, leisure times, culture and others.
 Product of a less classic community, folksong was kept alive with
rustic simple people.
 Example: Pamaypay ng Maynila and Leron Leron Sinta
7. PSALMS
 This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a
philosophy of life.
 A sacred poem, and one of the 150 poems and prayers in a
Christian or Jewish book of worship called the book of Psalms
 Example: King James Holy Bible

8. PROVERBS
 These are concise statements that teach ideas on morality and
tradition.
 A short saying or piece of folk wisdom that emerges from the
general culture rather than being written by an individual author
 Uses metaphors or creative imagery to express a broader truth
 Adage is another word for Proverb
 Example: “Only a fool that test a depth of a river with both feet”
(African Proverb) and “Actions speak louder than words”

B. Narrative
 Poem that tells a story and has the elements of a story. Often, they
have a rhyme scheme
 Special type of poem that tells a story. Narrative poems can be
identified through various elements, one character, a plot, middle,
e, conflict and resolution.
 Tells stories through verses. Rhyme and meters are the techniques
used in narrative poetry.
 Only has one speaker, the narrator who relates the entire story from
the beginning to the end.

1. EPIC
 A long narrative poem about a hero concerning the beginning, the
continuance and the end of event of great significance.
 A long narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and
events that is significant to the culture of the poet.
 Used to tell tales of intense adventures and heroic fits. Ideal for
expressing stories orally.
 Example: Ang Biag ni Lam-Ang, an Ilocano Epic – qualities and
several characteristics of Filipino. Iliad and Odyssey by Homer
2. METRICAL ROMANCE
 A narrative poem that tells a story of an adventure, love and
chivalry. The typical hero is a knight on a quest.
 A kind of poetry dealing with the emotions or the pace of life and
told in simple, straightforward and realistic matter. Has a happy
ending
 Example: Paradise Lost by John Milton and The Knight’s Tale by
Geoffrey Chaucer
3. METRICAL TALE
 A narrative poem consisting usually of a single series of
connective events that are simple idylls or home tales, love tales,
tales of the super natural or tales written for a strong moral
purpose in verse form.
 Type of poem which follows a narrative format, featuring
characters, a plot, setting and a theme
 Conveys practical and apparent and straight story lines of real or
fictional event
 Rarely conforms to rhythm, although they feature verses. Varies in
length, they can either be a brief story or an expand to the span of
novel.
 Typically comprises of a series of connected events that end up
with happy ending.
  A romantic end will often suffice.
 Example: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
4. BALLAD
 The simplest type of narrative poetry. It is a short narrative poem
telling a single incident in simple meter and stanzas.
 The ballad begun as a folksong and continues today in pop music.
A typical ballad consist of stanzas that contains a quatrain or 4
poetic lines, the meter of each line is usually iambic.
 There are usually 8 or 6 syllables in a line. Some ballads follow
this form but some don’t. All ballads are narrative.
 Originally set to music, some have a repeated refrain or chorus.
 A-B-A-B is followed because of the musical quality of this rhyme
pattern.
 It was during the romantic movement of poetry, in the late 18 th
century that the ballad has resurgence and became a popular form.
C. Dramatic
 Often includes characters and dialogues. Dramatic Verse or Verse
Drama that both tells a story, and connects the reader to the
audience through emotions and behaviour.
 It has evolved since its start in Ancient Greece, it still survives
today.
 A lack of strict guidelines makes it debatable.
 Dramatic Monologue, Soliloquy, Character, Sketch and Dialogue.
 Uses the speech and action of at least 1 person to depict a scene or
a plot. The focus is on how the individual emotionally or
physically responds to what is going on.
 Usually from the character’s point of view

1. DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE
 It presents the speech of a single character who addresses one or
more persons who are present and who are listening to the speaker
but remain silent.
 Very similar to the soliloquy, reveals something to the speaking
character.
  The actor is talking to someone in the play not just himself. This
second person doesn’t say anything, their presence makes it
believable.
 Shows up in critical moments in the plot.

2. SOLILOQUY
 It is a passage spoken by a speaker in a poem or by a character in a
play, except that there is no one present to hear him.
 A character speaks mainly to himself and not interacting to anyone
else.
 A good way to show how he thinks. Gives insights to his mind.
 Example: Hamlet – “Is it better to live or to die?”

I. Formal Essay
 Introduced in England by Francis Bacon. The style is objective,
and compressed
 More diversified, in subject matter, style and length. Such
names as Article, Dissertation or Thesis
II. Informal Essay
 Familiar or personal essay which is generally brief work of
prose or non-fiction and written as one’s individual reflection.

D. Drama
  Stories composed in verse or prose usually for theoretical
performances.
 Their conflicts or emotions are expressed in actions or
dialogues
1. COMEDY

 It is a type of drama intended to interest and amuses the

audience rather than make them deeply concerned about events
that happen.
 The characters overcome some difficulties, but they always
overcome their ill fortune and find happiness in the end.
 Motif of the dramatic work is triumph over unpleasant
circumstances by which can create comic effects which can
results to happy conclusions
 Amusing or satirical in its tone.
 A Mid-Summer Night Stream by William Shakespeare, a
romantic comedy presenting young lovers falling in love
comically.
2. FARCE

 A comedy that depends for its humor on quick and surprising

turns of events and on exaggerated characters and situations, or
the type of humor characteristic of such a play.
 Farsitical humors appeal to some of our most basic instincts. Such
as outlandish situations.
 Everyone can recognize the comedy of a farce; the character seems
to make some decision.
 The plot lines are somehow improbable or absurd
 It makes people laugh through broad humour. Sometimes,
miscommunication leads to absurd situations
 (1967) Arab-Israel War is an example of Tragic Farce.
3. TRAGEDY

 It is a type of drama that shows the downfall and destruction of a

noble or outstanding person, traditionally one who possesses a
character weakness called a tragic flaw.
  A hero is brought down by his or own flaws usually by human
flaws.
 Start with a tragic hero usually in his prime, he has some tragic fall
which will ultimately cause downfall.
 We feel deep sadness and pity for the hero. A sense of story is also
observed.
4. MELODRAMA

 A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and

exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions.
 In theatre, melodrama is highly emotional focusing and exciting
but over the top situations that design strong reactions from the
audience
 “Overly dramatic or emotional”
 Emotional Arose – “Melos” – song “Drame” – drama.
 Speech or song together on the stage, popular on Victorian Era.
 Melodrama is not musical but its goal remains the same way. It is
important because of its deep effect to its audience.
 Still relatively popular because it never fails to entertain
5. TRAGECOMEDY

 It is a play that does not adhere strictly to the structure of tragedy.

This is usually serious play that also has some of the qualities of
comedy. It arouses thought even with laughter.
 Contains both tragedy and comedy. Sometimes, it is over-
exaggerated
 Example: The Merchant of The Niece by William Shakespeare –
the mood of the play is neither happy or moody
 “As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology
has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the 21st
century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and
competencies or many literacies.”

 Literacy is a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared

among members particular group
 Basic literacies one should possess: ability to read, write and speak

Characterisitics of 21st Century Literature:

1. It should be created within the last decade. (2000-present)

2. Written by contemporary authors (Present time).
3. Deals with current themes and issues. It can be based from own experiences
and what is occurring around you
4. Reflects a technological culture. Most of the genres reflect a society where
there is an existence of technology.
5. Often breaks traditional writing rules. There are other characteristics of 21 st
Century Literature where there is no application of traditional literary rules.

ABILITIES OF A 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE

Active Successful Participants in the 2st Century Global Society must be able
to:

1. Build relationships with other, to pose or solve problems collaboratively

and cross-culturally. We are now 21st century learners who have the ability
to build relationships and communicate with others.
2. Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety
of purposes. Creating Info-graphics is a combination of information and
graphics to which informs or entertains someone. We must be able to share
information
3. Manage, analyse, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous
information. We need to be able to manage our time and able to synthesize
multiple streams of information especially in online learning.
4. Create, critique, analyse a multi-media text. Editing videos, creating
videos, editing through Photoshop and other necessary things in learning.
 5. Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology. An
example is developing speaking skills through cellphone recorders by
listening and recording your voice in order to know how to improve your
communication, pronunciation skills.
6. They grew up using technology as a primary learning school. Examples
are modalities of Blended Learning and Full Online Learning in order to
access the lessons for your subjects.
7. Capable of navigating and interpreting digital formats and media
messages. We are knowledgeable of the software we use in our devices.
8. Possesses literacy skills which include technological abilities.
Technological abilities are keyboarding, navigating, interpreting and
deciphering graphics.

21ST LITERARY GENRES

1. CHICK LIT

 Genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often

humorously and light-heartedly. It typically features a female
protagonist whose womanhood is heavily thematized in the plot.
 “Chick” is an American slang for a young woman and Lit is a clipped word
for Literature.
 Women fiction includes various types of novels which generally appeal to
women than men. Written by usually women for women to read.
 An example is “The Devil Wears Prada” – Sometimes, works suck but we
have to deal with it.

2. FLASH FICTION

 It refers to a largely fictional work of relative brevity. In terms of length

there seems to be some disagreement: some say that it should have not
more than 50 words while others say that it can have as many as a
thousand words. It goes by different names such as “short-
short story, micro fiction, micro-narrative and sudden fiction.”
 Sudden fiction because you can already get the main idea of the text since its
short.
 According to Bob Batchelor, it is also known as “smoke-long story” because
it is compared to the range of time to the person consumes when he or she
smokes.
 An example is “Life Saver” by Josephine Cox
A. SIX WORD FLASH FICTION
  It is an extreme offshoot of flash fiction, which does exactly what it says
on the tin. Take note that, this type of flash fiction only consists of six
word.
 Examples:
 Hernest Hemingway: For sale: baby socks, never worn.
 Margaret Atwood: Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
3. SPECULATIVE FICTION

 To speculate is to ask the question “what if..?” and open your mind to an
infinite number of possible answers to that question.
 Combination of traditional genres which includes fantasy, historical, horror
and science fiction.
 It is a broad genre that encompasses stories that take place in imaginary
worlds a result of one or more “what if…? Questions
 To speculate is to ask “What if…?” questions and open your mind to infinite
number of answers to the questions

A. SCIENCE FICTION

 It deals mainly with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society
or individuals. The premise may either be based on or flatly contradict
scientific facts and principles.
 Take note that science fictions is a genre of speculative fiction that deals
with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology, space,
time, faster than light travel, parallel universe and extra-terrestrial life.
 An example is “The Martian”

B. CONTEMPORARY FANTASY

 Stories set in our present day world. This could have magic or magical
beings present in our world or the magic or beings could be leaking into
our world from another. But the main characters would remain in our
world for the story.
 Take note that this is defined by its setting which is the present and the real
world. It is a recognizable world with tropes to work in though reinvented
for modern use.
 An example is Harry Potter because its setting is in the present day. Magic
is often secret in contemporary fantasy but are rational. Social commentaries
are involved for the problems in this time.

C. DARK FANTASY

 This is a combination of fantasy and horror. Vampire, werewolf, mummies

and zombies fit into this sub- genre.
 An example is Train to Busan and Twilight, as long as these characters are
present in the movie or story, it is dark fantasy.
D. SUPER NATURAL FICTION

 These type of stories remove all elements that fall under fantasy and horror,
and embrace super natural elements that considered common place in
the natural world.
 Take note that it is natural and remove all elements from fantasy and horrors
which is magic because it is usually present in fantasy.
 The setting is a naturals setting and not an imagined world.
 An example is Biag ni Lam-ang – strong but doesn’t have magic.

E. SUPER HERO FICTION

 This is a type of Fiction that follows character with superhuman abilities

that come up against dastardly villains trying to take over the world or
may be just a certain city.
 The main goal of the character is to save the humanity or to save the world/
 Examples are Spiderman, Captain America, Superman, Darna, and the likes

F. UTOPIAN

 Stories that envision an ideal society, often including a metaphor for how
the choices humanity determines such a possible reason.
 Utopia is a community or society that possessing highly desirable qualities.
The term Utopia was coined by famous English philosopher, Thomas More
recalling Ancient Greek Word which means “Good Place or No Place”
 An Example is “Back to the Future” – it has unique perspectives and thought
of how optimistic the future is. Another is “Tomorrow Land” by George
Clooney

G. DYSTOPIAN

 Stories that takes place in a futuristic society that is repressive or

controlled, often under the guise of being perfect. The characters live in a
real life- nightmare. These types of stories try to get the reader to see the
consequences of a certain ways of life.
 It refers to a state or condition in which life is extremely bad. Dystopian
worlds consist of failed government and societies that can lead from bad to
worse and have a heavy focus on decay and loss.
 Generally, dystopia uses contemporary societies for imagined dystopias
landing an element of social warnings in the text. Author can use modern
societies to imagine what futuristic dystopia looks like.
 It shows us the worst possible future consequences of an issue that we
have now.
 An example is Black Mirror and Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

H. APOCALYPTIC
  Stories in this genre are concerned with the end of the civilization due to
catastrophe. This might come from nuclear war, pandemics, and the
return of Christ, technology or general disasters.
 Dystopia often explores social and political struggles, while in apocalyptic
fictions come from natural occurences.
 An Example is The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard

I. POST- APOCALYPTIC

 These stories are set in a civilization after an apocalyptic event, or perhaps

years later. Such a story might also fall under dystopian category.
 The end of the world has already taken places, and characters are trying to
survive and start anew.
 An example is The Resort and The Kill Command

J. ALTERNATE HISTORY

 Any story that messes up with the history of our world. The fiction that is
based on history and that explores what might have happened if historical
figures have been different.
 An example is the Fatherland which is about Hitler, what if Hitler won the
war?

4. DOODLE FICTION

 A literary presentation where the author incorporates doodle drawings

and hand written graphics in place of traditional font
drawings and fonts which enhance the story.

5. DIGI-FICTION

 The term media text refers to any media product we wish to examine
and from which we derive meaning value. It could be newspaper and
magazine articles, comics, films, TV shows, music, performances,
interviews or talks.
 Digital Media is digitalized content, text audio or graphics that can be
transmitted through the internet network or connection
A. Podcast – episodic series of spoken words, digital audio files which a person
can download it to a personal device for easy use. Streaming applications
provide convenient and integrated function queues for playback devices
B. E-books – electronic version of printed book that can be read on a computer
or electronic device.
C. Digital Story – It is a combination of photos, videos ,audios, narrations
texts, animations and words
D. Vlog – a blog that contains video content.

6. CREATIVE NON-FICTION
  Defines the genre simply, succinctly, and accurately as “true stories well
told.”
 It is like jazz, it is rich full o flavors with ideas and techniques some are
invented and some are old as other writings.
 A true story that is written in a creative way with use of figures of
speech, idioms and metaphors to add creativity in the story.

7. HYPER POETRY

 A form of digital poetry that uses links using hypertext mark-up. It is a

very visual form, and is related to hypertext fiction and visual arts. The
links mean that a hypertext poem has no set order, the poem moving or
being generated in response to the links that the reader/user chooses.
 Also called to cyber poetry, which could not be presented without a use of
computer. Contains notes and sub-poetries.

8. BLOG

 A web log: a website containing short articles called posts that are
changed regularly. Some blogs are written by one person containing their
own opinions, interests and experiences, while others are written by many
different people.
 It is the shortest version of the term “ Web log” It refers to regularly updated
journal on the internet
 Contains opinions, interest and experiences.
 Examples are word press, tumblr, jumla, type ad and others

9. MOBILE PHONE TEXTULA

 A literary work originally written on a cellular phone via text messaging.

Chapters usually consists of about 70-100 words each due to character
limitations on cellphones. Usually contains a poem which is derived from
“Tula”

10. META FICTION

 Fiction in which the author self- consciously alludes to the artificiality or

literariness of a work by parodying or departing from novelistic
conventions and traditional narrative techniques.
 Begets itself because it creates something new, a story about stories. It
breaks the realism, naturalism and the illusion of the story. It shows the
magic of the story.
 The three elements of a meta-fiction are the author, character and reader.
A novel about a writer writing a story inside as story about a story, or a
reader reading another novel or the author is simply the character.

11. GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC BOOK

  It refers to any format that uses a combination of frames, words and
pictures to convey meaning and tell a story.
 When a comic book exceeds 50 pages and becomes a soft and hard copy, it
becomes a graphic novel or a comic book.

12.TESTIMONIO

 Testimonio traces its origins to autobiographical literature. It largely

concerns itself with the issue of marginality.
 An authentic narrative told by a witness is moved to narrate by an urgency
of a situation.

13. FLIPTOP/RAP BATTLE

 Like textual is a contemporary type of poetry. It traces its origins to the

hip-hop culture which includes among others in art forms, the rap, disc
jockeying and break dancing. It is the Modern equivalent of Balagtasan.

14. PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY

 It is a series of pictures that evokes an emotion, conveys an idea or tells a

story. The number one element is the picture and it should stand alone and
shouldn’t use articles to support the picture. Should make logical sense to
the viewer without text.

ELEMENTS OF ESSAY

 The Range of Photos – a variety of photos

 Order of the Photos – effectively tells a story in a chronological sequence
 Information and Emotion – it should include this
 Caption – a best opportunity what is happening in words.

15. CONTEMPORARY MEMOIR

 It is a sub-genre of creative non- fiction that recounts the experiences of

someone’s life. It usually involves a public portion of the writer’s life as
it relates to a historic event.
 Example is a narrative about the success in winning a contest.

16. SPOKEN WORD POETRY

 It is a poetry intended for performance on stage for a live audience. It is

mostly associated with hip- hop culture, but it also has its roots in modern
poetry, post- modern performance, storytelling and monologue theatre as
well as to various types of music such as jazz, blues and folk.
 The main aim is to touch the feeling s and emotions of the listeners.
Usually based form life experiences of the speaker.
17. THEATRICAL ADAPTATION

 It is a genre wherein a story from another medium is rewritten to

conform to the elements of theatre.

ELEMENTS OF THE THEATERS:

a. Performers d. Theater Space

b. Audience e. Design Aspect
c. Director f. Text

 An example is Alice in Wonderland

18. TEXT TALK NOVELS

 These can be a blog, email or IM format narratives

 Instant Messaging
 Stories told almost completely in dialogue simulating social network
exchanges.
 An example is His Name is Love.
ETERNAL LIGHT by JOSE RIZAL

JOSE PROTACIO RIZAL MARCADO Y ALONSO REALONDA

 Social Cancer – oppression, torture, murder, and injustice

"YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD"

What are the things that you truly desire?

What are the actions that you should do to achieve your desire?
What makes you keep on fighting?

A Candle is a small thing.

But one candle can light one another.
And as it gives its flame to other,
see how its own light… increases!

Who do you consider as the light of the world?

What are the characteristics of a person who likes to inspire the world?

You are such as a light.

Light is the power to dispel darkness.
You have this power to move back the darkness in yourself and in others–with the
birth of light created when one mind illuminates another, when one heart kindles
another, when one man strengthens another.

What are the hindrances of a man who likes to move the world?
How would a man surpass the hindrances of his life?

And its flame also enlarges within you as you pass on!
Throughout the history, ... Children of Darkness
 have tried to smother this passage of light from man to man.
Throughout the history; Dictators, large and small, have tried-
... to darken, ...to diminish, ...and to separate men by force!

Small things joined together can become a giant object.

But... always in the end, ... they fail!

For always somewhere in the world the Light remains!
... ready to burn its brightest where it is dark;
... a Light that began when God created the world!
"... Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment..." --Psalm 104

What are your duties in this world?

And every free people has remained free!

...free by resisting those who would extinguish in men
... the Light of Freedom, of Love, and of Truth!
To do Our daily part to increase this Light,
We must remember that a candle alone... is a small thing,
a man alone... is a small thing,
and a nation alone... is a very small thing.

Small things joined together can become a giant object.

Remembering this... ,
We must recognize something much more than our indispensability to others.
We must also remember Their indispensability to us.
For how can we hope-- either as individuals or nations
... to reach our maximum
...'till we help those around us reach theirs?
To be strong, the strong must serve!

We are important to others and everyone is important to you. We are playing a role not
only for ourselves but also for others.

In order for us to build a fire, we need to be the spark. Do something that is good even
though it is small, keep doing that small kindness and that it will grow

A BORDERLESS WORLD by PATRICIA EVANGELISTA

A Borderless World is a motivational speech of Patricia Evangelista that
challenges the patriotism of her listeners. It is a piece that acknowledges the
importance of one's culture regardless of the place where we are living in. A
Borderless World connotes to the admiration of diversity not only in a specific
society but also to every nation. This speech is anchored upon the observation of
the speaker about the happenings around the world especially to her fellow
Filipinos.

PATRICIA EVANGELISTA
o A Manila-based trauma journalist covering disaster, conflict, and human rights
issues
o She was a fellow at the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, the Dart Center for
Journalism and Trauma, and the Logan Nonfiction Fellowship.
 o Her reporting on armed conflict as well as on the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan was
awarded the Kate Webb Prize for exceptional journalism in dangerous
conditions.
o The series is a recipient of the Human Rights Press Award, three Society of
Publishers in Asia Awards, and was a 2018 finalist for the Osborn Elliott Prize for
Journalism.
o Videographer, editor and producer. Moreover, she is the editor and journalist of
Rappler.
o At 18, she became the first Filipino to win the London-based annual International
Public Speaking Championships
o At 19, she began writing for the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s opinion section. Her
column ran for 8 years. She has written for Rogue and Uno and was writer-at-large
for Esquire Philippines Magazine

FAMOUS WORKS
1. MURDER IN MANILA- A seven-part investigative story and the first media
report to name active police officers operating systematically in collusion with
guns for hire, with the murders of drug suspects outsourced to a vigilante group in
the nation's capital. (Rappler, 2019)
2. IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER- A multimedia story published six months
after the drug war and is produced in the context of Catholic Philippines, bringing
together six months of violence within the framework of The Lord's Prayer.
(Rappler, 2016)
3. EXECUTION AT CESSNA - A story of a death in the early days of President
Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, highlighting the personal cost of the demonization
of drug use. (Rappler, 2016)

BORDERLESS WORLD
WHEN I was little, I wanted what many Filipino children all over the country wanted.
I wanted to be blond, blue-eyed and white.

I thought — if I just wished hard enough and was good enough, I’d wake up on
Christmas morning with snow outside my window and freckles across my nose!

What does the line, “I wanted to be blond, blue-eyed, and white” mean?
Blond - Foreigner
What is the dream of the writer in the first paragraph?
I just wished hard enough and was good enough
What is being represented by the word snow in the paragraph?
Other Countries

More than four centuries under western domination (ruled by others) can do that to
you. I have 16 cousins. In a couple of years, there will just be five of us left
(migration) in the Philippines, the rest will have gone abroad in search of “greener
pastures.” (better life) It’s not an anomaly (unusual) ; it’s a trend; the Filipino
diaspora. Today, about eight million Filipinos are scattered around the world.

What is the significance of Western countries to us?

 What does the line, “In a couple of years, there will just be five of us left in the
Philippines, the rest will have gone abroad in search of “greener pastures.”” tell
about Philippine diaspora?
Why do people look for greener pastures?

There are those who disapprove (disagree) of Filipinos who choose to leave. I
used to. Maybe this is a natural reaction of someone who was left behind, smiling for
family pictures that get emptier with each succeeding year. Desertion (abandonment) ,
I called it. My country (our heroes) is a land that has perpetually (forever) fought for
the freedom to be itself. Our heroes offered their lives in the struggle against the
Spanish, the Japanese, the Americans. To pack up and deny that identity is tantamount
to spitting on that sacrifice. (sacrifice for fighting for freedom)

What does the author feel towards those who went abroad?
What does desertion mean?
How did our national heroes fight for our country?
Explain the last line of the paragraph.

Or is it? I don’t think so. Not anymore.(change of perspective)

True, there is no denying this phenomenon, aided by the fact that what was once
the other side of the world is now a 12-hour plane ride away.(advancement of
technology) But this is a borderless world, where no individual can claim to be purely
from where he is now. My mother is of Chinese descent, my father is a quarter
Spanish, and I call myself a pure Filipino — a hybrid of sorts resulting from a
combination of cultures. (mixture of different culture)

Explain the line, “. But this is a borderless world, where no individual can claim to be
purely from where he is now. “
What might be the feeling of the author with her nationality?

Each square mile anywhere in the world is made up of people of different

ethnicities, with national identities and individual personalities. (group of diff. human
beings) Because of this, each square mile is already a microcosm (miniature) of the
world. In as much as this blessed spot that is England is the world, so is my
neighborhood back home.

What do we mean by the term “microcosm”?

Why did the author say that each square mile is already a microcosm of the world?
What does the country England symbolize?

Seen this way, the Filipino Diaspora, or any sort of dispersal of populations
(spreading of pop.), is not as ominous (something bad might happen) as so many
claim. It must be understood. I come from a Third World country, one that is still
trying mightily to get back on its feet after many years of dictatorship. But we shall
make it, given more time. Especially now, when we have thousands of eager young
minds who graduate from college every year. They have skills. They need jobs. We
cannot absorb them all.
 What does the author like to say in the first sentence?
What is the feeling of the author towards Filipinos going abroad?
What does the last line say about employment in our country?

A borderless world presents a bigger opportunity,(nationalism, seving your

country and other countries) yet one that is not so much (abandonment but an
extension of identity. Even as we take, we give back. We are the 40,000 skilled nurses
who support the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. We are the quarter-of-a-
million seafarers manning most of the world’s commercial ships. We are your
software engineers in Ireland, your construction workers in the Middle East, your
doctors and caregivers in North America, and, your musical artists in London’s West
End.

Based on the first line of the paragraph, what does the term borderless mean?
What is the feeling of the author towards the Filipinos?

Nationalism isn’t bound by time or place. People from other nations migrate to
create new nations, yet still remain essentially who they are. British society is itself an
example of a multi-cultural nation, a melting pot of races, religions, arts and cultures.
We are, indeed, in a borderless world!

Nationalism is no longer bound by time or place. Staying in the Philippines is no

longer a measurement for your nationalism.

Why did the author say that nationalism isn’t bound by time or place?
What is being represented by the term “new nations?”
Describe the society of British and why is it an example of a borderless world?
Cite a real-life situation which explains the paragraph.

Leaving sometimes isn’t a matter of choice. It’s coming back that is. The
Hobbits of the shire traveled all over Middle-Earth, but they chose to come home,
richer in every sense of the word. We call people like these balikbayans or the
“returnees” — those who followed their dream, yet choose to return and share their
mature talents and good fortune.

Even if you leave the Philippines, going back to the Philippines matters. It’s
coming back to the country that we should live by.

Why is coming back a matter of choice?

Most balikbayans have with them a Balikbayan box. What does the balikbayan box
represent?

In a few years, I may take advantage of whatever opportunities that come my way.
But I will come home. A borderless world doesn’t preclude the idea of a home. I’m a
Filipino, and I’ll always be one. It isn’t about geography; it isn’t about boundaries.
It’s about giving back to the country that shaped me.
 Your sense of nationalism is not going abroad, it’s all about coming back and
sharing what you learn from other countries. Life will lead you to different
destinations but we should never forget to return back.

And that’s going to be more important to me than seeing snow outside my window on
a bright Christmas morning.

Mabuhay and thank you.

WAITING by RON DARVIN

 A migrant caregiver mother and her son, the sacrifices we make to be able to hope
and love, and the losses we have to endure
 This play is based on the real stories that Filipino youth and their parents have shared
with Darvin. In Canada, 92% of those in the Live-in Caregiver Program are Filipino,
and because they come through temporary migrant worker arrangements, mothers are
separated from their children an average of six years. This separation affects the lives
of these Filipino families in many ways, including the educational performance of the
children. Darvin originally wrote this play for an audience of teachers and
administrators in Canada, so that they could understand the particular challenges that
some Filipino students go through.

RON DARVIN

 An assistant professor of Applied Linguistics at the English Department of The

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
 His current research examines how learners of unequal material, cultural, social and
linguistic resources develop diverse digital practices and how sociotechnical
structures and algorithmic processes of various technologies shape online language
practices.
 Ron Darvin is an instructor and researcher at the University of British Columbia
in Vancouver, Canada, whose research focuses on the literacies and educational
performance of recently migrated Filipino students. Before moving to Canada, he
was a teacher of literature, cultural studies, and academic writing at the Ateneo de
Manila University in the Philippines.

UNLOCK THE LOCKED (TERMINOLOGIES)

 Canucks: a person born, raised or living in Canada, a Canadian

 Vancouver: a bustling west coast seaport in British Columbia
 Shaughnessy: an almost entirely residential neighbourhood in Vancouver, British,
Columbia, Canada spanning about 447 hectares in a relatively central locale.
 Pautine: a dish that includes French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown
gravy
 Japadog: a small chain of street food stand and restaurants located in Vancouver,
British, Columbia and Canada
  Ihop: an American multinational pancake house restaurant chain that specializes in
breakfast foods
 Inception: the time at which something begins

SYNTHESIS:

Ron Darvin wrote the story of "Waiting" for the Overseas Filipino Workers
whose life was not good because most of them are suffering from homesickness and
they are very far with their family. It depicts the endless physical and emotional
misery of overseas Filipino workers. It revolves around the sacrifice that a mother is
willing to endure all for the sake of providing a convenient life to her family. The
story felt realistic and relatable. We all know that the Philippines has one of the
largest diasporas in the world. There is an estimated 10 million Filipinos abroad. In
another country they are working to meet up the family's needs. They are willing to
sacrifice just to cater the needs of their family. In today’s case, some of our Filipino
Overseas Workers are having a hard time finding financial expenses due to pandemic.
All their actions are limited. They cannot earn and visit their family. That is why we
should be thankful and appreciate their efforts since it is not an easy game.

PLAY ANALYSIS

“Basta next year, I’m turning 16 and I can’t wait to get a job. I’m gonna get one at
Timmies, earn a shitload of money and get out of this dump”
In the Philippines, when you are in 16, you are still in the process of enjoying life
because you are still in your teenage years. While in Canada, if you are 16, you should be
thinking of the future already and thinking of how to earn money.
When a citizen in Canada already reached the age of 16, they are obliged to worry

“That is why you have to study hard, my love. Because otherwise you will end up just like
her”
In the Philippines, we tend to compare person according to their achievements.
Graduating on time ascertains success while graduating late ascertains difficulties.
Even if the Filipinos are doing their best in their respective jobs, still some foreigners
don’t admire them

“I miss my family, gossiping with my friends, I missed being a teacher”

It means homesickness. Homesickness is a natural feeling of a person most especially
if you are far from them. Missing someone doesn’t necessarily mean you can miss the person
only sometimes it may also miss things, places or even memories.

“Why did Roberto manage to have an affair with the sister-in-law of Kiko, his fellow
Filipino?”
Roberto managed to have an affair with Kiko because Ysabel, his wife, wasn’t able to
spend time with her husband
OFWs are sacrificing their lives just to suffice their family’s need. If you know the
sacrifices as an OFW, you know how to spend time with your loved ones.

“Roberto, there’s no space for hiya here. If you want to build this family, we’ll have to let
go of shame. We just need to do what must be done”
Roberto is tired and ashamed of all the things that he is doing. Ysabel sacrificed the
degree/profession she finished just for the sake of her family.
 In the Philippines, there are a million of graduates every year. But the Philippines
can’t absorb them all.
Practicality would say that even our work abroad isn’t connected or related to
the degree we finished here in the Philippines as long as we are helping our family or
we are building a life for them then there is no existent problem in it. We, Filipinos
are family-oriented.

“‘Tandaan mo anak, school is important’ But she never helps me in my homework. She
doesn’t even find time to attend the parent-teacher meetings and I’m the only child in
school whose parents never show up.”
Despite the words of encouragement of Ysabel to Miguel still it’s not enough because
the latter wants to feel the love and care of his mother through her presence.
Miguel is complaining because he can’t feel the care or presence of his parents that
even in parent-teacher meetings she can’t even attend. Every child needs support coming
from their parents
Parents are doing their bests to suffice the needs of their family. Parents also want to
attend meetings because they want to express their feelings that they care for their children
As a son or daughter, we also need to consider the situation of our parents that they
are doing their best; they are sacrificing their time for us.

“She wants me to study college after but what use is college anyway? She graduated from
a university in Manila, she was a teacher, now she makes sandwiches and works at a
grocery. What’s a degree for? School is such a waste of time”
Miguel is still thinking if he will still purse studying because he ponders “what is the
use of the school?” if he will just be working for things that are not inclined to what he has
learned in school.
Sometimes, we only need to be strategic in life for us to become successful. The
diploma isn’t enough for you to be successful.

“Sure, she sent home money, sent me toys, and chocolates. Sure, there were phone calls.
And pictures. But you can’t hug a phone call, can you? And a picture can’t tell you that
everything will be alright”
Miguel is indeed longing for his family’s attention and adherence.
Money isn’t everything. It may only give you temporary happiness. What a child
needs is the guidance, touch and protection of a parent.
Money is temporary, the happiness and care that the parents are giving are eternal.

“After all these years I’m waiting, when does soon begin?”

WHY WAS THE STORY ENTITLED, “WAITING”?

Though Miguel and Ysabel were together, Miguel is still waiting for the time that his
mother can give him the affection that he is longing for.
Miguel still has that determination and courage to wait for the affection that her
parents will be giving.

THOUGHT FOR REFLECTION

The pain of being way from your love ones and doing a job that may be beyond your
comfort zone is a sacrifice. Don’t feel bad, for this is a way to prepare yourself in the future.
Our parents are doing their best for them to give us a better future. We should support
and give them love for them to be motivated to do the things they are doing.

THE SAFE HOUSE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 Sandra Nicole Roldan is the assistant professor at the Department of English and
Comparative Literature, University of the Philippines-Diliman
She is also a faculty member of University of the Philippines-Diliman at Department
of English and Comparative Literature

The story that you are about to read is written from the perspective of a
young girl, and the sacrifices she and her family made to fight against the Marcos
government. It allows you to see how martial law was like for the people who
fought against it.

From the street, it is one box among many. Beneath terracotta roof tiles baking
uniformly in the sweltering noon the building/s grey concrete face stares out
impassively in straight lines and angles. Its walls are high and wide, as good walls
should be. A four-storey building with four units to a floor. At dusk, the square glass
windows glitter like the compound eyes of insects, revealing little of what happens
inside. There is not much else to see.

And so this house seems in every way identical to all the other houses in all
the thirty-odd other buildings nestled within the gates of this complex. It is the First
Lady’s pride and joy, a housing project designed for genteel middle class living.
There is a clubhouse, a swimming pool, a tennis court. A few residents drive luxury
cars. People walk purebred dogs in the morning. Trees shade the narrow paths and the
flowering hedges that border each building give the neighborhood a hushed, cozy
feel. It is easy to get lost here.

But those who need to come here know what to look for-the swinging gate, the
twisting butterfly tree, the cyclone-wire fence. A curtained window glows with the
yellow light of a lamp perpetually left on. Visitors count the steps up each flight of
stairs. They do not stumble in the dark. They know which door will be opened to
them, day or night. They will be fed, sometimes given money. Wounds will be
treated, bandages changed. They carry nothing-no books, no bags, or papers. What
they do bring is locked inside their heads, the safest of places. They arrive one at a
time, or in couples, over a span of several hours. They are careful not to attract
attention. They listen for the reassuring yelps of squabbling children before they raise
their hands to knock.

It is 1982. The girl who lives here does not care too much for the people who
visit. She is five. Two uncles and an aunt dropped by the other day. Three aunts and
two uncles slept over the night before. It is impossible to remember all of them. There
are too many names, too many faces. And they all look the same-too tall, too old, too
serious, too many. They surround the small dining table, the yellow lamp above
throwing and tilting shadows against freshly-painted cream walls.

They crowd the already cramped living room with their books and papers,
hissing at her to keep quiet, they are talking about important things. So she keeps
quiet. The flock of new relatives recedes into the background as she fights with her
brother over who gets to sit closer to the television. It is tuned in to Sesame Street on
Channel 9. The small black and white screen makes Ernie and Bert shiver and glow
like ghosts. Many of these visitors she will never see again. If she does, she will
probably not remember them.

She wakes up one night. Through the thin walls, she hears the visitors arguing.
She can easily pick out one particular uncle’s voice, rumbling through the dark like
thunder. He is one of her newer relatives, having arrived only that morning. All
grown-ups are tall but this new uncle is a giant who towers over everyone else. His
big feet look pale in their rubber slippers, a band-aid where each toenail should have
been. He never takes off his dark glasses, not even at night. She wonders if he can see
in the dark. Maybe he has laser vision like Superman. Or, maybe-like a pirate, he has
only one eye. She presses her ear against the wall. If she closes her eyes and listens
carefully, she can make out the words: sundalo, kasama, talahib. The last word she
hears clearly is katawan. The visitors are now quiet but still she cannot sleep. From
the living room, there are sounds like small animals crying.

She comes home from school the next day to see the visitors crowded around
the television. She wants to change the channel, watch the late afternoon cartoons but
they wave her away. The grown-up’s are all quiet. Something is different. Something
is about to explode. So she stays away, peering up at them from under the dining
table. On the TV screen is the President, hisface glowing blue and wrinkly like an-old
monkey’s. His voice wavers in the afternoon air, sharp and high like the sound of
something breaking. The room erupts in a volley of curses: Humanda ka na, Makoy!
Mamatay ka! Pinapatay mo asawa ko! Mamamatay ka rin P%t@ng*n@ ka! Humanda
ka, papatayin din kita!The girl watches quietly from under the table. She is trying
very hard not to blink.

It is 1983. They come more often now. They begin to treat the apartment like
their own house. They hold meetings under the guise of children’s parties. Every
week, someone’s son or daughter has a birthday. The girl and her brother often make
a game of sitting on the limp balloons always floating in inch from the floor. The
small explosions like-guns going off. She wonders why her mother serves the visitors
dusty beer bottles that are never opened.

She is surprised to see the grownups playing make-believe out on the balcony.
Her new uncles pretend to drink from the unopened bottles and begin a Laughing
Game. Whoever laughs loudest wins. She thinks her mother plays the game badly
because instead of joining in. Her mother is always crying quietly in the kitchen.
Sometimes the girl sits beside her mother on the floor, listening to words she doesn’t
really understand: Underground, resolution, taxes, bills. She plays with her mother’s
hair while the men on the balcony continue their game. When she falls asleep, they
are still laughing.

The mother leaves the house soon after. She will never return. The two
children now spend most afternoons playing with their neighbors. After an hour of
hide-and-seek, the girl comes home one day to find the small apartment even smaller.
Something heavy hangs in the air like smoke. Dolls and crayons and storybooks fight
for space with plans and papers piled on the tables. Once, she finds a drawing of a
triangle and recognizes a word: class. She thinks of typhoons and floods and no
classes.
 The visitors keep reading from a small red book, which they hide under their
clothes when she approached. She tries to see why they like it so much. Maybe it also
has good pictures like the books her father brought home from, China. Her favorite
has zoo animals working together to build a new bridge after the river had swallowed
the old one. She sneaks a look over their shoulders and sees a picture of a fat Chinese
man wearing a cap. Spiky shapes run up and down the page. She walks away
disappointed. She sits in the balcony and reads another picture book from China. It is
about a girl who cuts her hair to help save her village from Japanese soldiers. The title
is Mine Warfare.

It is 1984. The father is arrested right outside their house. It happens one
August afternoon, with all the neighbors watching. They look at the uniformed men
with cropped hair and shiny boots. Guns bulging under their clothes. Everyone is
quiet afraid to make a sound. The handcuffs shine like silver in the sun. When the
soldiers drive away, the murmuring begins. Words like insects escaping from cupped
hands. It grows louder and fills the sky. It is like this whenever disaster happens.
When fire devours a house two streets away, people in the compound come out to
stand on their balconies. Everyone points at the pillar of smoke rising from the
horizon.

This is the year she and her brother come to live with their grandparents,
having no parents to care for them at home. The grandparents tell them a story of
lovebirds: Soldiers troop into their house one summer day in 1974. Yes, balasang k4
this very same house. Muddy boots on the bridge over the koi pond, strangers poking
guns through the water lilies. They are looking for guns and papers, they are ready to
destroy the house. Before the colonel can give his order, they see The Aviary. A small
sunlit room with a hundred lovebirds twittering inside. A rainbow of colors. Eyes like
tiny glass beads. One soldier opens the aviary door, releases a flurry of wings and
feathers. Where are they now? the girl asks. The birds are long gone, the grandparents
say, eaten by a wayward cat. But as you can see, the soldiers are still here. The two
children watch them at their father’s court trials. A soldier waves a guru says it is
their father’s. He stutters while explaining why the gun has his own name on it.

They visit her father at his new house in Camp Crame. It is a long walk from
the gate, past wide green lawns. In the hot surrey everything looks green. There are
soldiers everywhere. Papa lives in that long low building under the armpit of the big
gymnasium. Because the girl can write her name, the guards make her sign the big
notebooks. She writes her name so many times, the S gets tired and curls on its side to
sleep. She enters amaze the size of the playground at school, but with tall barriers
making her turn left, right, left, right. Barbed wire forms a dense jungle around the
detention center. She meets other children there: some just visiting, others lucky
enough to stay with their parents all the time.

On weekends, the girl sleeps in her father’s cell. There is a double-deck bed
and a chair. A noisy electric fan stirs the muggy air. There, she often gets nightmares
about losing her home: She would be walking down the paths, under the trees of their
compound, past the row of stores, the same grey buildings. She turns a corner and
finds a swamp or a rice paddy where her real house should be.
 One night, she dreams of war. She comes home from school to find a blood
orange sky where bedroom and living room should be. The creamy walls are gone.
Broken plywood and planks swing crazily in what used to be the dining room.
Nothing in the kitchen but a sea green refrigerator; paint and rust flaking off in
patches as large as thumbnails. To make her home livable again, she paints it blue and
pink and yellow. She knows she has to work fast. Before night falls, she has painted a
sun, a moon and a star on the red floor. So she would have light. Each painted shape
is as big as a bed. In the dark, she curls herself over the crescent moon on the floor
and waits for morning.There is no one else in the dream.

Years later, when times are different, she will think of those visitors and
wonder about them. By then, she will know they aren’t really relatives, and had told
her namesnot really their own. To a grownup, an old friend’s face can never really
change; in achild’s fluid memory, it can take any shape. She believes that-people stay
alive so long as another chooses to remember them. But she cannot help those visitors
even in that small way. She grows accustomed to the smiles of middle aged strangers
on the street, who talk about how it was when she was thishigh. She learns not to
mind the enforced closeness, sometimes even smiles back. But she does not really
know them. Though she understands the fire behind their words, she remains a
stranger to their world’ she has never read the little red book.

Late one night, she will hear someone knocking on the door.It is a different
door now, made from solid varnished mahogany blocks. The old chocolate brown ply
board that kept them safe all those years ago has long since yielded to warp and
weather. She will look through the peephole and see a face last seen fifteen years
before. It is older, ravaged but somehow same. She willbe surprised to even
remember the name that goes with it. By then, the girl would know about danger, and
will not know whom to trust. No house, not even this one, is safe enough.

The door will be opened a crack. He will ask about her father, she will say he
no longer lives there. As expected, he will look surprised and disappointed. She may
even read a flash of fear before his face wrinkles into a smile. He will apologize, step
back. Before he disappears into the shadowy corridor, she will notice his worn rubber
slippers, the mud caked between his toes. His heavy bag. She knows he has nowhere
else to go. Still, she will shut the door and push the bolt firmly into place.

SYNTHESIS:

The story written by Sandra Nicole Roldan entitled “The Safe House” gives
light to the point of view of a five-year old girl and how her family was torn by her
father’s reaction towards the perceived atrocities of the Marcos regime. It highlights
the level of partial thinking used by her father in processing the political issues
at the time.

The little girl’s innocence at the time shielded her from all realities like why
her mother left, the seemingly strange visitors in the night and the eventual arrest and
detention of her father. It shows an accurate description in the lack of understanding
on the part of the little girl during that time.
 It shows of the accurate description of the girl’s lack of understanding during
that time.

It begins with a housing project catering the middleclass of society. Among

the facilities were tennis courts and swimming pools.

What is the dictionary meaning of safe house?

A dwelling or building whose conventional appearance makes it a safe or a

conspicuous space for hiding, digging refuge or carrying activities. It is a place where the
person hides from the police, stays to be protected by the police.

What is the double meaning of the title Safe House? Why do you think this was used for
the title?

Safe House is the actual place where the person resides and finds comfort; the person
has an emotional attachment to it for it to be considered the “safe house”. Safe House is
where you keep your valuable things.

Safe House is a place where a person hides from the police. It is a hideout of a
rebellion that is against the reigning of previous president Ferdinand Marcos

Why did the narrator feel unsafe?

The people or visitors which they call “relatives” or their “uncles” came more often to
the house

Why did the mother leave? Do you understand the decision? Would you have left them
as well? Why or why not?

The mother left the house is due to the fact that she doesn’t want to be affiliated for
rebellion/

Why did the man in the story have Band-Aids instead of nails? What does this imply
about the visitors in the house?

He was tortured. Removing nails is a form of torture in the time of Ferdinand Marcos

How does the narrator’s view of martial law differ from her father’s point of view?
Why does she have a different point of view?

The little girl’s view is from a perspective of a child.