‘A portrait of a young man as a banak by jade mark capinanes’

Filipino author John Mark Capinanes was born on December 7, 1994, and currently
resides in Davao City. At Mindanao State University in General Santos City,
Capinanes studied literature and linguistics. The most noticeable aspect of his
stories' genre and style is the way he juxtaposes and mashes up several languages,
including LGBT slang, English, and even Filipino. along with cultural allusions. He
is the author of "A portrait of a young man as a banak," among other works. His
memoir, "The Portrait of a Young Man as a Banak," details his residences in Davao
City, Polomolok in South Cotabato, and General Santos City, as well as the
hardships his family has faced, which led him to move to each of those locations. I
would like to explore the different pattern of development present in 'A Portrait
of a Young Man as a Banak' by John Mark Capiñanes." The story is a touching and
thought provoking short story that it looks at the topics of belonging, cultural
displacement, and identity. The story, which takes place in the Philippines,
centers on a young guy named Banak who is attempting to understand the complexity
of his mixed history and to find his place in the world. Readers are encouraged to
reflect on the common experiences of overcoming cultural borders and the
significance of accepting one's own unique identity through Capianes' rich
descriptions and deft storytelling. This story is important because it may
emphasize the challenges experienced by people who are torn between two worlds, the
value of self-acceptance and self-discovery, and most significantly, the need to
put up significant effort in order to honor the sacrifices made by our parents. A
pattern of development is how an essay is structured from one paragraph to the next
so that its thesis and the pertinent, reliable evidence supporting it are presented
in a logical and insightful way. Your readers will be experiencing your essay in
time. The first connection I made between what I read and the growth pattern is
that description because the author describe the location of their community which
is this is the statement ‘Our community was a small purok in Panacan, a barangay in
Davao City, but to this day I still wonder whether the purok was named Jasa or
Jacona.’ Secondly author said that ‘Davao was a mixture of colors: it was a sky
full of fireworks, notwithstanding the irony of the metaphor. Behind the red, blue,
orange, and yellow sparks and specks, however, the black mantle remained: the night
sky, the dark alleys. But like little moths, we were drawn to the light. So we went
on amid and through the traffic that was already building up.’ The text provided is
descriptive. The passage portrays the scene in Davao and emphasizes the contrast
between the vibrant pyrotechnics and the pitch-black alleys and night sky. The
inclusion of sensory elements and descriptive language, such as the fireworks' hues
and the parallel to tiny moths lured to the light, aids in creating a clear picture
of the situation. The text also contains personal insights, such as the description
of snarling traffic, which indicates that the author was on the scene and actually
experienced it. Thirdly, I identify the story have a comparison and contrast
because of this statement ‘While jeepneys move slowly, I thought, Davao changes
very fast. I looked outside the window and an unlit building caught my attention.
It was not there the last time I had visited Davao, or at least I just had not
noticed it.’ The author contrasts Davao's rapid change with the plodding movement
of jeepneys. The author notices a dark building that wasn't there during their
previous visit, demonstrating the contrast. The author contends that despite the
jeepneys' modest speed, Davao is changing quickly. The assertion is better anchored
in the author's own observations and experiences when sensory elements are used,
such glancing out the window. I also found out that it have also a comparison and
contrast about this statement ‘Sulit was totally different from Panacan. While
Panacan had the sea, Sulit had the earth. While in Panacan I kept fish in an
aquarium, in Sulit I kept fireflies in a jar. While in Panacan we shared the same
wall with a neighbor, in Sulit we shared the same empty space within which we could
exchange echoes with a neighbor.’ In order to emphasize the distinctions between
Sulit and Panacan, the author compares and contrasts the two locations. The author
notes that while Sulit is positioned on the earth, Panacan is situated close to the
ocean. The author also mentions that whereas in Sulit they maintained fireflies in
a jar, they kept fish in an aquarium in Panacan. The author also compares the
living arrangements in the two locations, noting that whereas in Panacan they
shared a wall with a neighbor, in Sulit they did so in an area where they could
converse acoustically. The incorporation of sensory elements, such as keeping fish
and fireflies, deepens the description and helps to underline the distinctions
between the two locations. Followed by, Narrative because the author said that
where he study college, the statement is this ‘moved to the nearest city, General
Santos, to pursue a college degree. It is where I live now. General Santos.’ The
author gives a brief history of their life, emphasizing in particular that they
currently reside in General Santos and relocated there to pursue their education.
The author may be recounting a series of events from their own life if they use
chronological events, such as relocating to the closest city to pursue higher
education and subsequently settling in that city. Also, ‘We ate in a burger house.
Waiting for our order, which seemed like forever, Mama and Justine took some
selfies. Later on they invited me for some group pictures. Looking at the photos we
had taken, Mama again pointed out my beard. I needed to shave, she said. I needed
to eat, I said. I might have seemed distant in all of those photographs, but I was
there, with them, my seizing the moment being not necessarily said by my frowns the
camera captured.’ It is a narrative because the scene in the burger joint where the
author and their family are waiting for their order is described in the text. Mama
and Justine snap self-portraits while they wait, and then they ask the author to
join them for a group shot. The author then muses on the images, recalling how
their mother had called attention to their beard and they had answered by claiming
they were hungry. The author also points out that although though they appeared
distant in the photographs, they were actually there and seizing the moment, even
if the camera caught their frowns. The author's experiences are grounded in the
story through the use of sensory details, such as waiting for the order and taking
selfies, as well as the inclusion of personal reflections. In addition, this
statement ‘In my Philippine Literature class, which I took up in my first year in
my current course, our professor once assigned us to research on the origin of the
name of the place where we grew up. That time I had no recollections whatsoever of
stories about Panacan. I tried to remember the times the old folks had narrated
tales of yore to us children during those long, cozy afternoons, but what I could
only retrieve was the story of how Barangay Tibungco got its name (Tibungco, they
said, came from the word trabungko, a mutya or a jewel taken from the head of a
mythical giant snake that once roamed the place). Unfortunately, I had not grown up
in Tibungco, a few kilometers away from Panacan, although I have fond memories
there (I had studied in F. Bustamante National High School, a school at Tibungco,
for two years: first and second year high school).’ Also a narrative because the
author of the text recounts their investigation into the etymology of their
hometown's name for a Philippine Literature assignment. The author recounts their
difficulty remembering tales of Panacan and their recollections of tales of
Tibungco. Although they attended a high school there, the author considers their
connection to Tibungco despite not having grown up there. The author's own
experiences and emotions are used to root the story in the narrative through the
use of personal comments, memories, and sensory aspects like warm afternoons. Next
is the Definition because the author give a definition of a banak and that is a
kind of saltwater fish; "grey mullet" in English. Additionally, this statement also
narrative because this statement ‘That moment I knew whom the foreigner meant.
Justine has skin allergies. Ever since he was a child, it has been his problem.
Mama, I thought, is still the same. She shares too much information. That moment,
too, I was afraid she had divulged to her boss some embarrassing facts about me.’
The text recounts a turning point in the author's understanding of the foreigner
being discussed, probably during a talk with the author's mother. The author then
muses on their mother's propensity to overshare information and their sibling's
skin allergies. The author expresses concern that their mother might have told her
boss something unflattering about them. The author's experiences and point of view
are brought into the story by the use of personal reflections and feelings like
anxiety and displeasure. For one thing, this statement ‘After that encounter I sat
in their living room, which was bigger than our whole house. I looked at their
wooden ceiling, which was very high.’ The author compares their own home to a
residence they visited in order to highlight the differences. The author draws
attention to a size discrepancy by noting that the living room of the home they
visited was larger than their entire home. The author also mentions the tall wooden
ceiling, which can indicate a distinction in the standard or style of the
residences. The disparity
in living standards between the two residences is shown by these comparisons.
Further, This statement ‘She turned out to be the foreigner's wife, a Filipina. I
also met their other kids, who were all chubby.‘ is a Descriptive because the
author gives information about the family of the foreigner they met. The fact that
the foreigner's wife is a Filipina is mentioned by the author as a distinctive
feature identifying her nationality. The author also uses the word "chubby" to
describe the children's outward appearance, which is a descriptive term. The
reader's mental image of the people being portrayed is made clearer by the
employment of specific details. Then, this statement ‘Papa now lives in a house at
Dose, particularly Sto. Rosario, just a kilometer away from our old place. Here are
some facts: one, the house is rented; two, I refuse to call it an apartment, for it
is far away from the connotations of luxury the word apartment has; three, it is
plagued by small ants that bite into clothes, leaving tiny holes on them; and four,
it is where Papa's live-in partner also lives.’ Uses both descriptive and narrative
components can be found in the sample text. Papa's current living situation is
being described by the author, along with specifics about his home, including its
location and ant infestation. These specifics are illustrative in nature and aid in
creating a picture of Papa's home and living circumstances. The house is rented,
and Papa's live-in partner also resides there, among other narrative components
that are present in the book. These specifics aid in the development of the
narrative and give the situation context. The text as a whole combines descriptive
and narrative components. Lastly, the statment ‘The place of my childhood faced a
part of Davao Gulf whose blue waters stretched towards the shores of Samal. Our old
house, like everybody else's, stood proudly above the waters, supported by wooden
stilts that raised it considerably higher than the sea level during high tides. One
time, however, the seawater was so high it reached our tabla floor; fortunately, it
did not cause too much damage. Several years ago it was demolished, alongside some
of our neighbors houses and some of the wooden bridges. But a little part of the
place still remained. For the last day of my visit in Davao, I decided to see that
place. In my visit I would feel that even though the majority of it had been turned
into a seaport, it was still the same. There I would see some of my childhood
friends and would be reminded of the things we used to do: how Ada, Alicon, and I
once went boating and had the boat sink; how we were once chased by police officers
when we joined a gang war of luthang and pellet guns; how we went caroling with
friends, most of whom were Muslims, in Decembers; how they would invite me, a
Christian, to partake in the food they prepared during the feast after Ramadan; and
so on. There I would look at the sea and fancy that those peculiar banak were also
on their own odyssey, still uncaptured, constantly looking for their home, but
found it important to visit the place from time to time.’ Both descriptive and
narrative, the assertion. It portrays the specific physical characteristics of the
environment in which the author spent their formative years, such as the location
and style of the homes. Additionally, it describes some of the author's own
experiences, including memories of their friends and past pursuits. It is a
narrative because of the past tense verbs and the exact details of the author's
experiences; nonetheless, it is a descriptive because of the thorough descriptions
of the setting. The Philippines are the setting for Jade Mark Capianes' short
story, "A Portrait of a Young Man as a Banak," which centers on the narrator's
visit to his childhood home, which has undergone significant changes as a result of
development and urbanization. The story "A Portrait of a Young Man as a Banak" by
Jade Mark Capiñanes ends on a reflective note about the passage of time and the
inevitability of change. Jade Mark Capianes' "A Portrait of a Young Man as a Banak"
is a complex, multi-layered piece that examines a variety of themes and motifs. The
narrator reflects on his formative years in a little beach town and recalls the
people and events that impacted them, which is one of the novel's major topics. The
natural world is described in the novel in rich and evocative detail, especially
the sea and its inhabitants. The banak, a species of fish, begins to embody the
narrator's own restless and curious spirit as he thinks about the banak's own
migratory habits and the sense of movement and change that marks his own existence.
The narrator becomes aware that the area where he spent his formative years, which
was once a thriving hamlet on the Davao, has been changed into a seaport with only
a few signs of its former glory left behind. Despite this change, he can still
clearly remember his younger years and recalls the misadventures and experiences he
had with his pals. A type of fish called a banak migrates, and he considers them to
be fellow travelers who value returning to their former haunts while still
searching for home. The narrator seemed to have accepted the transience of things
and the certainty of change, according to the conclusion. The setting in which he
spent his formative years has changed, yet he is conscious that the memories and
experiences he had there will always be a part of him. He has discovered how to
welcome change and value the past.