RYAN S.

DIGAN- MAED- ENGLISH

LED 402- ADVANCE PHILIPPINE LITERATURE


Summer Solstice by: Nick Joaquin

Summer Solstice is a short story that has received recognition both critical and praising. Written
by Nick Joaquin, the story takes place in 1850s Philippines during the festival days of St. John. There is a
pro-woman feel to the story, which has garnered a lot of debate and attention considering the setting is
in a time where women must be submissive. In this analysis, learn about the setting, the themes and
symbolism that this short and interesting story incarnates.
Setting Since the story takes place in the 1850s, women were repressed and felt shut in. Lupeng may
seem to be happy in her routine life, but she also feels angry. You can notice this when she states to the
children Hush, hush I implore you! Now look: your father has a headache, and so have I. So be quiet
this instant or no one goes to Grandfather. It indeed sounds like she feels as though she has a duty
that she must carry on but she gets annoyed at her family because of her subdued state of womanhood.
Although she tries act horrified when Guido tells of her woman should be adored rather than beneath
their husbands, she contemplates and realizes she wants to be the leader of the pack.
External and Internal Conflicts The stereotypes of masculinity and feminine traits run rampant in the
story. Women are supposed to look after their husbands and children while the husbands work and wait
for their supper. Not only is this seen in the story but in daily life as well, which makes the story shocking
to readers since it is about women wanting to be free. Lupeng shatters the concept of the suppressed
woman when she gains control of her husband, who kisses her feet at the end of story. This makes it
seem as though the internal conflict was that women are the ones who want to be the rulers of men, as
seen in the Tatarin festival.
Main Theme: St. Johns and Tatarin Festivals The St. Johns festival is about men and their fertility,
which seems quite vulgar to Lupeng and makes her start to realize how she wishes women could be
seen in the same way. The Tatarin festival is the exact opposite, showing women as leaders of fertility
since they carry children. This festival is the last trigger to make Lupeng feel as though she is stronger
than a man and deserves adoration.
Symbolism
Amada When Lupeng rushes to find her cook, Amada, she sees her in a compromising position on the
bed which makes Lupeng blush and feel restrained about her own sexuality. This is the first trigger for
Lupeng before she announces she wants admiration (http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-
help-literature/121011-summer-solstice-by-nick-joaquin-analysis/)



Magnificence
By: Estrella Alfon

There is couple with a son and a daughter. Their parents have a good job. They go to school.
Their mother is a president in their village. In a meeting the man volunteered to be their tutor because
he doesnt do anything in the evening also for an extra job. His name is Vicente. He is a bus conductor.
So he went to the house every night to teach the kids.
He promised the kids to give them 2 pencils each. One night he gives the pencil to the kids.
That time it was the "it". The children in this time want pencils. Vincent is nice to the children. He knows
their wants. But when he gave the pencil, he gives 3 pencils for the girl and 2 for the boy. Their mother
said to say thank you. The boy kissed Vicente but Vicente told him that boys don't kiss boys. Then the
girl goes to Vicente to say thank you. He hugs her so tight and the girl started to get out of his too tight
hug. The girl looks at Vicente with a little wonder on his face. The next day they were so proud and
happy with their new pencils. They showed it to their friends in class. They also thought of asking
Vicente for new pencils.
In dinner they talked a little about Vicente but the father is busy reading something. He did not
listen to what the mother said. The mother thinks that Vicente is fond of the children with the way he is
treating them. That evening Vicente arrived earlier. The children are proud of the pencil. Their
classmates are jealous with their new pencils given by Vicente. He asked the little boy to get him a glass
of water. Then he put the girl on his lap. Then he let the girl write her homework. The little girl told him
not to carry her because she is heavy. Vicente is perspiring, and his eyes are strange. Then the girl
jumped out of his lap because she became afraid. Then their mom arrived. She rubs the girls back and
told them to go upstairs. The mother slapped the man repeatedly. Vicente just accepts the entire slap
that the mother gave him. Then he went out of the house. The mother closed the door. She gives a bath
to the girl. Then she asked them to throw the pencil. Then she put her to
sleep(strellaalfon.blogspot.com/2013/03/summary-of-magnificence.html).


My Father Goes to Court by: Carlos Bulosan
The story is set in a city in the Philippines. The young narrator begins by describing his large
family. Though they are poor they are full of mischief and laughter. The children are all strong and
healthy even though they often go hungry. In contrast, their rich neighbors children are thin and sickly
although they are given plenty of good food, which their impoverished neighbors enjoy smelling over
the fence. Consequently, the rich man brings a charge against the narrator's family for stealing the spirit
of his familys food. The absurd case goes to court, and the narrators father agrees to pay back the rich
neighbor. He does this by collecting coins from all his friends present in his hat, then shaking the hat full
of coins. Being charged to pay for the spirit of food which his family supposedly got from its smell, he
maintains that the jingling of the coins is a fair equivalent. The judge rules in the poor fathers favor, and
the rich man is forced to depart with no other payment than the spirit of the money the poor man
collected.

Plot: Incentive Movement
The young narrator begins by describing his large family
Rising Action: Complaint of the rich man to the father in terms with the spirit and wealthy food
causing for his family became thin and sick.
Conflict: In this story, the rich family and poor family having a conflict in each other.
Climax: The tension in this story is when
Falling Action: It is accurate to the story because the father give also the questions that given by the
lawyer of the rich man and then next is on how the poor man will pay for that.
Characters: (The young narrator, Father, wife and his children, Rich man with his childrens, servants,
policeman, judge and the lawyer.) - The character seems real and depth in emotions and they are
recognizable in their stereotypes. And their motives were understandable that we can relate
(http://www.studymode.com/essays/My-Father-Goes-To-Court-By-1936277.html).

Summary: How my brother Leon Brought Home A Wife by: Manuel Arguilla
Exposition: Maria was the first one introduced in the story - the wife of the main character Leon.
She first noticed Baldo, the brother of Leon; then Labang was introduced, the family bull.
Complication: On the way, Maria expressed her fear - that their father might not like her.
Conflict: Leon explained to Maria that their father is the mildest-tempered, gentlest man he
knew.
Climax: When they got home, their father did not welcome them. He was said to be in his room;
his leg is bothering him again. Baldo saw his mother and sister Aurelia and Maria in the kitchen who
seemed like crying. His father removed the roll of tobacco in his mouth when he saw Baldo and started...
Plot: The wife meets the brother for the first time
They journey home with conversation and a song
The husband asks the wife if she is afraid as they near home, bringing about the main
character's own reaction about how the family will welcome home his brother and new wife
The brother sees to his father's request while the family talks
The brother resolves what it would be like to have his own wife
A plot in literary terms describes the events that happen in the story with a pattern or sequence
to provide a concrete theme. Plot is often considered as the exposition, rising action, climax, falling
action, and resolution.
In How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife, the story begins with a curious mixture of
descriptions as the main character, the brother, meets his brother and new wife. The wife is someone
no one at home knows and was quite unexpected.
At the climax, the wife admits to being afraid now that they are nearer to home, unaware that the
father has asked the main character to test her.
The wife and family meet discussing many things in a 'get to know' each other manner.
All the while the brother, the main character, considers what he has been asked to do in order to test
the new wife and finds her worthy, perhaps as an example of what he will someday find in a wife. The
main character has resolved to accept the new wife based on the tests he provided
her(http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Literature/Short%20Stories/How%20My%20Brother%20Leon
%20Brought%20Home%20A%20Wife.htm).


Woman who had Two Navels" by: Nick Joaquin
Nick Joaquins The Woman Who Had Two Navels revolved around the upper middle class
expatriates consciousness during the American period of colonization. It portrayed every characters
struggle to maintain their selves in a foreign setting like Hongkong. It can also be defined as coming to
terms with the political consciousness during that period. The novel also contained mixtures of hatred,
love, anger, insecurities, and sufferings that manifest in the realities of life making the flow of the story
more provocative and appealing to the audience.
The title of the novel excited my curiosity; thats why it took a long time to analyze and think
the interpretations that have to use to show its significance. The story started with Connie, a daughter
of a wealthy politician. Connie portrayed herself as a person with two navels.
Literally, when a woman has two navels, this means that she has two umbilical cords. The navel
is the shortened umbilical cord - usually removed when a person is born. But it is not possible because if
a person has two umbilical cords, he is a preternatural being - a mutant.
Connie, pretending that she has two navels may refer to the rebirths that she underwent. The
first rebirth was escaping from her mothers evil clutches since she was an unwanted child - always
ostracized and continuously suffered from the ghosts of the past that haunted her. Let us not also forget
her inability to deal with her life due to parental constrictions and the love affair of her husband Macho
and her mother that made her feel miserable at some points in her life. The second rebirth refers to her
awakening, her self -realization and emancipation as a woman. She learned to face reality and accepted
the truth. In my point of view, her reason why she pretended to have two navels is that she wanted to
forget everything.
Thematic description:
This novel by Joaquin is a literary assessment of the influence of the past to the time
encompassing events in the Philippines after World War II. An examination of an assortment of legacy
and heritage and the questions of how can an individual exercise free will and how to deal with the
shock after experiencing epiphanic recognition.
Main characters:
Among the characters conjured by Joaquin are the Manolo Vidal and his family, Connie Escobar,
Esteban and Concha Borromeo, Father Tony, Paco Texeira,[3] and Doctor Monson, a former rebel hiding
in Hong Kong to avoid postwar trials.
Connie Escobar, the lead female character, was described by literary critic Epifanio San Juan as a
sufferer of her mothers estrangement from a world where unconfident males take advantage of
women by violating them or by venerating them.[3] Connie is married to Macho Escobar, a man who
had an affair with Connies mother, a past incident that serves as an umbilical cord or "umbilicus", a
remnant connected to her present and future because of her refusal to leave the issue in the past.
The character of Manolo Vidal is the embodiment of the Filipino nationalistic bourgeois who
were once critical of the theocracy of the Spaniards but became transformed puppets and servants of
these colonialists. While, on the other hand, Macho Escobar is not a revolutionary but a member of the
dehumanized clan of hacenderos or landlords of sugar plantations. Paco Texeira was a survivor between
the behaviors of the Monson and Vidal families, and also acted as Nick Joaquins conscience, an
observer who could have penetrated the existing rituals and ruses. Texeira had the capacity to
apprehend and break the class barrier depicted in the novels society, but refused to do so
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_Who_Had_Two_Navels).).