Literary Analysis of Short Stories First-prize winners of the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Short Story – English Category October 13, 2017
University of the Philippines Cebu High School Literature 11 First Grading period
Armor Literary Analysis by Christian Balbero Anna Marie Eunice C. Dinglasa Phallic Symbols Literary Analysis by Krizia Mae B. Garcia Samantha Jane Gomez The Auroras Literary Analysis by Ar-jay Dayanan Laarnie Igot Three Kisses Literary Analysis by Al-Keen Bureros Rod Darcy A. Cordova Zoetrope Literary Analysis by Dexter Dave Bais Alleja Alecses Intud
Suspect Victims A literary Analysis of the short story, “Armor” By Christian Balbero
Illegal drugs, as of now, is the biggest problem our country is facing. Our government has done all it could do in order to diminish the problem, from the” double-barrel” to “taking” and even done raids that causes death, just to save the people from drugs. On the other hand, the government and the media are very one-sided in giving information about the illegal drugs, not considering the life of the victims of these drugs. The short story Armor received a Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Short Story. It talks about the life of the people which are considered to be involved in illegal drugs. It portrays how people behind this move along with other people despite the threats on their lives and still manage to disregard those and live normally. In the story, a small-time drug dealer named Ronnie was told by his neighbor named Oliver that he was on the blacklist of the so-called Death Squad. Before that, Ronnie was really planning to commit suicide due to a lot of problems he is facing. However, upon seeing a poster about a gay beauty pageant, he joined the pageant disregarding the threats on his life. While preparing for the pageant, a young man named Biboy asked if he could sleep in Ronnie’s house. Ronnie thought that Biboy could help him in preparing his costume that is why he permitted Biboy to live with him in his apartment. One time, while he was finding the canvas for his costume, a mysterious-looking bald man was looking intently at him so he hurried so that the guy could not chase him. On the night of the pageant, Oliver was there also joining the pageant. There he knew that the threat on his life isn’t true. While he was on the stage, the bald man takes Biboy in the audience. He tried to chase them but suddenly he stumbled on the floor and the story ended there. Ronnie is the main character in the story. He is described to be a small-time drug dealer and a member of the LGBT community. At the start of the story, he planned to commit suicide due to a lot of problems however he was still motivated when he saw the poster about a gay beauty pageant on their barangay. His character, being brave and being creative, describes most of the members of the LGBT community. Despite the threats and discriminations they receive, they still remained brave. Another character in the story is Biboy. As characterized in the story, he was once a drug-runner of Tiago. He also described himself as good in industrial arts and helped Ronnie in making his costume. In the end of the story, Biboy was kidnapped by the bald man. Other characters in the story are Tiago, who was allegedly killed by the Death Squad, Oliver, the other gay who told Ronnie about the threat on his life and lastly, the mysteriouslooking bald man whom we could imply as part of the Death Squad.
Both Ronnie and Biboy are involved in illegal drugs that are why they are hunted by the Death Squad. Instead of being afraid of those threats, they still managed to live their lives normally however in the end their fate resulted in a tragedy and the readers of the story would not know what really happened to both characters. I believe that the setting of the story happened in Davao City. The Death Squad was precisely referred to the “Davao Death Squad”. According to reports, the Davao Death Squad was led by the former mayor and currently the president of our country, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. The Davao Death Squad, look for the people involved in illegal drugs and kill them silently. The setting helped enhance the story for it helped the story to be realistic in a way that the story is also concerned with the social issue regarding illegal drugs. There are a lot of symbolism that can be found in the story. Ronnie symbolizes a person that amidst of problems in his life, still continued to live normally but still very cautious of his surroundings. Usually, when a person knew that his life is at risk, he would usually be paranoid and would stress out. Oliver is also a symbolism of an envious person. An envious person would always pull the person, he is envy with, down. We can identify the crab mentality in this manner. Crab mentality is usually seen when alive crabs would be put in a pail. Usually, these crabs would want to get out from the pail but other crabs on that pail tend to pull that crab down. The last symbolism that I saw in the story is the armor. An armor is a protective covering normally used by soldiers in order to protect themselves. In the story, Ronnie became the armor of Biboy. As I was able to know the real definition of an armor, I realized that Ronnie became an armor of Biboy. I think this manner would be observed in the part of the story when Ronnie helped Biboy and let him sleep in his apartment and because of that Ronnie was protecting Biboy from all the risk. I also believe that the author hid something at that part and he/she wanted the readers to distinguish it. As we know that at the end of the story, it was Biboy who was kidnapped and not Ronnie. However, like an armor, an armor also breaks when the strength of the enemy is really strong, Ronnie was also broken. As we know that a thing is illegal, we usually tend to sway to the right and not considering the lives of the people in involved. It is always good to consider both parties and not be biased. With an awareness of their lives, we would also know on what extent we could give help to those people for these people are victims of illegal drugs. However, as the media and other people in authority would be biased, these victims would always be viewed as suspects.
THE OTHER SIDE (The unknown life of a “criminal”) An analysis of Armor, a short story By Anna Marie Eunice C. Dinglasa
People tend to think of criminals as the worse examples of a citizen. They are known to abide the laws of the state and are said to cause catastrophic events to our society. But if we come to think of it, all we know is the side being published by the media, the news, and the statement of our policemen. However, did we ever think about those “criminals”? Did we ever consider taking into account their reasons? Did we ever think of knowing and understanding them? In this society, we are blinded by the stereotypical approach of the people to certain issues, which prompted us to avoid being fair to the issue. To our society today, the prominent issue that circulates around the country is the war on drugs led by our president. Tokhang became the façade of the so-called “war” on drugs, which is a movement to address the drug operations in the Philippines. In connection to that, one way of exposing the noticeable joust between the government and the drug royalties is by means of a short story. I deeply appreciate the fact that a short story, somewhat related to the current phenomenon in our society, was created. That is the award-winning story, “Armor” by John Bengan, a UP Mindanao alumnus and assistant professor, on 2013. “Armor” is a short story that tackles the issue of drug operations in the Philippines and the rise of the LGBT community. Ronnie, the main character, is a gay who was once a drug dealer. It started by Ronnie trying to commit suicide but was stopped by Oliver who told him that he is part of the “blacklist” of the Death Squad (a group of people who chase drug dealers in the vicinity). There he returned to his place when he noticed a banner outside the barangay hall saying that there is an upcoming gay pageant. He was so ecstatic to join the contest so he immediately signed up. At the time of choosing their representative countries, many were arguing in getting Colombia and Venezuela, the powerhouse of the Miss Universe pageant. Due to the commotion, the organizers opted to do a draw lots in determining the countries the contestants would represent. Ronnie was able to pick Great Britain, a winless country in the Miss Universe. Nevertheless, Ronnie continued to prepare for the event by choosing his national costume. Inspired by the armor of King Arthur, Ronnie was able to conceptualize a visually pleasing outfit for his national costume. Aside from the national costume competition, the contestants also prepared for their outfits in the different categories. Amidst his preparations, Biboy, a runner of the late
Tiago, a drug dealer allegedly murdered by the Death Squad, came to ask him if he could stay in his house. Luckily, Ronnie agreed with a condition, if and only if Biboy will help him in which Biboy gladly accepts the consequence. Coincidentally, Biboy is a fine arts graduate so he could help in creating the armor for Ronnie’s costume. Ronnie continued to search for possible materials. In the midst of choosing a used cloth for his gown, he spotted a mysterious bald man however, he disregarded that fact and focused on his pageant instead. The day of the pageant came. All contestants were looking so glamorous with their national costumes. As Ronnie arrives, the other contestants send him daggers, as if judging him. The moment he revealed his armor, everyone in the backstage were amazed at how intricately it was designed. Suddenly, a gay wearing a kimono having two hair buns approached Ronnie and Biboy. It turned out that the contestant who “represents” Japan is Oliver, in which they discovered that Oliver threatened Ronnie so that Ronnie will not join. Too bad Ronnie still joined the contest despite the alleged threat. The contestants went to the stage and posed for the public. Everyone introduced themselves, and when it was Ronnie’s turn, he spotted the same mysterious guy from before in the crowd. As he talked, he noticed that it was approaching to Biboy until it reached Biboy and immediately grabbed the said man. Ronnie was flabbergasted by the idea thus, he chased them which caused to break his armor. The moment Ronnie arrived at the opening door/gate of the gymnasium, he was not able to find any trace of Biboy and the mysterious man. The short story is very timely and relevant. It depicts a life of a gay who was once a drug dealer. In this case, we are able to see a glimpse of the life of a man dealing with drugs. These people are usually known as the main culprit in our society but then, they are also citizens of our country, and they have their own “normal” life. It is a unique way of featuring a story wherein the main character is considered as a “villain” to our society. War on drugs. It can be noticed that the story highlighted a typical scenario in the Philippines as drug operations is a major threat. There are several efforts that are made to lessen the circulation of drugs in the country; however, its prevalence made it a difficult issue to address. In our country, most especially right now, the war on drugs became a root to several extraneous events in our society. An additional factor to that is the fact that our current president is an advocate of war on drugs, which strengthens the efforts to stop illegal drug operations in the country. The Tokhang is one of the programs being made in barangays and towns. The story was set in Davao (where President Duterte served as the mayor for several years), where a program addressing the illegal drug operations was established. A group of people is said to go after drug syndicates, and the group is called the Davao Death Squad. Some lines highlighted the role the Davao Death Squad such as the line, “They have hired guns, the Death Squad, who used to go after drug pushers, but lately, they’d been taking down street gang members, crystal meth users, petty thieves.
Their group was originally called the Davao Death Squad but in my opinion, for the sake of being fair and neutral, the author opted to use Death Squad instead.” Extrajudicial killings. It can also be linked to the ongoing issue regarding the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. As we all know, it is rampant in the Philippines, and it was clearly described in the story. The story itself is a person who is might become a victim to the extrajudicial killings. It is allegedly a part of the war on drugs in which, people who have been related to illegal drug transactions are being chased. A part of the story depicts that it is normal to have drug dealers, runners, etc. to get killed because of the Death Squad. A part of the story described the unfortunate fate of Tiago because he was killed by those people who are after him. “Tiago, his go-to guy for crystal meth, was one of those who’d been killed. They said a man on a motorcycle stopped in front of Tiago who was chatting with regulars outside his karaoke pub. The man shot him through the lungs four times.” Fear. I can say that even drug dealers, pushers, runners, users, etc. are afraid of the current trend. Despite looking tough, it can be clearly observed that fear is present within their selves. Even Ronnie, a tough gay, feels that the people who are chasing after drug syndicates must be treated as someone to be feared of because they are people who are capable of bringing down their lives. Others who are knowledgeable of the activities of a drug syndicate also feel fear or pity to their friends because they know what the possible fate of their acquaintances is. In the story, Oliver, a neighbor of Ronnie feels worried to him as he paid Ronnie a visit. It can be clearly observed that threat is present in the words of Oliver, and one would feel that it is actually normal because of past incidents such as Tiago’s death, etc. As a greeting line to Ronnie, Oliver said that the Death Squad is after Ronnie, and for a second, I feel like Ronnie does not know how to react to this kind of situation but he immediately composed himself. One can observe that these types of events actually threatened those who are really affected. “The Death Squad,” Oliver said. “They’re after you.”” Never give up. Despite the rumors that he’s part of the target list of the Death Squad, he still continues to go for the crown of being hailed as the winner of the gay pageant. Even though he was informed that he’s next in line, it can be observed that his fighting spirit can still be noticed. After being told by Oliver that he’s one of the next targets, he still has the sense of perseverance and will to walk on the stage with a smile. He even said that they would chase after him in the stage; that is how dedicated he is to join the pageant. “After seeing Oliver out of the house, Ronnie resolved to stick to the plan. Before the Death Squad entered the picture, he had already made his decision. If the Death Squad were truly after him, they would have to race him down to that stage.”
LGBT Community. The story also depicts the Filipino culture of having the LGBT community. There are several LGBT’s in the Philippines and people somewhat tolerated them as part of the society. People even organize gay pageants because gays are known to be smart and witty, just like pageant participants. That is why a pageant for them was made. In pageants, gays (also termed as bayots) have their own preferences in choosing the country that they wish to represent. “The deadline for registration had produced chaos: people argued over who would get to be Miss Venezuela, Miss Puerto Rico, and Miss Colombia, powerhouses in international pageants. The organizers, who didn’t anticipate the complication, resolved the matter by making contestants draw lots, to which most of the bayots grudgingly agreed. Flaunting a call centeraccented English, the most mestiza of the bunch grumbled when he didn’t pick Miss USA. One bayot, who clamored nakedly for attention, literally sang with joy when he plucked out Miss Philippines from the glass filled with nations’ names.” Friendship. Biboy and Ronnie developed a friendship that is beneficial for the both of them. It created a good effect to them which actually led to a good result. Biboy became very helpful to Ronnie in the duration of his stay in Ronnie’s place. Also, Ronnie was able to gain strength because of Biboy’s encouraging words to him. In the last part where Biboy was caught by the mysterious bald man, Ronnie immediately went down the stage despite the fact that he is a contestant. It signifies that they already created a strong bond of friendship. “But the bald man, instead of taking aim at the stage, stopped behind where Biboy was sitting. He clutched the boy’s arm, forcing him to stand as if Biboy were a child he’d been searching for all night. On stage, Ronnie tried to move. He tugged and heard a rip—the armored sleeve had snagged on the hip of his dress.” Aside from having themes that are timely and relevant, the characters in the story are well-written by the writer. From the main character, Ronnie, to Biboy, and the other supporting characters of the story, they are well described and are given importance by the author. Ronnie exudes a ‘never give up’ charm. Despite the rumors about him, he still focused on participating in the gay pageant. However, it can be observed that Ronnie has bad health practices because he smokes cigarettes instead of eating his proper meal. Especially when the pageant fast approaches, he prefers eating small meals in order to save for the pageant. I can say that Ronnie is round and static character. Throughout the story, it can be observed that Ronnie developed a complex character because he is quite unpredictable. He was very willing to join the contest but after he introduced himself, he went down the stage to chase after Biboy and the mysterious man. It was an unexpected act for him because I did not know that his value to Biboy as a friend reached that level wherein he gave up the
contest that he was joining in. Also, personally, I think that Ronnie is somewhat complex because his approach to different types of people varies, according to their level of closeness to him. It shows that despite being open to the people, he is also careful in trusting others. Ronnie is a static character because I believed that he did not undergo any change with his characteristics at all. What he is from the start is similar to what he is until the end. It means that there is no significant change in his personality. Biboy can also be considered a significant character in the story. Personally, I feel like he added to the current mishaps that Ronnie experiences in his life. “Two birds with the same feather flock together,” but I do believe that “two birds with the same feather can be a disaster.” Both of them are somewhat related to drugs and it added to the factor that they must be included in the target list of the Death Squad. I think that Biboy looked for a place to stay in because I feel like he already knows that he was being chased after the Death Squad, that’s why he looked for a place to hide. He is a reason for the misleading of the events because as a reader, I feel like the mysterious bald man was after Ronnie but in the end, he was after Biboy instead. As a reader, I really thought that it would result in a drama on the stage during the pageant (in which it actually did), but it did not chase after Ronnie. Biboy also contributed to the boost in the confidence level of Ronnie because he served as a friend who supports Ronnie to all of his endeavors. Biboy is a flat character because from the start, he seemed like a supportive and clingy friend to Ronnie, in which he actually remained as one. The fact that he is kind of a drug syndicate remains the same, and it actually added thrills to the story. Biboy is a static character because I think that he did not change at all. How he started as a character remains the same until the end. The story was also written beautifully by the author. I feel like “Armor” is the title because armor serves as the connection of all the events that happened to Ronnie’s life during that span of time. From the pageant to Biboy, to the other contestants, to himself, to the bald man, and to his loss, the armor was there. I feel like the armor is like Ronnie, before the pageant, it was prepared to be ready as a statement of the national costume of Ronnie; during the pageant, it was acknowledged by everyone that it was beautiful and visually pleasing just like Ronnie; after the pageant, it broke just like how Ronnie felt when Biboy was caught by the mysterious man. The armor serves as a representation of Ronnie, and the experiences of Ronnie. The author decided to have it as the title because, in the story, it was highly emphasized by the author, and it is a key representation of certain events in the story. Foreshadowing can be noticed in the story because, in the part where Oliver threatened Ronnie, it actually happened to Ronnie. By reading the story, one can say that it is a strategy of Oliver to do that to Ronnie but that strategy serves as a prediction of what
might happen to someone who is related to Ronnie in the future. It can be observed as a warning to Ronnie and the people around him. The events in the story are very ironic. What the audience expected that Ronnie is the one being chased by the mysterious bald man, however, at the end of the story, it turned out that it was Biboy who was caught. It’s as if leading the audience to a wrong conclusion which was proven in the last part of the story. Overall, the chronological arrangement of events in the story makes sense. I can say that “Armor” is a story that is easy to understand. Timely and relevant, that is all I could describe to the story. The writing style of the author is direct in which it directly pertains to events, terms, etc. to the story. The story is factual, and one can say that it might be an adaptation of a real-life story. “Armor” is a wonderful short story, and I was able to understand why it was awarded as first place in the short story English category in the Don Carlos Palanca Awards. The short story is easy to comprehend, so I suggest that everyone must read the story. It’s definitely worth the time, and it is an eye-opener for everyone.
Analysis on Phallic Symbols By Krizia Mae Garcia
The short story "Phallic Symbols" was written by Alexis Abola. Phallic symbols are any object that looks like the male sex organ, phallus. The title itself conveys what the content of the short story would be. But it is just like a coating, covering the real essence and what really is the message of the story. I believe that the author used this style of writing to catch the attention of the readers. The way the story was written was very interesting especially for the boys and also one thing is that it was humorous. Mr. Alexis Abola made fun of some of the phallic symbols but at the same time, it was really realistic. He showed things or actions on how girls do their thing with the phallus. The story may be very interesting because of its sexual nature but the story wanted to tell the readers to avoid sexual intercourse to avoid teenage pregnancy which can destroy their lives and their future. The story started by introducing Bettina Galang, one of Felise's friends (the persona of the story), who'd rather be dead than being fat. As I continue reading the story, the name Bettina Galang did not appear again and so I was a little bit confused. As the story continues, there were names mentioned and then gone and so I quickly judged the story that it had many characters but has no use in the story. However, I noticed that although these names just appeared once, it helped in the development of the story. Their experiences were stated for the readers to better understand the real meaning of the story. Then a name of significant role has been mentioned, Jenny. It was her story which conveyed the true message of the story. She was a high school student, just like Felise, and she was vying for valedictorian. One time, the teachers and the students have noticed her consecutive absences and rumors say that she's pregnant. Well, it was definitely true. The real mystery was who was the father of her baby and the public quickly judged her boyfriend, Henry, to be the father but he denied it. When Felise visited Jenny, Jenny also denied that Henry was the father of her baby. Later on, they found out that the real suspect for Jenny's pregnancy is her father. For the phallic symbols, it was present throughout the story that gave interest and fun time with the readers. The phallic symbols may be overused in the story because I noticed that in every move of the characters there's always the "phallic symbols". However, it may be like that to achieve what the title is conveying to the audience. The story was mostly written in English, mostly because the author has used some Filipino words in the story such as balisong, tisoy, sarap, suman, buti pa and mayabang. It was effectively used in the story to fully express some scenes in the story. There are English counterparts of the words however, I think that there are really words that has different levels of the extent of their meaning as how readers would perceived it. Just like using tisoy instead of handsome; balisong instead of knife and mayabang instead of overconfident. These words would mean differently when used in English and in Filipino.
The imagery of the story is also strong that I can imagine what happens in a scene. For example is this line "Miss Maya, short and pale and sweet-faced, a bloody knife in her hand, an evil, evil man at her feet bleeding to death. Miss Maya smiling like a horror-movie heroine." From that description, I can imagine how Miss Maya looks like and I can picture out in my mind how the scene looked like. "Our math teacher who also happens to be the assistant principal for discipline cocks her head at us and gives us the stare that can melt steel." I can also tell from this line how deadly the math teacher stared at them that it can really melt a steel as they described it. Talking about phallic symbols, if it's not how girls do their thing with it, it is how destructive it could be. The story revealed how destructive men could be through naming phallic symbols that have harmful effect on the people, society and to a country. Cigarettes, rifles and nuclear bomb speaks of it. Men are destructive in their own ways but they could be good in some sense too. Mentioned, in the story were drumstick and longganisa and other food. Foods are essential in our lives, it gives us energy and nutrients to survive. The story was a sexual one, it talks things such as sexual intercourse, taking in pills to avoid getting pregnant and such. The story started by introducing Bettina Galang with the statement she said that she’d rather be dead than fat because her boyfriend would leave her if she's fat. From the very start of the story, it showed how girls are so conscious of their bodies in the fear that men would dump them or men would like them and they'll stay single that no one will ever like them. From this, the author, I believe, established that men only admire or like skinny women or model-like women as what Felise said. This implies that it would be hard for a fat woman to have a guy to like her and be committed unto her. Upon reading the story, your whole attention would be much devoted to reading being much caught up with the topic of the story and being excited what would happen next in the course of the story. However, in a deeper sense, it teaches us to be very careful with our action especially when it comes to sexual things. What I learned from the story is that one mistake will change the course of your life. From the top of the class to being someone having a dark and gloomy future. Value studying above anything else for it is the only way to success.
Phallic Symbols Literary Analysis By Samantha Jane Gomez
The story Phallic Symbols is a story that is quite sexual but also has a touch of humor. It is a high school student’s view on a phallic symbol, which means any object that may represent or resemble a male sex organ or phallus. However, despite having a comedy-sexual-like mood, it actually has a deeper story in it. It was a story that revolved around a teenager or high school student who was facing a serious problem, which is very timely today in our society, the teenage pregnancy. Honestly speaking, it was a little bit confusing at first regarding on whom the story will revolve. In the first paragraph, Bettina Galang was introduced by the persona of the story Felis, and as you read it, you can actually assume and say that the story would revolve around her. This is because Felis mentioned Bettina’s problem of being fat and because of that, Bettina said she would rather be dead than live like that. However, as the story goes on, you will realize that she is just one of the many characters introduced and which the author gave a little focus and emphasis in the story. The plot was interesting and the readers, who are not just adult but also teenagers will really appreciate and can relate to the story. Even though it has some sexual vibe in it, it was not that bad at all. Just like every time Felis and her friends see phallic symbols, they would do or say something sexual about it. Its audacious and loud actions might offend some but if you are open minded then it wouldn’t bother you at all. The characters in the story were bold and honest which made it realistic and relatable especially the characters of Felis and her friends. When there is a good and happy side of the story, there’s also always a problem faced by the characters. Felis’ classmate named Jenny, who has vying for class valedictorian, was noticed to be absent in class more often and rumors say that she was pregnant. A few days later, they learned that it was true and they asked her if the father of the baby was her boyfriend, Henry. They only got confused when she said no. Even Henry himself denied it, which fueled up more of their curiosity. Later on, they were slapped by the sad truth. They found out that the father of Jenny’s baby was her very own father. Jenny has been strong for herself despite the horrible and sad situation and that is what made her one of the best characters among all. The author had given Jenny’s character good role in the story thus giving readers’ lesson and motivation that no matter how life seems to go wrong, just stay composed and strong and everything will be fine.
The story has a lot of imagery, especially phallic imagery that made the story relatable to the title itself and it has a connection between Jenny’s issue. To add more, it gave emphasis to the theme of the story which is men are destructible in whatever form they might be. According to Felis, phallic symbols could be smoke from bombs or rockets and that made them conclude that men are indeed destructible. That is why at the end of the story, Felis became cautious after she knew about the truth behind Jenny’s pregnancy. She started bringing with her a knife to protect herself from any harm that men might bring. The place where the story took place was not well- described by the author but despite this, the readers can still decipher where the setting was. The setting was appropriate to the story plot, which is a school-set story. The author’s style of writing was simple that the readers can understand it without any difficulty. The choice of words was not complex or deep and the transitions were very smooth. In addition to this, the plot twist was unexpected and impressive since it did not come up to me as a reader that her father did it since he wasn’t introduced in the story. It is not just like any other cliché stories wherein the father of the baby would turn out to be one of the main character’s boyfriend. The story Phallic Symbols might be sexual but it has something more in it – the teenagers’ mindset and open-mindedness toward a certain issue or topic, the teenagers’ boldness and honesty in words and actions, and how teenagers face problems at a young age. Indeed, it deserved to win First Place in the Palanca Award.
The Auroras A literary analysis of the short story, “The Auroras” By Ar-jay Dayanan
This Palanca Awardee for short story is centered on the life of a female protagonist named Aurora Kuusela, who was the Miss Philippines of 1953. She was married to Jakob Kuusela, the brother of Finland’s pioneer Miss Universe, Armi Kuusela. The trio later came back to the Philippines for somewhat a celebration. Her stay in the Philippines has prodded her memories of her melancholic past over the years—the mother whom she lost, the General who is allegedly responsible for it, and her juvenile affection towards to Colonel Manuel Nieto. The short story commenced in such a manner that rendered me to delve and indulge repeatedly into it and has retained that pace all throughout. I can describe this with how the author has written and constructed every detail of the story. Although I may have failed to fully interpret most of it, the presence of a very plausible flow has provided me a bantam of a notion of what the author is trying to convey. Additionally, the employment of foreshadowing and flashbacks were contributory factors to the impact and color of the plot. The triad alongside Colonel Manuel Nieto, the unnamed General, and few other characters were vaguely introduced in the story. Perhaps I can attribute this with how the author has fixed his focus on narrating the heroin’s past and present life, rather on each character’s individuality. Moreover, the characters, especially the protagonist, have kept very static personalities in the entire story. Symbolic lines were incorporated into the story. It was substantiated with the existence of Aurora’s jade-laced comb gifted by her mother, an object of a testimony of a joyless past being without her—the mother she lost at a young age. Indeed, with the author’s intricate style of writing and plot design, the story did just not come out a mere spectacle of entertainment, but it also resulted as literary work that enabled me to think beyond what is being read on the surface. With this attitude being done in the piece, it truly deserved its feat of being the foremost, among the many nominees, for the Best Short Story category in the 2014 Palanca Award.
“The Auroras” A literary analysis By Laarnie Igot The Auroras is a short story by Sasha Martinez that won the 1st prize for Short Story Category during the 64th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature last 2014.It is a short story that talks about the life of Aurora Kuusela who was crowned the Miss Philippines of 1953. Because of the unhappy and despondent events that happened in her life for the past eight years, she decided to stay in Finland and there she married Jakob Kuusela. Jakob Kuusela is the brother of Armi Kuusela, the first ever Miss Universe from Finland. The Philippines welcomed them warm-heartedly by the people and some of the officials of the government. All the way through her stay in one of the most prominent hotels to relax, there she reminisced her miserable past where she lost her loving mother, her first true love Colonel Manuel Nieto and of course her 16year-old self who is still immature and young. The story started with the arrival of the Miss Universe, Armi Kuusela, in the Philippines. Her outstanding and beaming beauty make her shined the most among all and undoubtedly won the Miss Universe title. She is asked by the people how she felt being the Miss Universe and was welcomed kindly by the people. The author then introduced the characters Jakob and Aurora Kuusela then the general and the colonel. The characters were not introduced directly but instead, the readers will later know the importance of each character as you go through the story. The setting was first stated in the story. It happened in the Philippines and maybe during the 1990s. The most highlight part of the story is when Aurora was reminded of her past love which is Colonel Nieto when she saw him at the hotel where they were staying. Colonel Nieto was one of the officials who welcomed them. She fell in love with a cadet but still, she was very young at that time and had a very little knowledge about how to handle a relationship. She always visited the area of Manuel Nieto even though she was restricted to come. Eight years ago, the Colonel gave her a letter that says his feelings toward her. He also felt the same towards her. Literary devices such as the use of flashbacks made the readers really into the story. The use of words and the construction of the sentences were very complex making me as the reader to have a little understanding about the story. The dialogues of each character were not easily distinguished given that there are no proper quotation marks used to indicate the dialogues. The rough transition makes confusion on what happens next and it’s hard to distinguish what is past and the present. Personally, I don’t totally understand the whole story actually because of the use of very intricate words that are not on my level. What I write was really based on what I understand so far and what I know about happening in the story.
“Three Kisses” An analysis By Al-Keen Bureros
In this days, we can easily find Filipinos almost anywhere. There are also some Filipinas who work abroad, to find their husband and raise their family there. A number of Filipinas here in the Philippines wishes to find foreigner husband too for the same purpose which is to be rich. As her neighbors can authenticate by the size of the house, a car parked in front of their home and “balikbayan packages” she sends to her family. They believe that marrying a foreigner is the easiest way to make their lives a glamorous one. With the use of technology in this modern life, communication anywhere in the world is now achievable with just one click on the internet and there you go, you can easily talk to a person how such a great distance is to one another. Because of this, Filipinas are now dating foreigners that you see in your areas have gotten their boyfriend or husband from online dating. It will no longer be astonishment to us because Filipinas really possess an exotic beauty worldwide. Philippine women are among the prettiest faces that you can find around the globe. In fact, Filipinas are strong bets in every beauty pageants. But how can a Filipina secure that her foreigner husband she wants to be with has this moral virtue which is an essential aspect of marriage? Which in some cases, we frequently discern in several reports about maltreatment of many Filipinas from their husbands. Ma. Elena Paulmar, a 41 years old teacher of Butuan City made her very first Palanca entry which is a short story not expecting to win entitled “Three Kisses”. Her entry became the first prize in the Short Story category of the 2010 Carlos Palanca Award. “Three Kisses” is actually a romantic love story between a Filipina-Cebuana named Satunina Dimaculangan with her Belgian husband Ruben Peeters. At first, Nina was struggling with her loneliness being far from her family in the Philippines when she went to Belgium to meet Ruben despite their ages. They were married in the Philippines and went back to Belgium to live there. Nina learned about the “Belgian kiss,” once on the right cheek, another on the left and yet another one on the right cheek again and that kind of kiss is what the title of the short story “Three Kisses” implied. Until one day, there's a certain conflict that changes the course of their lives. It was when Ruben's savings was lost and he found out that her daughter was the one who stole his money. His daughter Ida argued about her share as a daughter of Ruben, “Otherwise all of it will go to his new wife”, she said. That thing established contempt to Nina, because of what she heard during Ruben and his daughter's conversation. From that situation, I can pinpoint that it is part the culture of the Belgium community that when someone loses a parent and the partner decided to be married again, all of the family's property must be majority distributed to his/her sons and daughters rather than the new husband/wife. I don't know, but here in the Philippines, it is quite similar but not totally because the new husband/wife will have the same rights as to the sons/daughters of the widow/widower living under the same roof because he/she is now a part of
the family unlike other countries in which at exactly 18 years old they are now going to live their own life to be independent enough. The story also highlighting how lucky Nina is with her husband, regardless of what she did. She almost left Ruben because she could not get away from her family in the Philippines and also because of what she encountered in many days as a wife. When she went back to the Philippines to attend her niece's high school graduation without Ruben. There was a time in which Ruben tried to make a call to Nina in which Nina didn't answer. But days later Nina felt guilty of what she did in the few days. With that, she went back to Belgium in a realization that she needs to undertake her responsibility and her promises in their marriage. These testify how altruistic we Filipinos are. Even if there will be blocks or consequences that tend to be an impediment in doing what the heart wants, we just forget about all of this and center our attention to the call of our duty. But unfortunately, days after Nina went back to Belgium, she was rushed to the hospital after her hand hurts and can't move her fingers as it moved slowly to her stomach and her chest. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. After the operation, Ruben comforted her. It was in the bathroom where Ruben and Nina prove the true quintessence of marriage-in sickness and in health until death do us part. He kissed her right cheek, then to the left, then her right again, the Belgian Kiss. The story really strikes the heart of the reader. It may be denoted to middle-aged yet the emphasis of the story about the unconditional love between a couple is powerful. The “Belgian Kiss” indicates friendship, family relationship, to comfort someone and to show respect. But above all, for me, it can also be a symbolism of everlasting love in which it will never fade and never remain endlessly. Unconditional love-in its simplest form— means appreciating someone else for who they truly are. It means loving them when they are unlovable and in spite of their imperfections and mistakes. At a deeper level, it means never, ever questioning whether you'll feel any other way toward a person. It's just a comfort knowing that this is a constant in your life. It will always just "be."
“Three Kisses” An analysis By Rod Darcy A. Cordova “Three Kisses” is a short story about a widowed old woman who was longing for love, and then married an old foreigner man. She never expected this to happen because it was only her friend that introduced her to the Belgian guy. The story revolves around this woman as she experiences the advantages and the disadvantages of being a foreigner in a country. This ends as the woman knew that she had cancer, and the man took care of her. The way that the story is arranged is not that basic because actually there are flashbacks until the current happenings. The way the flashbacks were outlined were also extraordinary because the transition is good. There are also times when a story within a story is used. There is a good outline and each part is connected to the proceeding parts. The story is very detailed from what is in the rightmost part of the room up to the leftmost part of the room. Also, the place and time are given, and so you will be able to understand it more easily. There is a good expression and good presentation of the characters because of the author was able to give specific and particular component in each one. There is an impact on the story and the reader, especially to the matured people. Students can hardly perceive the real meaning of the story because they can’t still relate especially the married and then going outside of the country part. However, it is significant not only to the Filipino who is not outside the country but also to those Filipinos who aspire to work abroad. There is originality, although some of the scenes were expected. As for example is that when Nina was deciding if she will come back to Belgian or not. Later on, she decided to go back to Ruben. People will most likely learn from this short story especially when he/she wanted to go outside the country and look for his/her love. The main characters of the story are Ruben and Nina. Nina was the widowed lady who symbolized all the females who are strong to stand up with their opinions and ideas. Ruben, on the other hand, is related to the people who are foreign to a country but was able to marry a wife on this area. Although there was a miscommunication between the two, they were able to live both a happy and a sad life. The disease of the lady could also be a symbolism. The breast cancer, and it can’t be denied, that it was the one who united the two. It was the one which made them realize that they really love each other. Being able to give the message to the reader that love is not only a single thing that a person needs, that’s the main point of the story. However, it is one of the many things that a person need. Love is just one thing, but it’s everything. I can say that it was love for Ruben that Nina felt before she traveled alone again to Belgium. For me, the author’s purpose in writing this short story is, so that people who are longing to have someone living by their sides will be able to know what struggles he/she will face,
especially when it is a foreigner. Being with someone you love or someone you are comfortable with is no equal to anything. I have read a lot of short stories and “Three Kisses” might be one of the best. I can say that it is one of the best because I read the story at one time. It was only in our Pre-calculus subject that I read the story before our panel discussion. Although it was only a short time reading the whole story, I was able to comprehend the whole story. It is a story and it is composed of each element of a short story. I am a type of a person who will not read the story unless it interests me. I finished the story and it only means that it inspires and interests me.
Zoetrope A literary analysis By Dexter Dave Bais
Life is just a sequence of events produced by the illusion of motion of showing progressive phases of the present as it turns into the past -- a mixture of recurring memories. Sometimes, the past keeps on holding our present, the previous experiences will be the basis of our present consequences, and the present consequences will be a reminder of what we can do to prevent the past from chaining us back. Will it not define us they say? The past will always be there, the cause will have its effect as the tree its fruit. But then who are we when we abandon the past, a blank slate or just a new piece of mixed-up artwork?
The story Zoetrope took place in the Philippines, more specifically in the centralized and urban areas. Though it wasn’t clearly stated in the story, the scenes and the culture, and the names of the characters depict that it all took place in the Philippines. The story went back and forth, from the present to the past and back. But though there were such changes in scenes, the transition was perfectly smooth and showed clarity and a build of the point towards the hidden ending. The change of pace, from present to past and back was a great factor as to the character development and the build-up of the climax, not only does it amplify the emotions stirred from between the lines, but it emphasizes the spirit of family, marriage, feminism, parenthood, and faith.
The story revolves around Fran, a wife and a mother of one. The author describes the people around Fran from Fran’s perspective(first person point of view) and Fran from her present and her burdensome past. Fran described her husband Joaquin to be quite the simple, thoughtful and yet the kind of man who values a sound explanation for stuff that needs empirical data, and also a porn photographer and described him to have a big head, literally. She also portrayed her son to be a one-in-a-hundred-million due to Clay’s precocious imagination. The conflict starts with Fran and Joaquin’s decision to get divorced, and though unknowingly, their son Clay grasped the situation and handled the burden of both parents getting separated. Fran had undergone the intrinsic change of both her attitude and view in her life, both as a parent and as a person. Though Joaquin, did not take on the stage, he became both a foundation to the idea and spirit of family, that no matter what happens he will be there and will stand as the pillar of the household, though ironically the introduction of the story was about their divorce. Clay remained as the child who had wondrous and precocious imagination that became the focus of the things
that had happened from Fran’s weighty past, and started to be both the effect of the problem, and the solution of what holds back the lives of those who have been kept in distress and struggle, not only Fran but also Joaquin that shared most of the reason to her past. All three characters pictured reality and are common that we could directly believe and retell their story. The story takes a bend from Fran’s past and how it holds her present. The story goes from present-past and back, wherein the past shows the reason to why the present Fran and the conflict came to life, though it is not clearly stated, the interpretation behind the words has reflected how it has become such. And just like reality, the past definitely takes a hold of our future, but it doesn’t have to stay that way, because the present is an ever-changing process, and the past will be just another fleeting memory. The conflict in the story was between the planned divorce between the couple and how they handle their child Clay in times of need and especially in their current situation. The problem lies in both internal and external. Their 4-year old son Clay was diagnosed to have had cancer which unfortunately happened when they have just recently decided to get separated. But the other conflict was with Fran, she had an internal war between becoming the good mother and the person she was then when she tried to decide on aborting her child and more. The memories haunted Fran and played her through the situation they were in, and made her act half-heartedly towards her family, but more importantly to his dying son, Clay. The story took a turn when Clay died. When the burden of suffering such an experience has stopped, the demise of watching their son under these circumstances came to an end. It became the peak and the halt of the emotions that built up from both the parents and Clay who had rest in peace. All the things that held Fran, and all the decisions she made from when she was still the happy and free woman, then became a wife, until she was with Clay, and until the time she watched Clay in his death-bed, it has all flung and dropped and all that remains is the regret, the despair, the empty feeling left behind from all that has been built up from the start until the day of Clay’s death has come, “In the end, I faltered and heard a wail roaring through my ears”
Zoetrope A Literary Analysis By Alleja Alecses Intud
The family is the basic unit in every society. As the generations pass, different types of families emerge, with different values, foundations, and etc. That being said, every family has their story that only they know and understand. Richard C. Cornelio’s Zoetrope is a story that offered a look to one type of family this generation has, and like any family, they have their own story. The short story “Zoetrope” displays a serene, emotional and slightly humorous picture of a family, marriage, parenthood and, misgivings. The story opens up with Fran describing Joaquin, Clay, and Clay’s imaginary brother Buddy. At that point, their family is on the verge of separation. Broken families made as an issue is quite common here in the Philippines because we are a family-oriented country. Unlike countries in the west, such as the USA, separated families are quite many there and are normal. The story also displayed Fran’s family as a nontraditional kind of family. This is shown in the part when Clay called Fran ‘Frannie’ instead of mama, mommy and other names for mothers. Again, this type of family is not yet entirely accepted in the Philippine society, at least it was how the story made it be, because people, especially mothers, looked at Fran and Clay oddly, which was described as “throwing daggers” in Fran’s way and “stopped to flick an antagonistic look” at Fran. Since we opened the topic of family, the topic of marriage will follow. Fran and Joaquin are married; however, they are planning on a legal separation, which was mentioned by Clay as a form of a question. Planning on a separation is difficult. The line “I saw happy Christmases going down the tubes, replaced by lengthy arguments over at whose place Clay would spend the holidays” proves that Fran is aware of the consequences of separation. Even with this, a lot of people like Fran and Joaquin still choose to separate albeit the consequences for certain reasons, such as abuse, fell out of love and much more. Following marriage is parenthood. Parenthood, as what many would say, is like climbing mountain− difficulties are inevitable. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of passion and a lot of everything to be able to raise a child. Sometimes parents feel that they might slip but they have to keep climbing for the welfare of the child. Only when they reach the top will they see the fruits of their travails. When Fran was pregnant, she felt so sure in keeping the child initially, as what the story stated. Later, she wavered and decided to take a visit to an abortionist, but didn’t continue the operation. Unfortunately, the child died right after birth. This was described in the story as “the baby had ‘expired’ like a canned good gone sour.” Even though she thought of
aborting the child, Fran cannot stop the hurting she feels, especially when her lover that time left her. Another theme focused in the story was the flaws of Fran, as a mother, a lover, a wife and a woman. The flaws of the characters, not only Fran’s, presently made the story more realistic and admirable. It molded the story to be more understandable and relatable, too many readers, and this is also due to the modernized way of speech used in the story. Zoetrope, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is an optical toy in which series of figures on the inside of a revolving cylinder are viewed through slits in its circumference and appear like a single animated figure when spun. This toy was the what Fran bought upon the request of Clay before the end. The last part was one of the most emotional in the story. It did not only concluded the story but it also showed the essence of family, marriage, parenthood, misgivings, hurt and love. Like the zoetrope, Fran’s life was a revolving cylinder with her experiences, choices, and misgivings as figures. When the cylinder revolves, it created a single animated figure. Animated, not still, because the happenings in Fran’s life was just a part of something even longer and greater. Sooner, the same emotions would evoke another set of happenings.
