HUMSS - Creative Nonfiction SJS Global Senior High School

Understanding Conventions and

Module 1: Traditional Genres

At the end of the lesson,

you will be able to: Start up
a) describe some elements
of fiction, poetry, and Understanding Conventions of Traditional
drama and their Genres
importance to creative
National Artist for Literature Cirilio F.
nonfiction,
Bautista calls literature the 'house of true desire."
This is also the title of his collection of short
b) analyze the differences essays. It is no wonder that when we deal with
and similarities between literary pieces, we deal with great human
creative nonfiction and emotions like love, anger, fear, and sadness. It has
fiction; and often been said that literature is about the
significant human experience." As humans, we
c) analyze the elements, experience the world with different emotions.
theme and techniques
used in a particular text. This lesson will allow you to compare
creative nonfiction to three other major literary
genres—fiction, poetry, and drama. Creative
nonfiction or the essay (to which it is closely
associated) is sometimes called as the "fourth
genre."

This lesson will let you explore the elements of fiction, poetry, and drama and
identify what elements are useful in reading and writing creative nonfiction.

Reading and writing literature, particularly creative nonfiction, will take

more than mastery of the elements of fiction, poetry, drama, and essay. We need to be
devoted to language as a whole. We need to embrace the rhythm of words, sentences,
and paragraphs. It has often been said that in order to write well, one should read
well. In order to read and write well, one should fall in love with language. In falling
in love with language, one would fall in love with literature. The task of the writer is
to claim a space in the universe of language. This act of claiming is the act of loving.
 Module 1: Understanding Conventions and Traditional Genres

Work it out

Let’s Discuss
From your previous classes in literature, you learned about the main
divisions of literature which are prose and the poetry. Prose is divided into two: the
fiction and the non-fiction. Both have their common and distinct elements and types.
Below are information about the genres (focusing more on non-fiction accounts and
the meaning of creative non-fiction) which will serve as your refresher so you could
be able to perform all the exercises and activities in all lesson modules. Have time to
study them.

Some Elements and Techniques of Fiction Creative Nonfiction

1. Character is a genre of writing that utilizes the elements
2. Setting and styles of writing fiction to artistically and
3. Plot aesthetically express, inform and persuade
4. Point of View others about facts and true-life accounts.
5. Conflict
6. Tone & Mood
7. Symbol
8. Irony
9. Dialogue
How can Creative Nonfiction
10. Flashback be considered both an art
11. Foreshadowing and a craft?
12. Imagery
13. Figurative Language
14. Theme

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Jumpstart Activity 1: Read Me! Analyze Me! Answer Me!
Directions: Read and analyze the passages below. Identify the style or technique used
through the underlined and italicized portions, phrases or words. Choose your answer
from the pool of words provided. Write your answer in the box at the right side.

Alliteration Verbal Irony Symbolism Foreshadowing Cliffhanger

Simile Metaphor Personification Hyperbole Imagery

1. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
~William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18"

2. I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you

Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street.
~W.H. Auden's poem "As I Walked Out One Evening”

3. "Take care, Little Red Riding Hood," said her mother.

"Don't stray from the path, and don't talk to strangers.
Go straight to your grandmother's house and back."
~ Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood”

4. "Atticus, he was really nice."

"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."
"But he was always nice. Every time I had a problem, he
was like a knight in shining armor, ready to help me."
~Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird"

5. Harry, who had never been in a house as grand as this,

looked around in awe. The room was filled with the
warm, golden light of dozens of candles, casting soft
shadows that danced along the richly colored tapestries
hanging on the walls. The long table was set with
shining silver plates and sparkling glasses, and the
smell of roast meats and freshly baked bread wafted
through the air, making his stomach growl. The house
was a maze of sumptuous fabrics and rich woodwork,
with every detail designed to impress and comfort.
~"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

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6. “I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow
it.”
~"Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

7. “The barn was a beautiful building, bright and full of

busy bees.”
~"Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

8. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken"

9. The wind was rising, and the leaves began to whirl and
dance, the trees bending and swaying in the breeze.
~ "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame

10. Just as Henry reached for the doorknob, he heard a loud

noise behind him. He turned around quickly, but the
sound was gone. He hesitated for a moment, then
opened the door slowly.
~Excerpt from the ending of the story, “The Boxcar Children" by
Gertrude Chandler Warner

Jumpstart Activity 2: What’s the Message?

Directions: Read and analyze the “direct statements” below. Identify the one-word
idea or message (subject or topic) of the statements by choosing your answer from
the pool of words provided. Write your answer in the box at the right side.
Piousness Courage Poverty Farewell Prejudice Heroism Positivity

1. “We struggled a lot like a stray dog, with no

permanent home, no refuge. We have no food to
eat, not even a single penny. We drink water from
the muddy lake, tastes like a rusting iron.”
2. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for
me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.”
3. “I have no choice but to save the child though I
know my life will be at risk. I just feel it’s my duty
to help those who are in need. I never regret I

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 Module 1: Understanding Conventions and Traditional Genres
broke my arm, at least a life was saved and God
used me as His instrument.”
4. “I don’t feel like to be her friend. She’s a highlander.
She looks like my old shoes, out of the trend. I
couldn’t imagine her style of clothing still exist this
era. Oh my gosh! Is everything fine? Is the world
okay?”
5. “I think good things will come to those who
patiently wait. I also look into the beauty of each
human being regardless of their culture, status and
backgrounds. Lastly, I believe that everyone can
change when they see inspiration whether it’s
spiritual, physical, moral or emotional.”

How many correct responses did you

answer? What have you observed from the
two activities? What do you think is the
connection of these activities with the
lesson that we will discover in this module?

Let’s Discover

You have learned that there are specific differences of a total fiction text and a
creative non-fiction text. Some of these are the elements, styles and techniques.
However, there are also similarities underlying between the two. Some of these are
the themes, tone, mood, point of view and some other styles and techniques present
in fictional accounts.

Creative non-fiction texts are true accounts while utilizing some of the
techniques and styles of fiction. Creativity includes the use of literary devices which
can be divided into two: literary techniques (which include the use of figurative
language) and literary elements (which include the theme). In this module, you will
discover and analyze the techniques and themes used in creative non-fiction texts.

Literary Techniques are specific, deliberate construction and use of language

to convey meaning. Oftentimes, these techniques are indirectly or implicitly used in a
text. Sometimes, readers experience difficulty in figuring out the intended meaning
because of these techniques. Unlike literary texts, techniques are not necessarily
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present in all texts. However, creative non-fiction texts utilize techniques commonly
used in literary texts as part of art and aesthetic aspect of writing. Sometimes, these
techniques are used in free and formal and informative and narrative essays.

Some of these techniques are the inclusion of figures of speech, dialogue,

imagery, kenning, symbolism, parallelism, foreshadowing, flashback, approach to
events such as deductive or inductive, employment of sounds, choice of word, humor,
representation, and form of writing and more others.

The direct statements (items) from activity 1 utilized techniques which make
the whole discourse creative and figurative. The items in activity 1 used symbolism,
figurative language, foreshadowing, cliffhanger, symbolisms, alliteration and
imagery. These are called techniques employed in writing and could possibly be used
also in speaking.

On the other hand, theme refers to the central idea, subject, topic or message
of the text. Oftentimes, a narrative text, poetry and literary texts have themes. Themes
are the overall idea or message conveyed in the text. It is an underlying belief and
outlook of the author about life inside and outside him. It is often universal.
Universality means true to all – felt and experienced by all.

Some of the examples of themes are love, power, corruption, courage,

excellence, prejudice, discrimination, good versus evil, heroism, beauty, nationalism,
patriotism, positivity, poverty, piousness or religiosity, survival and many more.

If you have noticed, activity 2 showed the themes used in the items but it
only utilized direct statements. However, based from the direct statements, it can
be noted that themes can be identified easily by feeling their contents.

Thus, the task of this module is for you to analyze the techniques and
interpret the themes in a text. For you to do it, you should at least have the following
competencies:
(1) You can read text at least in a comprehension, interpretive and critical level;
(2) You should have knowledge about literary techniques, elements forms and
types;
(3) You have the skill to relate experiences to the text or vice versa; and
(4) You love reading and learning. If you have all of these, then I believe you could
do better than expected!

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To better facilitate your understanding about techniques and themes used in
a text, figure 2 below is presented. Have at least a little research about the literary
techniques and themes.

Figure 3 below shows how to analyze techniques and interpret themes used in a text.

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Genre 1: Poetry and Creative Nonfiction

According to Laurence Perrine (1977, 4), poetry may be defined as a kind of
language that says more and says it more intensely than does ordinary language. In
other words, poetry uses a "heightened language." For poetry to achieve this, the poet
uses "imagery' by employing figurative language.

Imagery is one of the most important elements of poetry. Imagery, according

to Palanca Hall of Famer and Metrobank Outstanding Teacher Dr. Leoncio P. Deriada,
is "painting with words." A writer, a poet in particular, uses words to paint images
while a painter uses forms and colors. The easiest way to paint with words is to use
the figures of speech. For example, instead of saying "the tree is being blown by the
wind" a good writer will say "the tree is dancing with the wind." Personification is
used.

Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo (2003, 9) defines creative nonfiction as "nonfiction

prose which utilizes the techniques and strategies of fiction." One strategy of fiction
(and therefore nonfiction) that it shares with poetry is the inclusion of "concrete and
evocative details" that can also be achieved by employing imagery and other literary
devices. The use of the imagination, as Hidalgo (2015, 61) declares in another article,
"might embellish or distort in the interest of more effective storytelling, i.e., in the
interest of art."

Reader's Corner

Poetry. A.1 - Pre-reading

Take a good look at the picture on

the left. It was taken at Puerto
Princesa Subterranean River in
Palawan. What are your thoughts
about the picture? What feelings
does it evoke?

Below is a poem about it. Pick out

the “concrete and evocative
details” while reading. What do
you think do the images
symbolize?
MOONSET AT CENTRAL PARK STATION OF

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Poetry. B.1 - Reading
ST. PAUL SUBTERRANEAN RIVER NATIONAL PARK
John Iremil E. Teodoro

This morning, C.1. Questions for Discussion

after the faint scent
of sea grasses 1. Who is the persona in the poem? Describe
awakened me,
I followed
him/her.
the setting moon
in the reef flats
in front of my
bamboo cottage. 2. One example of sensory imagery in the poem is the
I nearly stepped on parrotfish. What do you think is the significance of
a parrotfish the image to the overall message?
that was caught
by the low tide.
It was as big
as my slipper.

I picked 3. Give other examples pf sensory imagery used in

its slimy body the text.
and returned it
to the sea.
In its excitement
it forgot to
thank me.
4. What is the poem saying about the significant
It didn't even bother human experience?
to look back—
it swam quickly
away from me.
It dived
towards the direction
of the horizon
where the moon
was hiding. 5. What feelings do you get after reading the poem?

Perhaps in my next visit

that parrotfish
will surprise me
with a greeting.
It shall brag to me
about its scales
painted by
the setting moon.
(First appeared in the book Paruparo at Korales/Butterflies and Corals: A Collection of Palawan Poems in Filipino and English
published by Bandillo ng Palawan Foundation, 1999)

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The following passage is sample creative nonfiction. It is about the narrator's
youthful interest in poetry.

Poetry. B.2. - Reading

REVIVING PASSIONS: REFLECTIONS ON MY CREATIVE WRITING GRANT

Noel Christian A. Moratilla

As the recipient of a creative writing grant from the school's Institutional

Research and Development Office, I try to rekindle a passion I abandoned for so long
and considered not returning to—the writing of poetry. Despite a not-so-impressive
academic performance, I became enamored with poetry in my youth. So enamored
that I would memorize poems or recite them over and over like mantras. So enamored
that I would tear some pages from anthologies I borrowed from the school library, so
that during solitary moments I could devour a stanza or two from poets I looked up
to—Ginsberg, de Ungria, Neruda, Trakl. Since the Internet would not be popular until
a couple of years after, I took pains to satisfy the obsession. I remember occasionally
saving up my measly allowance in college to buy a copy of the Manila Bulletin's
Philippine Panorama or the Sunday Inquirer Magazine to check the poems in the
literary section.

In poetry, I found solace from the crisis of youth; but it also fueled the angst
of my juvenile years. Eventually, I tried my hand at composing my own verses,
submitted them for publication, but not a few were rejected outright. The more
fortunate ones appeared online or in print, and one earned first place in a poetry
writing/reading contest sponsored by the State University's Creative Writing Center.
But having produced and published some poems (many of which I now disown) as a
college student in Intramuros and as a struggling young professional, I eventually fell
Out of love for the "sullen craft" and devoted more time to conducting research in
keeping with the rigors of graduate school. The politics I learned to embrace weaned
me further from creative writing, and this gave me the impression that poetry—this
"mere" play with words—was nothing but an ego-oriented display of verbal virtuosity.
Like a disgruntled lover, I dismissed poetry as gibberish, as a remote and difficult
code requiring monastic doggedness to be deciphered.

But now, this seasoned novice (pardon the oxymoron) has decided to give it
one more try. I am but a dabbler and I do not aspire "literary" fame or glory. I do not
intend to bend the gods on high or move the infernal powers, to borrow a phrase
from Virgil. I would like to point out that with the grant, my concern is two-fold: The
first is to help widen my own horizon as an educator, especially one who happens to
teach writing and literature. As I require my students to write, I feel that I should also

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do the same—to walk the talk, as some would put it. Secondly, the slim collection of
poems I shall produce would also be a modest contribution to helping invigorate the
school's liberal arts culture. It is my hope in this regard that other creative voices,
with enough encouragement, will also seek to be heard.

(Reconstructed version of an essay of the same title, first appearing in Insights, Faculty Newsletter of St.
Scholastica's College-Manila, 2013)

Poetry. C.2 - Questions for Discussion

1. Give the reasons why the narrator decided to revive a passion that he once
abandoned.

2. Identify examples of the "evocative and concrete details" that creative

nonfiction shares with poetry.

3. What theme about human nature can be extracted from the creative
nonfiction?

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Genre 2: Fiction and Creative Nonfiction

The elements of fiction are the following: plot, point of view, character,
setting, tone and atmosphere, symbol and irony, and theme and meaning.

A story is made up of events, and arranging these events in a logical and

causal manner is called plot. A plot has four parts: beginning, middle, climax, and end.
A good story begins in the middle of things—something is already happening right in
the beginning. In the middle is the exposition— details about the characters and the
background of the story are revealed. Part of this is the introduction of conflict—the
problem in the story that the characters shall deal with that will bring the story to the
climax. The climax the highest point of the story. After the climax is the resolution
where the characters will surpass the Conflict or will be overwhelmed by it. Then the
story ends.

Point of view is the angle from which the story is told. There are two kinds
of point of view: first person (the "I" point of view) and third person (the "he" or
"she" point of view). There is also the second person (the "you" point of view) but is
rarely used. Point of view has two other types: limited or omniscient. In the limited
type, the story is only limited with what the narrator can see, hear, smell, feel, and
think. In the omniscient type, the narrator is all knowing. He/she can even know
what the other characters are thinking.

The characters are the ones doing actions in the story. Normally, they are
the people inhabiting the story. But there are stories with characters that are not
human, as in the case of fables where animals are the characters. But one should take
note that the animals in the fables act like humans. There are two types of characters:
major and minor. A character may also be complex or simple. A complex character
is round or three-dimensional—meaning, there are contradictions and shifting of
character. A simple character is flat and two-dimensional which is a weak kind of
character because it is static or there is no change in the course of the story.

The time and place of the story is called setting. The setting gives the sense
of reality in the story. The story becomes believable if the time and place is believable.
Tone is simply defined as "the attitude of the writer towards his/ her material." We
should realize that when we use words, spoken or written, we use them with a tone
corresponding to what we feel and what we want to express. When we say “thank
you," we can use the tone of being grateful or we can use a tone that is ironic, meaning
we are not really thankful, but are simply expressing our disappointment.
Atmosphere is also called mood and is closely related with tone. Atmosphere has

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something to do with the overall psychological and emotional feelings invoked in a
reader while reading the story. This is usually the effect of the setting.

A symbol is an object in a literary work that represents something other than

what it is. For example, a yellow boat in a story or an essay is not just a literal boat.
One may also ask: Why is the boat yellow? What does this color symbolize? Why is it
not white, green, or red?

Irony connotes a disparity. There are three types: verbal irony, which is
about the disparity between what a character says and what he/she means;
situational irony, which is the disparity between what the character or the reader
expects and what actually happens; and dramatic irony, which is the disparity
between what the character knows and what the reader knows.

A story, as well as the other forms of literature, is about the significant human
experience. The theme of the story is about the general idea or general observation
about life and people. The theme will lead us to the meaning of the story—the effect
of the story on the reader which, in most cases, would include lessons learned. The
meaning of the story is about how the reader is moved after reading, and his/her
realizations.

Reader's Corner
Below is a fictional story with most of the elements previously discussed.
Read the selection to analyze the elements of fiction.

Fiction. A.1 - Pre-Reading

Think about a time when you introduced someone important to you, like a
close friend or a significant other, to your family for the first time. What were your
thoughts and feelings before the introduction? How did your family react?

Now, consider the challenges that might arise when someone from a different
background or lifestyle is introduced into a close-knit family. What are some potential
concerns or expectations that both the family and the new person might have?

Fiction. B.1 - Reading

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HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE
Manuel E. Arguilla

She stepped down from the

carretela of Ca Celin with a quick,
delicate grace. She lovely. She was tall.
She looked up to my brother with a
smile, and her forehead was on a level
with his mouth.
"You are Baldo," she said and
placed her hand lightly on my shoulder.
Her nails were long, but they were not
painted. She was fragrant like a morning
when papayas are in bloom. And a small dimple appeared high up on her right cheek.
"And this is Labang of whom I have heard so much. " She held the wrist of
one hand with the other and looked at Labang, and Labang never stopped chewing
cud. He swallowed and up to his mouth more cud and the sound of his was like a
drum.
I laid a hand on Labang's massive neck and said to her: "You may scratch his
forehead now.”
She hesitated and I saw that her eyes were on the long, curving horns. But
she came and touched Labang's forehead with her long fingers, and Labang never
even stopped chewing his cud except that his big eyes half closed. And by and by
she was scratching his forehead very daintily.
My brother Leon put down the two trunks on the grassy of the road. He paid
Ca Celin twice the usual fare from the station to the edge of Nagrebcan. Then he was
standing beside us, and she turned to him eagerly. I watched Ca Celin, where he
stood in front of horse, and he ran his fingers through its forelock and could not keep
his eyes away from her.
“Maria —" my brother Leon said.
He did not say Maring. He did not say Mayang. I knew then that he had
always called her Maria and that to us all she would be Maria; and in my mind I said
"Maria" and it was a beautiful name.
"Yes, Noel.”
Now where did she get that name? I pondered the matter quietly to myself,
thinking Father might not like it. But it was only the name of my brother Leon said
backward and it sounded much better that way.
“There is Nagrebcan, Maria," my brother Leon said, gesturing widely toward
the west.
She moved close to him and slipped her arm through his. And after a while
she said quietly:
"You love Nagrebcan, don't you, Noel?"

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Ca Celin drove away hi-yi-ing to his horse loudly. At the bend of the camino
real where the big duhat tree grew, he rattled the handle of his braided rattan whip
against the spokes of the wheel.
We stood alone on the roadside.
The sun was in our eyes, for it was dipping into the bright sea. The sky was
wide and deep and very blue above us; but along the saw-tooth rim of the Katayaghan
Hills to the southwest named huge mases of clouds. Before us the fields swam in a
golden haze through which floated big purple and red and yellow bubbles when I
looked at the sinking sun. Labang’s white coat, which I had washed and brushed that
morning with coconut husk, glistened like beaten cotton under the lamplight and his
horns appeared tipped with fire. He faced the sun and from his mouth issued a call
so loud and vibrant that the earth seemed to tremble underfoot. And far away in the
middle of the fields a cow lowed softly in answer.
"Hitch him to the cart, Baldo," my brother Leon said, laughing, and she
laughed with him a bit uncertainly, and I saw that he had put arm around her
shoulders.
"Why does he make that sound? she asked. "I have never heard the like of it.”
“There is not another like it,” my brother Leon said. “I have yet to hear
another bull call like Labang. In all the world there is no other like him.”
She was smiling at him, and I dopped in the act of tying the sinta across
Labang's neck to the opposite end of yoke, because her teeth were very white, her
eyes were so full of laughter, and there was the small dimple high up on her right
cheek.
"If you continue to talk about him like that, either I shall fall in love with him
or become terribly jealous."
My brother Leon laughed and she laughed and they looked at each other
and it seemed to me there was a world of laughter between them and in them.
I climbed into the cart at the wheel and Labang would have bolted, for he
was always like that, but I kept a firm hold on rope. He was restless and would not
stand still, that my brother Leon had to say ' 'Labang" several times. When he was
quiet again, my brother Leon lifted the trunks into the cart, placing the smaller on
top.
She looked down once at her high-heeled shoes, then she gave her left hand
to my brother Leon, placed a foot on the hub of the wheel, and in one breath she
had swung up into the cart. Oh, the fragrance of her. But Labang was fairly dancing
with impatience and it was all I could do to keep him from running away.
"Give me the rope, Baldo," my brother Leon said. ' 'Maria, sit down on the
hay and hold on to anything. "Then he put a foot on the left shaft and that instant
Labang leaped forward. My brother Leon laughed he drew himself up to the top of
the side of the cart and made the slack of the rope hiss above the back of Labang.
The wind whistled against my cheeks and the rattling of the wheels on the pebbles
of the road echoed in my ears.

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She sat up straight on the bottom of the cart, legs bent together to one side,
her skirts spread over them so that only the toes and heels of her shoes were visible.
Her eyes were on my brother Leon's back. I the wind on her hair.
When Labang slowed down, my brother Leon handed to me the rope. I knelt
on the straw inside the cart and pulled on the rope until Labang was merely shuffling
along, then I made him turn around.
"What is it you have forgotten now, Baldo?" my brother Leon said.
I did not say anything but tickled with my fingers the rump ot Labang; and
away we went back to where I had unhitched and waited for them. The sun had sunk
and down from the wooded sides of the Katayaghan Hills shadows were stealing into
the fields. High up overhead the sky burned with many slow fires.
When I sent Labang down the deep cut that would bring us down to the dry
bed of the Waig which could be used as a path to our place during the dry season,
my brother Leon laid a hand on my shoulder and sternly:
"Who told you to drive through the fields tonight?"
His hand heavy on my shoulder, but I did not look at him or utter a word
until we were on the rocky bottom of the Waig.
"Baldo, you fool, answer me before I lay the rope of Labang on you. Why do
you follow the Waig instead of the camino real?" His fingers bit into my shoulder.
"Father, he told me to follow the Waig tonight, Manong."
Swiftly, his hand fell away from my shoulder and he reached for the rope of
Labang. Then my brother Leon laughed, and he sat back, and laughing still, he said:
"And I suppose Father also told you to hitch Labang to the cart and meet us
with him instead of with Castaño and the calesa. "
Without waiting for me to answer, he turned to her and said, "Maria, why do
you think Father should do that, now?" He laughed and added, "Have you ever seen
so many stars before?"
I looked back and they were sitting side by side, leaning against the trunks,
hands clasped across knees. Seemingly, but a man's height above the tops of the
steep banks of the Waig, hung the stars. But in the deep gorge the shadows had
fallen heavily, and even the white of Labang's coat was merely a dim, grayish blue.
Crickets chirped from their homes in the cracks the banks. The thick, unpleasant smell
of dangla bushes and cooling sun-heated earth mingled with the clean, sharp scent
of arrais roots exposed to the night air and of the hay inside the cart.
"Look, Noel, yonder is our star!" Deep surprise and gladness were in her
voice. Very low in the west, almost touching the ragged edge of the bank, was the
star, the biggest and brightest in the sky.
"I have been looking at it," my brother Leon said. "Do you remember how I
would tell you that when you want to see stars you must come to Nagrebcan?”
"Yes, Noel," she said, "Look at it," she murmured, half to herself. "It so many
times bigger and brighter than it was at Ermita beach."
"The air here is clean, free of dust and smoke."

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"So it is Noel," she said drawing of a long breath.
"Making fun of me, Maria?"
She laughed then and they laughed together and she took my brother Leon's
hand and put it against her face.
I stopped Labang, climbed down, and lighted the lantern that hung from the
cart between the wheels.
"Good boy, Baldo," my brother Leon said as I climbed back into the cart, and
my heart sang.
Now the shadows fright and did not crowd so near. Clumps of andadasi and
arrais flashed into view and quickly disappeared as we passed by. Ahead, the
elongated shadow of Labang bobbed up and down and swayed drunkenly from side
to side, for the lantern rocked jerkily with the cart.
"Have we far to go yet, Noel?" she asked.
"Ask Baldo," my brother Leon said, "we have been neglecting him."
"I am asking you, Baldo," she said.
Without looking back, I answered, picking my words slowly:
"Soon we will get out of the Waig and pass into the fields. After the
fields is home – Manang.”
"So near already."
I did not say anything more because I did not know what to make of the
tone of her voice she said her last words. All the laughter seemed to have gone out
of her. I waited for my brother Leon to say something, but he was not saying anything.
Suddenly he broke out into song and the song was "Sky Sown with Stars" – the same
that he and Father sang when we cut hay in the fields at night before he went away
to study. He must have taught her the song because she joined him, and her voice
flowed into his like a gentle stream meeting a stronger one. And each time the wheels
encountered a big rock, her voice would catch in the throat, but my brother Leon
would sing on, until, laughing softly, she would join him again.
Then we were climbing out into the fields, and through the spokes of the
wheels the light of the lantern mocked the shadows. Labang quickened steps. The
jolting became more frequent and painful as we crossed the low dikes.
"But it is so very wide here," she said. The light of the stars broke and
scattered the darkness so that one could see far on every side, though indistinctly.
"You miss the houses, and the cars, and the people and the noise, don't
you?" My brother Leon stopped singing.
"Yes, but in a different way, I am glad they are not here."
With difficulty I turned Labang to the left, for he wanted to go straight on.
He was breathing hard, but I knew he was more thirsty than tired. In a little while we
drove up the grassy side onto the camino real.
“—you see," my brother Leon was explaining, "the camino real curves around
the foot of the Katayaøian Hills and pasæ by our house. We drove through the fields
because—but I'll be asking Father as soon as we get home.

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"Noel," she said.
"Yes, Maria."
"I am afraid, He may not like me."
"Does that worry you still, Maria?" my brother Leon said. "From the way you
talk, he might be an ogre. Except when his leg that was wounded in the Revolution
is troubling him, Father is the mildest-tempered, gentlest man I know."
We came to the house of Lacay Julian and I spoke to Labang loudly, but
Moning did not come to the window, so I surmised she must be eating with the rest
of her family. And I thought of the food being made ready at home and my mouth
watered. We met the twins, Urong and Polo, and I said, "Hoy! calling them by name.
And they shouted back and asked if my brother Leon and his wife were with me. And
my brother, Inn shouted to them and then told me to make Labang run, their answers
were lost in the noise of the wheels.
I stopped Labang on the road before our house and would have gotten down
but my brother Leon took the rope and told me to stay in the cart. He tumed Labang
into the open gate and we dashed into our yard. I thought we would crash into the
hole of the camachile tree, but my brother Leon reined in Labang in time. There was
light downstairs in the kitchen, and Mother stood in the doorway, and I could see her
smiling shyly. My brother Leon was helping Maria over the wheel.
The first words that fell from his lips after he had kissed Mother's hand were:
"Father—where is he?"
"He is in his room upstairs," Mother said, her face becoming serious
"His leg is bothering him again."
I did not hear anything more because I had to go back to the cart to unhitch
Labang. But I had hardly tied him under the barn when I heard Father calling me. I
met my brother Leon going to bring up the trunks. As I passed through the kitchen,
there were Mother and my sister Aurelia and Maria and it seemed to me they were
crying, all of them.
There was no light in Father's room. There was no movement. He sat in the
big armchair by the western window, and a star shone directly through it. He was
smoking, but he removed the roll of tobacco from his mouth when he saw me. He
laid it carefully on the windowsill before speaking.
"Did you meet anybody on the way?" he asked.
"No, Father," I said. "Nobody passes through the Waig at night."
He reached for his roll of tobacco and hitched himself up in the chair.
"She very beautiful, Father."
"Was she afraid of Labang?" My father had not raised his voice, but the room
seemed to resound with it. And again, I saw her eyes on the long curving horns and
the arm of my brother Leon around her shoulders.
"No, Father, she was not afraid."
"On the way-“
"She looked at the stars, Father, and Manong Leon sang."

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''What did he sing?”
“Sky Sown with Stars. She sang him."

He was silent again. I could hear the low voices of Mother and my sister
Aurelia downstairs. There was also the voice of my brother Leon, and I thought that
Father’s voice must have been like it when Father was young. He had laid the roll of
tobacco on the windowsill once more. I watched the smoke waver faintly upward from
the lighted end and vanish slowly into the night outside.

The door opened and my brother I..eon and Maria came in.
"Have you watered Labang?" Father spoke to me."
I told him that Labang was resting yet under the barn.
"It is time you watered him, my son," my father said.
I looked at Maria and she was lovely. She was tall. Beside my brother Leon,
she was tall and very still. Then I went out, and in the darkened hall the fragrance of
her was like a morning when papayas are in bloom.

Fiction. C.1 - Questions for Reading Comprehension

1. Analyze the story by completing the following table.

Elements Aspects/ Specific Types Answer with

(if applicable) Elaborations/
Explanations
Point of View/ Narrator

Who is the narrator in the

story? Is the story
effectively told from his/
her point of view? Why or
why not.

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Character/s

Name the characters,

identify their type, and
provide a description for
each.

Setting
When and where did the
story take place? Are these
clearly presented in the
story?

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Tone
What is the attitude of the
writer towards his
written material?

Atmosphere / Mood
What is/ are the
emotional feelings
invoked in the readers
while reading the story?

Symbol/s Labang (The Bull)

Discuss the meaning of
the given symbol used by
the author in the story.

The Waig (Dry Riverbed)

The Camino Real (The

Main Road)

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Irony Type: Specific Example:
What irony is presented in
the story?

Theme General Idea Explanation

(in word or phrase) (in sentences)
What message relevant to
human life does the story
tell the readers?

2. Manuel Arguilla is known for the” local color” of his writings. Local Color is a
detail that is particular to the setting of the story. For example, mentioning a

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jeepney in a poem, story, or essay would make the reader think and imagine that
the setting is in the Philippines because jeepney is a unique form of mass
transportation in the country.

Write examples of local color in the story, “How My Brother Leon Brough
Home a Wife.”

Now, read the sample creative nonfiction text below about the narrator's reflections
on the changes that had happened in her hometown. Analyze the selection based on
the elements of fiction, if applicable, that were identified earlier.

Fiction A.2 - Pre-Reading

What does "home" mean to you? Is it a physical place, a feeling, or something else
entirely?

Fiction B.2 - Reading

MY HOMETOWN
Yasmin D. Arquiza
(First published in Bandi/lo ng Palawan Magazine, July 1999)

A five-star hotel has risen on the very spot where our house in Davao City
used to be. I literally grew up in that place, having spent the first 18 years of my life
there. Since I left, I have travelled and lived in various places, but I've been back
almost every year. There's a tinge of irony in how my roots and peripatetic ways seem
to be reflected in the fact that the hotel was named after Marco Polo, one of the most
well-known travelers in history.
Happily, some of the old landmarks are still there. Despite the entry of
numerous shopping malls, the bargain hunters' paradise called Aldevinco shopping
center has survived and remains in the same location. During my elementary and high

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school days, "sa harap ng Aldevinco" was my stock answer whenever somebody
asked where I live.
Another building that withstood changes in the community is Ateneo,
although some of the stores surrounding it have come and gone. Because of its
proximity to our house, and the fact that it offers the highest quality of college
education in Davao, I would have studied in Ateneo except that they would not give
me a scholarship. I landed in UP instead, and began my journey to other cities and
other worlds.
Childhood memories came back when I noticed, with a chuckle I might add, that this
tiny eatery called Pilotos managed to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb right
beside the high wall of Marco Polo Hotel. I asked my sister what happened to the
filthy canal at the back of the eatery that wended its way through a row of squatter
shanties. She said the hotel had placed culverts and conveniently covered the muck.
I remember our entire brood making a pilgrimage to Pilotos for its special haluhalo
on summer afternoons when we were kids. Once, my brothers raced me to Pilotos
from our house and I fell from the single plank that we had to negotiate to cross the
canal. There I was, hanging with both hands on the plank while my ankles and feet
got soaked in the waters with its yucky creatures. That’s the origin of phobia of flimsy
bridges, which is a real hassle in Palawan where we usually have to walk on slippery
logs and broken planks to cross rivers and streams.
These days, there are more changes than familiar places in the neighborhood.
A bakery and coffee shop has replaced Dueñas store and the old beerhouse has gone
through several incarnations, from restaurant to something else, before it became the
landscaped garden in front of the hotel. Two decades ago there were an ally between
Dueñas and the beerhouse that led first to our house, and then on to other houses
in the small neighborhood sandwiched between C,M. Recto and Ponciano streets. The
area was razed in the late '70s, forcing residents to scatter elsewhere. There were
rumors of arson, but as far as I know, this was never proven. All the things I wrote in
my first 18 years were lost in that fire. To this day, I get nervous whenever I smell
something burning.
A Small shopping mall has long replaced the old boy scout building
(although oldtimers still refer to the general area as boy scout), and the post office
has since undergone a much-needed facelift. The "island" between the hotel and the
mall is now called Clifford Park. This used to be the playground of most kids in the
neighborhood, the only open space where they could fly kites and watch the stars in
the evening.
On the street where I grew up, jeepney drivers impatiently honk their way
and try to outmaneuver each other in the one-way traffic. This is certainly a far cry
from the days when the jeepney driver would wait for us as we straightened our
pleated uniforms and slowly sit down before setting off again. Up to the early '80s, I
still remember describing Davao City as a quiet place with a very slow pace. These
days, it is the same old rat race one finds in Manila, Cebu, and other big cities.

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Revisiting my hometown has made me rethink the concept of home. It is
funny how a place can be so familiar and yet so remote. The sight of the ICC building
(now UIC since it became a university) on the hilltop near Bankerohan market brought
back nostalgic memories of medals won and speeches nervously delivered. Traversing
the same old streets in speeding jeepneys and taxis, I looked for scenes from the past
but found myself getting lost in the vastly changed cityscape. In the street and the
malls, faces from my childhood and the not-too-distant '80s called from the sidewalk
and the stalls but I could no longer relate with them. The past seems so far away, and
the present has become a stranger. I find myself wondering if it is possible not to feel
“at home" in one's hometown. The thought seems almost sacrilegious, knowing the
Filipinos' deep sense of affinity to family and one's roots.
In the era of space travel and migration, whether forced or voluntary, there
are growing numbers of "citizens of the world" whose concept of home must have
shifted from the traditional view to a purely personal definition. Home is where the
heart is, the romantics would say. For people who are used to "living out of a
suitcase," home is wherever they are at any given time. It is like the T-shirt I once saw
that read "Wherever you go there you are" or something like that. It is a popular
phrase in the US where travel and moving to other places is a way of life for many
people.
It is funny how we can feel so at home in far-away places and not in our own
hometown. It could be the sign of the times, and then again, maybe it is just me.

Fiction. C.2 - Questions for Reading Comprehension

1. Arquiza expresses a sense of displacement when she returns to her

hometown. What contributes to this feeling?

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2. How does the author’s phobia of flimsy bridges serve as a metaphor for her
feelings about the changes in her hometown? What might this symbolize in a
broader context?

3. What is the theme about human nature that can be deduced from Arquiza’s
creative nonfiction?

4. What makes Aquiza’s essay a creative nonfiction? Why is it considered

nonfiction, but at the same time, creative?

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Genre 3: Drama and Creative Nonfiction

A drama or a play is a script that is meant to be staged. In their book Discovering

Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays (2002), Hans Guth and Gabrielle Rico mention that
drama has five elements; namely, situation, character, dialogue, plot, and style.

In situation, the early scenes of the play answers basic questions in the
spectators' minds: Where are we? What is the issue or problem? What past history
explains the current situation? In short, the early part is an exposition. It will give the
audience the background of the story.

The character in the drama is always in motion, in action. We know the

character by what he/she is doing and by what he/she is saying which bring us to
dialogue as element of drama. A good dialogue will give us more information about
the character, as well as more exposition. A dialogue must push the story forward;
meaning, a writer does not use dialogue just to lengthen the piece. A character is
saying something that will lead to another action or event that will move the story
toward the climax and the ending.
The element of plot in drama is also like that in fiction, for drama is also
fiction. A plot is a series of events arranged logically to make the story more
interesting.
Style has something to do with the playwrights' or the writers' use of
language. For example, William Shakespeare's style is elegant because it uses poetry
as the language of drama.
These five elements of drama are useful in writing an engaging essay.
According to Cristina Pantoja Hidaldo (2003, 58), the key to good creative nonfiction
is dramatic writing and the key to dramatic writing is action. Forget the slow start,
the warm-up, and the build-up. Most modern readers do not have that much time to
spare. Depending on the text, action may already be required even in the beginning
paragraph.

Drama. A.1 - Pre-Reading

In this lesson there are two readings: "Scene Il Capulet's Orchard” from William
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and Cecilia Manguerra Brainard’s “The Truth About
Filipino Old Timers”. The first one is a classic drama from the greatest English
dramatist and the second one is a creative nonfiction piece full of drama.

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Drama. B.1 - Reading

ROMEO AND JULIET

William Shakespeare

SCENE II. Capulet’s Orchard

Enter ROMEO
ROMEO Watching Juliet at her window ROMEO
But, soft! what light through yonder window By a name
breaks? I know not how to tell thee who I am:
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,
O, that I were a glove upon that hand, Because it is an enemy to thee.
That I might touch that cheek!
JULIET
JULIET Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face,
Ay me! Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek
For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night.
ROMEO Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,'
She speaks: And I will take thy word.
O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head ROMEO
As is a winged messenger of heaven Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow,
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops—
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds JULIET
And sails upon the bosom of the air. O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
JULIET Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name; ROMEO
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, What shall I swear by?
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
JULIET
ROMEO Revealing himself Do not swear at all;
I take thee at thy word: Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,
Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Which is the god of my idolatry,
Henceforth I never will be Romeo. And I'll believe thee.

JULIET ROMEO
What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night If my heart's dear love—
So stumblest on my counsel?

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JULIET JULIET
Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee, I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:
I have no joy of this contract to-night: And yet I would it were to give again.
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; But to be frank, and give it thee again.
Sweet, good night! My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. The more I have, for both are infinite.
Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast! NURSE calls within

ROMEO JULIET
O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied? I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu!
If that thy bent of love be honourable,
JULIET Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow.
What satisfaction canst thou have to-night? Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.
ROMEO
The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine. ROMEO
Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast!
Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest!

Drama. C.1 - Questions for Reading Comprehension

1. What Romeo’s dialogue shows his willingness to risk everything for Juliet,
showing his passionate and fearless nature?

2. Describe Shakespeare’s dramatic style of writing.

3. In terms of situation, in what ways are Romeo and Juliet similar to and
different from contemporary couples?

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Creative Nonfiction requires “dramatic writing.” Now, read a sample creative
nonfiction text about the narrator’s personal encounter with disaster. Analyze the
text based on the dramatic elements: situation, character, plot, and style.

Drama. B.2 - Reading

THE TRUTH ABOUT FILIPINO OLD TIMERS

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

The very first O.T. (Filipino Old Timer) I heard about was the man who
returned to Cebu to marry my mother’s friend, a spinster advanced in years. During
afternoon meriendas, I overheard the development of this alliance.
A crusty lady set in her ways; my mother’s friend refused to migrate to
America and the newlyweds lived in her seaside town. It was a poor place which relied
only on the sea’s yield and he quickly grew sick of eating fish and rice. He longed for
steaks, broccoli, and asparagus; he wanted them both to go to the United States. She
adamantly said no and finally he returned to America alone.
I got the idea that O.T.’s were displaced human beings after seeing another O.T. in a
travel agency. A quiet man with skin like stretched leather, he stood solemnly while
his relatives made arrangements for his quick return to the U.S. His children had
bought him a round-trip ticket from the U.S. to the Philippines and back. He had not
been home in over forty years; it had been his dream to return. But after just a few
days in his hometown, he became very unhappy and wanted to leave.
When I was a graduate student at UCLA, I became scared when an O.T. began
trailing me. I was shopping in Westwood Village, and later he even rode my bus. I
managed to lose him, but I sometimes wondered why he did that. That summer when
I lived with my friend and her uncle, an O.T. – the one married to an ex-nun – I was
also puzzled when he followed my friend and me everywhere. I would discover years
later that these men, who had generally been isolated from Filipino women, took
pleasure in just looking at and being with Filipinas.
After seeing more of California, I made a mental picture of where these Old
Timers worked – on the farms of Salinas; in the canneries of Monterey, perhaps in the
Portola Sardine Factory. I imagined Temple Street before the freeways, the raunchy
bars and restaurants where they hung out. I knew there were few places where these
men could socialize in during the 1940s. Sometime, somewhere, I had seen a poster
saying: No Dogs and No Filipinos Allowed.
I created a stereotype of them, and I pitied these old men who had labored
under California’s scorching sun, who were not allowed to marry white women, who
had only one another and their card games and their whisky.
It was Tony who wrecked this mental picture.
My husband, son, and I used to live in an apartment in Los Angeles, where
Tony, an O.T., lived in one of the downstairs apartments. I felt sorry for Tony. He was

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a small man who wore floppy fedoras, loose coats and baggy pants. I compared him
with the elderly in the Philippines who were surrounded by abundant children and
grandchildren. I remembered having to kiss the hands of my grandfather and
granduncles to greet them. I projected everything I knew about O.T.’s on Tony and I
almost wept when I told my husband about him.
My husband said Tony seemed fine, that he had seen him exit from a bar
down the street. Of course, I retorted, the poor man is so miserable, he’s driven to
drink. I adopted Tony as a mental relative of sorts; after all, we were both strangers
in a strange land.
I never spoke to him because he was a very private man who came and went
without any fuss. There were, however, occasional strange sounds that came from his
apartment. Once, on the way to the laundry room, I walked by his bathroom and
heard what seemed to be an animal in great agony. I thought nothing of it.
When Christmas came, I gave him a box of See’s candies. “I thought you’re
Vietnamese married to a G.I.,” he said. The very next day he came knocking and
handed me a larger box of See’s candies with an enormous red bow and plastic
flowers. He didn’t say anything; he just gave me the box and left.
As the months passed, Tony continued coming and going as before, and I
continued entertaining this vision of him as a pathetic old man. But in the summer, I
had to change my view of Tony and about O.T.’s in general.
One night there was a terrible commotion from Tony’s apartment. My
husband and I peeped out our window and saw the manager with two policemen in
front of Tony’s place. I was sure they had found him dead or hurt.
In the morning we hurried to the manager to find out what had happened.
“Oh,” she said – she was a German lady, large with red hair—“nothing to
worry about. This happened before.” Our eyebrows shot up questioningly and she
explained that Tony had girlfriends who sometimes moved into his apartment. “The
giggling and goings-on coming from that place!” she added. Tony apparently wanted
his current girlfriend to move out but she refused, thus the hassle.
It took me a while to absorb her words. My husband laughed but I stood
there thoroughly puzzled. I had all these ideas about Old Timers, about Tony, I had
to rethink things.
Now when I see Old Timers huddled over their card games, my first instinct
is still a wave of sympathy, but I just think of Tony and I chuckle and wish them a
good hand.

Drama. C.2 - Questions for Reading Comprehension

1. What does O.T’s (Filipino Old Timers) mean based on the text?

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2. Read the second paragraph. How did the writer characterize the man (he)?

3. Is there an imagery used in the text? Enumerate some.

4. The word meriendas is used in the text. What do you call this choice of word
by the writer?

5. What was the first impression of the persona about Filipino Old Timers?

6. Does this impression change based on the events of the story? What literary
technique is used in this part?

7. Quoted speech is employed in the text. What do you call this technique?

8. Is there a flashback employed in writing? Cite it.

9. What character of Filipino old timers is shown in the story?

10. What is the main theme of the story?

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Integrate

How do you show your appreciation of literature as an art and as a craft?

Write your answers in 2-3 sentences only in the spaces provided.

AS AN ART AS A CRAFT

Try These

Multiple Choice: Read and analyze the questions below. Choose the letter of the
correct answer. Write the letter of your choice on the space provided before the item.

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___1. Which of the following ideas refers to the specific and deliberate use of language
to convey meaning and is considered as a device?
A. Literary Device B. Literary Technique C. Poetic License

___2. What is the central idea or message which the story or text revolves in?
A. Character B. Point of View C. Theme

___3. The use of quoted speech or direct statements in the text is an example of literary
technique. What specific literary technique is this?
A. Conversation B. Dialogue C. Foreshadowing

___4. Which of the following items does NOT belong to the group?
A. Characters B. Figures of Speech C. Symbolism

___5. Which of the following items does NOT belong to the group?
A. Love B. Heroism C. Flashback

___6. What is the basic pre-requisite of analyzing techniques used in a text?

A. considerable comprehension level
B. knowledge about literary techniques
C. both A and B

___7. What aspect is deemed necessary in order for the reader to connect and relate
with the text?
A. Experience B. Knowledge C. Love for Reading

___8. Why do writers use figurative language as one of the techniques in writing a text?
A. It is for the purpose of art and aesthetics.
B. It makes conveyance of meaning more understandable.
C. It functions as the other way of expression to impress readers.

___9. What literary technique is employed when you encounter statements in a text
such as, I remember one occasion in the year 2018, during Christmas eve…?
A. Flashback B. Foreshadowing C. Representation

___10. What literary technique is employed when you encounter statements in a text
such as, This house if shall pass will be fruitful ‘til the end of its might…?
A. Dialogue B. Parallelism C. Symbolism

___11. “I see all his stars- his stars of success!” What figure of speech is used in this
statement if the star is used to replace potentials?

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 Module 1: Understanding Conventions and Traditional Genres
A. Metaphor B. Metonymy C. Synecdoche

___12. “I experience a lot of heartaches from the community I belong. Because I am a

black man, I was rejected by few if not some.” If this statement is part of the text,
what is its theme?
A. Discrimination B. Poverty C. Religiosity

___13. “I know that today, you will rock it on! You will definitely get a high score in your
exams! Why? Because you are great and mommy too! Good luck baby!” If this
statement is part if the text, what is its theme?
A. Love and support of a Mother
B. The Power of Optimism
C. The Importance of Love and Care

___14. Which of the following statements best shows Heroism as a theme?

A. I never thought I could do that. I ran away from the killer!
B. To save one’s life is not a choice. It is a duty to God and to fellowmen. I
saved the boy even if I risk my life.
C. Looking back to our life status before, we are compared to a stray dog with
no permanent refuge, no food to eat, no any single penny and no one dares
to lend us a helping hand.

___15. A theme is not only limited to one word or phrases. It could also be a complete
statement, universal and debatable. Which of the given themes passes this
standard?
A. Money is the root of all evil.
B. Life in America is not at all a bed of roses.
C. God is supreme and the greatest of all who came from nowhere.

Challenge Yourself

Textual Explorations: Analyze and Reveal

Directions: Recall the selection entitled THE TRUTH ABOUT FILIPINO OLD TIMERS
by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard. Write your simple, yet comprehensive analysis of
the techniques used and interpret the theme in the story. Your answer should be
two consecutive paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain 7-10 sentences. The
first paragraph should discuss first your analysis on the techniques used, and the

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 Module 1: Understanding Conventions and Traditional Genres
second paragraph should compose your analysis on the theme. Be guided with the
given rubrics in writing your analysis and interpretation.

5 4 3 2 1
Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor
Content The substance is The substance The substance is The substance is The substance
(Relevance of perfectly relevant is relevant but with relevant but with not relevant and written cannot be
the substance with the question or little missed noticeable numbers needs to include understood and
task. discussion. of inconsistencies. few contents. needs to include
to the questions
almost all content
or task) needed.
Unity Statements Statements Statements Statements Almost all of the
(Supports only constructed support constructed constructed constructed do not statements written
one central only one central supports only one supports only one support the central does not support
idea. central idea but with central idea but with idea and few the central idea of
idea for each
minimal unwanted few unwanted sentences are the paragraph.
paragraph) sentences. sentences. unwanted.
Coherence Sentences within Sentences within Sentences within Sentences within Almost all sentences
(Connectedness the paragraph are the paragraph are the paragraph are the paragraph are not coherent
and perfectly related with related with each somehow related have considerable with each other.
each other. other but with with each other but number of
relatedness of
minimal illogical few statements incoherence.
statements statements. are illogical.
within the
paragraph)
Correctness Mechanics are Mechanics are Mechanics are with Mechanics are with Almost all of the
(grammar, perfectly correct. correct but with few errors. more and mechanics are
paragraphing, minimal errors. considerable incorrect or
errors. erroneous.
punctuation
mark,
indention,
spelling, etc.)

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High Five!

Congratulations for accomplishing all the activities

and exercises in this module! I hope you learned a lot
from analyzing literary techniques and interpreting
themes.

As your exit slip, write a 1-sentence

takeaway from this lesson.

__________________________________

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References
TEXTBOOKS

 Abelos, A & Co. (2007). Philippine literature: Rediscovering our regional heritage.
Mutya Publishing, Inc. : Malabon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

 Dayagbil F., Abao E. & Bacus R. (2016). Critical Reading and Writing for the Senior
High School. Lorimar Publishing Inc. : Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

 Moratilla, N. & Teodoro, J. (2016). Claiming Spaces: Understanding, Reading, and

Writing Creative Nonfiction. The Phoenix Publishing House Inc.: Quezon City,
Metro Manila, Philippines.

 Most Essential Learning Competencies- Regional Initiated. MELC #1- Code-

HUMSS_CNF11/12-Ia-3

WEB LINKS
Coconi, Angeliki (2017). What is the difference between literary techniques and
elements?. https://penandthepad.com/difference-between-literary-
elementsdevices-8602539.html

Literary Devices, Elements & Techniques. www.rhinebeckcsd.org ›

moxiemanager › data › files

Pope, Bella Rose (2019). Literary Devices: 15 Literary Elements With Examples
& Tips to Use Them. https://self-publishingschool.com/literary-devices/

38 | Creative Nonfiction SJS Global Senior High School