21st Century Philippine Literature Analysis
a.) Genuinely Honest
Ang Anim na Sabado ng Beyblade was published by Ferdinand Pisigan Jarin in 2013. It contains the story of a father and his son, Rebo and how Rebo and his family fought through his illness. Anim na Sabado ng Beyblade is included as the last part of the book Anim na Sabado ng Beyblade at iba pang Sanaysay. The book is categorized as a creative nonfiction because it contains real life events which also has literary twists. The book contains the segments of Ferdinand Pisigan Jarin’s life from when he was a kid, teenager and an adult.
The events that happened in the story all happened in Jarin’s life. Ferdinand Pisigan Jarin had two children, the second one being Rebo Lean. The processes and trials that they went through in the story were all real as Ferdinand Jarin describes how full of despair it was of a journey. Rebo, the son of Ferdinand was portrayed as a courageous and energetic little boy who has always shown strength and happiness even when he was hurting.
Anim na Sabado ng Beyblade portrays Ferdinand Jarin as the father and how seeing his son suffer through ALL(Acute Lympocytic Leukemia) broke his heart and caused him grief. Writing the book serves as a reminisce of Rebo through words and also as a tribute to Rebo.
Ferdinand Pisigan Jarin as he described himself is a a typical Filipino person who experiences typical Filipino things. The beauty in his works is that the way that he conveys his stories fill us with different perspectives and emotions that different people face. Jarin incorporates different elements into his stories like humor, grief and pure raw emotion that make it so relatable.
Knowing Jarin’s life makes us appreciate his stories and amplify our appreciations because we see him in a real and genuine way. Jarin is very courageous to share his personal life and fill it with his real and sincere reactions (like how he doesn’t hold back on his language to show how intense his emotions were.)
b.) Caged Minds
Aviary is written by Lysley Tenorio and which tells a story about three poverty-stricken boys who went to Greenbelt Mall in order to send a message to the higher class. Aviary is categorized as Noir fiction because there is no clear distinction of right or wrong and all the characters have flaws within them.
An aviary is described as a confinement where birds can fly freely in a large living space. In the story, Greenbelt Mall was said once to be an aviary. Through the passage there were hints such as the kids placing dead birds in luxury bags of stores because they want to remind the wealthy people that the birds who once lived under the aviary now have no place to go but to aimlessly fly and soon perish.
But is this truly the only metaphor we can get? The aviary can also signify as barrier between the wealthy and the reality. A lot of children are spoiled and kept out of the real world only to later experience that real life is harder than they thought. The aviary serves as protection for the ignorance of the rich on the perspective of the society. It serves as a blindfold to those who don't realize that suffering is prevalent in other places while they relax and enjoy life.
This story showed us that inequality is more widespread than we think. It gives us a view on the social disparity between the two sides of the picture. Notice that in the story the saleslady getting ganged up by the kids were compared to their living status as they squeezed in a tiny space for shelter. This indicates that not all people are having a secure and comfortable life unlike the ones that are inside this “aviary”.
Society is portrayed as an injustice for the poor who face the consequences of the powerful people such as lands being stolen, rent being increased which leads to many being homeless. Most of the time, a lot of poor people are used to gain more political power through platforms which are never usually implemented. Funds supposedly for projects are used to bribe people to get their votes. Corrupt people prevail because they use underhanded techniques to lure people astray with their hollow promises.
Our main characters are from the unfortunate side that see and realize the contrast between the wealthy and the poor. Acknowledging this, they attempt to send a message to the advantaged side. Our characters are victims who want to show these caged birds the reality and freedom of thought that people are suffering from outside the place they call sanctuary. They partly do want revenge for the prejudices that people place on them such as when someone is poor, he/she is immediately guilty of being bad and dishonest when compared to a rich person. They want to erase assumptions on who someone is solely from their situation or their appearances. They want to attain a world where everybody treats everyone fairly while also being served justice.
A person can never be only a hero or a villain, we make our mistakes and learn from it. We as part of the more gifted society should be open-minded and considerate to others because we aren't perfect and not all of us are given the opportunity to of a happy life. We mustn’t judge a book by its cover.
The author aims to tell a tale regarding an unheard story between the rich and the poor. An aviary is used to describe the situation of our society as rich people hide in it while also being unaware of the reality. The author wants us to recognize that the lower class people are innocents who have been twisted by the higher class and society in general leading them to suffer more each day.
c.)Translations of Love
The two given poems namely Kapag Sinabi Kong Mahal Kita by Juan Miguel Severo and Maihahambing Kita by Marra PL. Lanot were all about love and the view of each gender on it. Love may have thousands of meanings, and these poems are only a fragment of it and maybe the same for some and different for others.
The first poem, Kapag Sinabi Kong Mahal Kita described love as something to work for. It is something that has challenges that need to be completed before arriving at the goal where rest can be attained. Love is something that is worth putting effort into It’s something that isn’t just shown in words, but rather it is a manifestation of our actions and willingness for one another, this can be seen in the lines “Dahil ang aking ‘mahal kita’ Ay hindi pagtatapos sa mahal lang kita.”and “Pagpapaguran ko ito, Hihintayin kita, Susundan, Susuyuin”. Love is something we need the patience to achieve, and once the goal is reached it isn’t done. Love is continuous and full of challenges and barriers that must be overcome by each of us together. Patience as a virtue is visibly seen in these lines, “Kaya’t hayaan mong dumating ang mga bagyo, Hayaan mong malusaw ako sa araw, Hayaan mong kumbinsihin kita na kakampi rin ako.”
The second poem, Maihahambing Kita describes love as household chores. Household chores that when finished gives us relief like the line, “at lumuluwag ang aking hininga”. “sa kumot na kinusot ikinula, isinampay” and “para ipatong sa katawan ko sa gabing maginaw” symbolizes that we need to help each other and do our part in understanding and taking care of our relationships because when the clothing was dirty it was washed by the person and when the person was cold the clothing was there to give warmth. Love can be compared to a house where we always need to maintain its condition or else it will become dirty and abandoned like how we wash our clothes every day, clean the house and prepare the food. It’s the same for relationships, if no one cares for it, if no one solves the problems that are there then the relationship becomes forgotten. The line,“ Maihahambing kita sa walis ng aking buhay na unti-unting napupudpod sa agiw, ipis, alikabok, kasama-sama sa araw at gabi” can also symbolize trust and loyalty between couples because the broom is still used even if it’s already dull.
Some simile, imagery and a bit of hyperbole are used to highlight the message of the poems.
In the first poem some examples of imagery are, “nanginginig ang aking kalamnan, nanlalambot ang aking mga tuhod, nangangawit ang aking mga braso”. These lines represent the hardships that are face such as being tired and exhausted when loving someone. A bit of hyperbole was used in the line, “Hayaan mong malusaw ako sa araw” which also represents that love needs time and patience for it to work.
In the second poem, a lot of similes were used to compare love to chores. Some examples from the poem are, “Maihahambing kita sa kumot na kinusot ikinula at isinampay” and “Maihahambing kita sa plantsang pumapasada sa damit na gusot-gusot”.
Moreover, the perspectives used by each poet exemplify the role of gender in experiencing love. The first poem portrays the usual role of the man in love. He courts the woman in hopes of her response. He may wait for days or months for the woman to respond to his calls and appeals. It was hinted at in the third stanza which says,” Nanginginig ang aking kalamnan, Nanlalambot ang aking mga tuhod, Nangangawit ang aking mga braso”. We can safely say that it’s a man because traditional Filipino courting methods involve men standing in front of a woman’s house to serenade her and convince her parents that he is worthy to take the hand of their daughter. “Nangangawit ang aking mga braso” can also pertain to the man getting tired because of holding his guitar. The second poem also shows the typical role of a woman in a relationship which is doing house chores and maintaining the house stable while the man goes to work. Although these practices aren’t all the same for relationships, it serves as signs to identify who is addressing the poem.
Each of the two poems describes experiences pertaining love using different methods. The poem Kapag Sinabi Kong Mahal Kita described how love has struggles and challenges that need to be faced in order to attain it. The poem Maihahambing Kita compared love to chores and how love needs to be nurtured and cared for in order for it to be successful.
d.) Ang Huling Essay
Ang Huling El Bimbo is a story that portrays four friends and the challenges that they faced which tested the bonds of their friendship. The use of songs by Eraserheads made me enjoy the play as I could sing along with some of the songs in my mind. I think that the story and concept of the play is good because it describes the life of a college student and how people tend to stray from their true selves once they reach adulthood.
The play was very interesting as it covered many issues prevalent in our society. Some of it being poverty, abuse, friendships, gender identity and corruption. Corruption and abuse was seen in Banlao as he manipulates Joy to do as he says or else she’ll be blackmailed by him. Poverty was seen in Joy’s family as they struggle to make ends meet resulting in doing many illegal and immoral deeds. Gender identity was seen in Anthony as he is shamed by his Father and Banlao for being queer. Friendships were tested because the true personalities of the friends are revealed when they were assaulted during their trip and Hector refused to tell authorities.
There are many unpredictable events that tend to change our lives’ directions and paths. These events are highlighted in the play and show us that little actions and tweaks make big effects on our future. An example is how the three friends reacted when they made the decision to not tell the authorities of what had transpired on the night the incident happened. These actions left Joy with no friends to accompany her through life while the other three feel guilty until they grow older.
The play tackled many issues but made it a point not to dig too deep on a certain subject, an example is how Anthony had no character development and was still a closeted gay. This reflects that in life there are things that we don’t have control of so we need to look at situations in different angles to understand why something ended up like they did.
Ang Huling El Bimbo showcases how decisions affect us and others.We can’t erase the past but we can change the future. As humans we are prone to mistakes and misjudgments that affect us by letting us realize our actions which help us learn, reflect, and move forward. We can see this in the play as the three friends realize their mistakes and that they can’t save Joy anymore so they made it a point to raise her daughter so that she won’t end up like Joy.