JEFFREN P.

MIGUEL
MAEd-English
Advanced Philippine Literature
Reaction Paper
University of the Immaculate Conception

Short Stories: A Slice of Life on Earth

Literature is a world of words, and it is also a world in words. Everything in this world is
literature. When we send letters to our friends and when we write our thoughts of the day in a
diary, we are doing literature and contributing something to the world of words. These reflections
of literature were the main topic of yesterday nights report: literature as a reflection of our life
through short stories.

The reporter, Mr. Villasor, presented three stories: (1) Wedding Dance; (2) Summer
Solstice; and (3) Scent of Apples. Each of these stories taught me values and traits that reflect the
Filipino culture. Although these cultures are nearly coming to its end, Im still happy that they
are written and reflected in the writings, thus, it will be preserved forever.

The first story presented was Wedding Dance. It is a very touching story that lets us
see a way of life in the old Philippines, and is set in a nearly forgotten culture, that of the tribal
people of northern Luzon. According to the story, marriage in this culture was seen as more or
less a contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of producing children. However, if
a woman cannot produce a child, the husband leaves her and finds another wife who can
continue the legacy of the family. I feel bad for the abandoned wife in the story because she
loves her husband so much. The only thing that hinders her to continue their bond is her fertility.
However, she still managed to let go of her husband. Hence, in this story, I learned that if you

really love someone, you must learn to let go. I really strongly recommend the reading of this
story for its very high intrinsic artistic value and for its cultural import.

The second story presented was the Summer Solstice. It was actually written in a time
in Philippine history that women must be submissive; wives are considered to be their husbands
property. I find this particular period in history very anti-women. They treat women as the lower
citizens. The story narrates a ritual performed by women to invoke the gods to grant the
blessing of fertility by dancing around a Balete tree that was already a century old. All in all, the
story depicts how Filipinos are searching for national and cultural identity. Although the reporter
skipped some parts of the story, I am still grateful because this story was introduced to us which
made us aware about the scenario of the Philippines in ancient times.

The last story to be presented was The Scent of Apples. The story basically tells a tale
about the predicaments that Filipinos are experiencing while working in the United States. The
jobs give them salaries that cannot even feed themselves. While listening to the reporter, I have
realized that oppression, during the olden times, was inevitable. I never thought how apples,
particularly its scent, can bring us back to who and where we really are. That basically is what I
have learned in the story.

All in all, I thank Filipino writers of the past who were able to write stories about the
slice of life years ago in the Philippines. Without these works, who could have thought that we
have such history and culture that is something to be proud of?

JEFFREN P. MIGUEL

MAEd-English
Advanced Philippine Literature
Reaction Paper
University of the Immaculate Conception

The Essay as a Reflection of Life

Our life is short, therefore we must write something out of it. This quote summarizes
everything on the report about essay yesterday night. I already encountered a lot of essays in my
life, but only yesterday I got the realization that essays are not what I thought to be. I keep on
telling my students to write an essay without really knowing the true meaning of an essay.

The reporter successfully presented the types of essay, and I am thankful for it. Only that
time I learned that a news article is an example of an essay, so is a thesis. These examples are not
just ordinary essays because they discuss complex ideas.

In addition, the essays Footnote to Youth and We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers were
also presented. All throughout my life I thought that these were not essays, but an example of a
short story. Dr. Elbanbuena elaborated that these works of literature can be considered an essay,
because they explicitly teach something to the readers. They can also be a narrative short story
because they have characters, setting, and plot. I am happy to have learned this yesterday. Now I
have something new to share to my students.

Furthermore, I also learned values from the essays of Jose Garcia Villa and Alejandro
Roces. In Footnote to Youth, the significant lesson that I could not forget is the effect of rash
decisions. In my life I am a rash decision maker, not thinking about the consequences of my

choice. The ending? I suffer from it. I learned that we must really think before we act, for we
might suffer the consequences of our choices.

In We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers, I therefore conclude that Filipinos are indeed
hospitable. This was shown when a Filipino offered a jungle juice to an American. Afterwards,
when the people thought that there were Japanese forces in the area, the Filipino accompanied
the American back to its camp. Im happy to have learned this because despite the commotion,
the Filipino still accompanied the American. Indeed, we Filipinos are not just mild drinkers, but
also hospitable.

When we write essay, we only not develop our logical thinking in a written form. Also,
we shall develop a sense of patriotism because everything we write reflects our identity and
nationality as a Filipino.