Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Cavite, Philippines
Website: www.cvsu.edu.ph
Email Address: cvsu@asia.com

REFLECTION PAPER FOR LITT 1

Submitted by:

Virata, Abigail M.

BSMT 2-1

201710516

Submitted to:

Ms. Khezea Mae Diloy

MAY DAY EVE

May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin is all about love in a patriarchal society with the theme of
magic realism because of the superstitious beliefs that was depicted in the story. Doña
Agueda and Don Badoy Montiya became husband and wife and were entrapped on the
superstition that was badly mistaken as fate and in the end, became the regrets of the two
main characters. The story revolves mostly around Badoy and Agueda and the horrible
marriage they had together. Badoy was once madly in love with Agueda, mostly due to her
looks from the description in the book. He did not know much about her when they were
younger and Agueda refused him at first. Later on Agueda is seen using a
magic mirror asking who she should wed. The mirror replied to her that it should be
Badoy, the man she had first refused. At first, it was Badoy who wanted something that he
could not have. Later it was Agueda who decided to want something that she could not have.

So, one could say the moral is in part that you cannot have what you desire. Instead, you have
to settle for what there is and try to make the best of it. Eventually, the two were highly
unsatisfied never to have a good marriage. It is also a moral about how the men and
women behaved when they were young. In their youth they felt that anything was possible,
though the women in the tale behaved and the men were more carefree. In the end the story
showed that these youthful times are forgotten in the face of reality. The moral could also be
that reality comes no matter what, and one just has to live with that reality whether it is good
or bad. It also shows that youthful love will change and not always remain.

THE WEDDING DANCE

The Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio is a story of husband and wife, Awiyao and
Lumnay, who were married for seven years. Awiyao, the husband, has to go and marry
another woman because Lumnay could not get pregnant. After his second marriage Awiyao
went to check on Lumnay because he did not see her at his wedding dancing. Lumnay was in
fact at his wedding but left because she could not stand the idea of her husband being able to
marry another woman because she could not give him children.

What I learned from this masterpiece by Amador Daguio is that if you love someone, you’ll
let them go if that would make them happy. It’s a heartbreaking story, as Lumnay needed to
watch his husband marry another girl but she can’t. Lumnay had no choice but to let Awiyao
go as it is in their culture, and Awiyao don’t want to break the tradition in their community.

SCENT OF APPLES

"The Scent of Apples" by Bienvenido Santos is about how first generation

immigrants experience a sense of loss and seek connection to their past life even if they had
created a life for them in the new world. The story revolves around Santos and a Filipino
farmer from Indiana called Celestino Fabia. The scent of apples in the story The Scent of
Apples refers to the low paying type of jobs that Filipinos had to take when they came to
America. Picking fruit was one type of job; therefore, the literal scent of apples indicates the
profession of the worker who spends all his time in the orchard picking apples. What I
learned from this story is that life would be hard; we would face many problems and
challenges in our lives and we should be brave and strong enough to face it.

WHERE’S THE PATIS?

“Where is the Patis?” by Carmen Nakpil is a story of a Filipino citizen who missed the
Filipino delicacy, culture and traditions. It is seen in the essay the longings of the main
character to his/her homeland. It is similar to us, whenever we go to a place with different
culture, traditions and foods. A Filipino may denationalized himself but not his stomach. This
statement from the author of the poem is quite true. It is based from the fact that the food a
person love to eat everyday is the he will crave for whenever is hungry. Although many
Filipinos are going abroad because it’s their ultimate dream to go to a new place, they will
always bring the Filipino culture. Even though personalities and fashion style can change,
Filipino attitude towards preference for food cannot be changed and that's a great evidence of
being a Filipino. What food our stomach will prefer is what we will eat. Due to the fact that
Filipino foods are rich in fat, we can’t easily found them on foreign restaurants. We all know
that foreigners prefer less fat foods. Though, there are still few Filipino food chains abroad,
only few foreigners taste it and most of its customers were Filipinos also. It only means that
Filipinos abroad prefer to eat Filipino foods also. Filipinos prefer food that they are craving
for and that is Filipino foods.

FOOTNOTES TO THE YOUTH

Footnote to Youth is a story about a farmer’s son named Dodong who got married at
seventeen, he asked the permission of his parents to marry Teang, and his father was sort of
against it but then he was kind of caught off guard and finally agreed with his son’s decision.
This is somehow relevant in this generation. Many teenagers nowadays already want to have a
family on their own without thinking of the possible consequences or challenges that they will
encounter once they have a family of their own. We have seen in the story how Dodong
regrets it, that’s why when their son Blas told him that he wants to marry Tona at the age of
eighteen he told him to think twice and not to rush. He knows how hard it is to have a family
at an early age and he doesn’t want Blas to experience it. Marriage in a very young age when
you are not yet prepared with the obligations accompanied to it will give birth to more
problems. Therefore before entering to a married life, we must not only think twice but a
hundred times.
HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE

How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife by Manuel Arguilla is a story about a man
named Leon bringing his future wife home to meet his parents. The story shows Maria, who
have to overcome different tests to become the wife of Leon. It is showed in the story the real
power of love. Maria, the wife did all the challenges given to her to prove that she is the one
meant for Leon. Her fears were replaced with faith and perseverance. She was ready to
change her living only for his only love. And this true love convinced the father of Leon
which sets them free to love each other. As I reflect on the story I read, love can really
change a person. It makes a person brave and strong in order to achieve what he wants. I’ve
seen and experienced this love in my parents. They fight and do all things for us, their
children, in order to live and be happy. Even life is hard, they are earning for a living. They
faced different challenges to take good care of us. True love is really admirable. It teaches a
person to be patient, caring, loving and a risk taker in overcoming all fears just for the one
who you love.