A Formalistic Analysis of the Short Story The Sounds of Sunday

Marriage is the social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is strengthen
by love, devotion and passion. But what happens what all those nice words fade? The story: The Sounds of
Sunday by Kerima Polotan Tuvera portrayed the possibility of the existence of this event and the events that
trigger more events. It has also taken on a new form as it was told leaning towards the wife’s views unfolding
flashback and present events. This paper will use the formalistic style of criticism as the critic scrutinizes the
basic elements of the story that are connected to those events.

The formalistic approach believes that a literary work exists separately from its maker. So, in analyzing,
it is done simply by examining all the elements of a literary piece not involving the author’s biography. The
formalist critic examines the plot, characterization, theme, and style to show how these elements contribute
to the structure, effectiveness, and aesthetic quality of the work. Poe’s principle indicates that the elements
produce a formal unity tying everything together. These are the most important aspects of a literary work.
These parts make up a whole which is a new life detached from the author. T. S. Eliot, a major proponent in
formalistic criticism, also states that moral, historical and other concerns that are like the two are considered
to be extrinsic and second only to the elements. Consequently, it is believed that a literary piece is an
objective high form of art rather an expression of a particular issue or idea. So, this analysis will study the
elements of the theme, conflict, and characters -protagonists and antagonists.

Kerima Tuvera’s story revolved around the concept of a failing marriage. It accentuated the fact that a
deteriorating love in a couple exists and can take form in many ways. The story was about Domingo Gorrez
who replaced his wife with his job. Although this was the case, the critic believes that this circumstance was
just layering the portrayal of Domingo’s already failing love towards his wife, Emma Gorrez. The fact was that
he was leaning closer and closer to dropping his affection for his wife. And when he happened to get an
immoral job, this gave him the reason to further go down and destroy his marriage. The story also showed
that though the first party will let go the bonds in a marriage, the other party may not necessarily do the same
thing, even if he/ she may be tempted to do so. Domingo’s failing love and dwindling strength to maintain his
marriage gave Emma lots of reasons to leave but these did not give her the reasons to let go completely
causing her to find Domingo’s love in the most unconventional of ways.

A conflict is sometimes described as the situation where the protagonist battles the antagonist. In The
Sounds of Sunday, the conflict, a man versus man type, is twisted in a sense that it is manifested into a curious
form. This is exhibited on the fact that though the story settles on a typical domestic dispute between the
husband, Domingo and the antagonist, and wife, Emma who is the protagonist, and centers on the
conventional abuses she gets from him, Emma does not entirely acknowledge this. Instead, she was trying to
get closer to her husband and was ready to put his abuses behind them. Instead of pulling away, she wanted
to get closer to him even by means of leaving and hoping that he would miss her. That, if only her husband
would submit to it. So, basically, the conflict exists but was molded by the feelings the protagonist possessed
for the antagonist.

The story focuses mainly on two people: Domingo and Emma. Rene Rividad is also a vital character but
is only important during the latter part of the story. Domingo plays as the husband who has been led astray
because of power and position. He wanted to be somebody so much that he gave up his family to be that
somebody. Emma was portrayed as a typical wife who worries about her husband. So typical in fact that she
was like every wife who is submissive to her husband- a wife who cannot go against his wishes. Instead of
doing something about the immoral job her husband has, all she could do was just ask around. The In the end,
although she did manage to go against Domingo’s will, she was still unable to escape his grasped and the past
they shared. Yes, Emma wasn’t under Domingo’s arms anymore but she was still under his curse. The dilemma
Emma faced while rethinking her past, wishing it was not like that and desperately finding Domingo’s warmth
again were part of this curse. Although she was married, her character, the critic imagines, would be someone
who has the fragility of a high school girl. The author probably made her to be the complete opposite of her
husband who would act as a conscience while possessing a delicate but tormented life. Her femininity acted as
a springboard to catapult the bitter characteristics of her husband and everyone around her thereby
amplifying their personalities even more. Then, her character was distorted to be more human than ever. Even
a good person can be tainted by corruption. The appearance of Rene Rividad tested that. His character only
appeared at the later parts of the story, strengthening what was going to be a trial period for Emma. Emma
was perplexed by the repetition of events because by then, Rene was likened to and even mirroring Domingo.
She has faced many problems with Domingo but will she be able to face an even greater problem rooting from
the bottom most part of her hunger for the love she once knew.

Thus, Kerima Polotan Tuvera’s story, the Sounds of Sunday, is a story about the failing love of a
husband, Domingo Gorrez, and a wife, Emma Gorrez, who struggled to make sense of it all. Emma, the main
character, had problems about her husband thereby showing the conflict of the story. Simply stating, the
husband was the antagonist and the wife was the protagonist. And although this was the case, her emotions
towards Domingo oddly twisted the conflict and made it more compelling. Also, the story was a succession of
flashbacks and present events that were unified by the ending. The twists and turns of the events led to a
single moment questioning the integrity the main character and her love towards a husband who let her go
because of his line of work.