Reaction Paper

on

Filipino Literature of

the Philippines

Submitted by:
Marynelle L. Sevilla
BSA – 1D
 Submitted to:
Gregoria C. de la Cruz
Instructor
 The Wedding Dance

by Amador T. Daguio

The main issue tackled in this story is the inability to bear a child. As for me, a child is an

important factor in a successful marriage. To bear children is very important element in creating a

family and establishing better relationship between husband and wife; however, it is something

which Awiyao and Lumnay would never achieve. But I certainly believe that if you truly love your

significant other, it does not matter. However, in some places it is important as it signifies your

pride as a man and to be able to fit in a society. This story entitled “The Wedding Dance”, is all

about marriage, separation, responsibility, and tragic love.

The story started with Awiyao and Lumnay talking about the separation. Although, they

love each other deeply they have to part ways because of Lumnay’s inability to conceive a child,

as it is against their tribe’s law. Because of this, Awiyao is forced to marry another woman, named

Madulimay, who can possibly give him a child. They had to ignore the call of their hearts and free

each other—- just for a shallow view of an unwritten law. Every story has obstructions or barriers

to make it worth reading. The obstacles or barriers presented in the story are their tribe culture and

the society. Awiyao loves Lumnay, but he has to find another woman whom he can remarry to

finally have a child. For the reason that based on their culture, a man can’t be accepted and

recognized in the society if he can’t have a child. What a complicated thing. Poor Awiyao and

Lumnay. Since Awiyao can’t do anything, he just followed what he thought was the right thing to

do. Nevertheless, their love for each other didn’t stop there. Awiyao continued to love Lumnay

and so is Lumnay to Awiyao.

While reading the story, a feeling of sympathy towards Lumnay crept through me. I find it

unfair because the rule of love says we must be with the one we love. They are just two people

who love each other but circumstances are just not going the way they wanted it. They are just two

innocent people trying to build a family, yet they were punished. Their situation breaks my heart.

I cried at some point while reading it because I somehow feel what they feel.
 The author was successful in showing the readers what great love is. And I liked how he

constructed the story, a very local and nationalistic kind of story. The rich culture of the tribe was

shown as well, and how the tribe members respect and follow the rules. It made me appreciate the

life before technology came. It was just amazing how they are contented with the things like the

beads and farm tools, the only worldly possession they have.

I was not able to understand the last part when I read it for the first time, so I need to read

it like several times to fully comprehend it. The last paragraph states, “The stretching of the bean

pods full length from the hearts of the wilting petals would go on.” For me, it means that life must

The hearts of the wilting petal symbolize Lumnay’s broken heart. It means that though her heart

is broken today, still her life goes on and there will be a new morning to face. “She would be

holding the bean flowers, soft in texture, silken almost, but moist where the dew got into them,

silver to look at, silver on the light blue blooming whiteness, when the morning comes.” Her

painful experiences from getting out of the miserable memories she had while reminiscing

Awiyao’s love will soon be gone and from there she will be a beautiful bean pod.

Though there is a big difference between ethnic Filipino groups from modernized Filipinos,

I am very much sure that the readers of the story could still relate a lot and would love it. Filipinos

have great adoration of love stories relating to family crisis; and though the Wedding Dance by

Amador Daguio is a simple one, it deserves a “vote of confidence”, for it stands up and shows the

world how rich culture the Filipinos have. All in all, it was a great story and a worth reading one.
 The Small Key

by Paz M. Latorena

When we are in a relationship, there should be trust between couples. It is a timely and

very contemporary issue that most of married couples faces nowadays. When someone enters a

relationship, he or she should be ready with the responsibilities that comes along with it, to commit

and be committed takes a lot of sacrifices. However, no relationship is perfect. It is just a matter

of how a couple handles a certain misunderstanding.

The story “Small Key” written by Paz M. Latorena is tackles issues that is commonly faced

by married couple such as trust and forgiveness. It is also about how people react in a certain

situation if they are overpowered by their own emotions. Sometimes, we do something to satisfy

ourselves even when we are very much aware of what would be the consequences of our actions

are. We do some decisions without thinking seriously, then after we commit the actions, we’ll

realize that what we’ve done was wrong.

I liked the story the first time I read it but was kind of puzzled at the end because the ending

was unclear. I was able to understand the central theme of the story after reading it multiple times

and that is trust and forgiveness. In this story, Pedro, the husband, possess and displayed a typical

Filipino attitude and characteristic. He was sentimental and gives importance to the person he

loved and to the things that person owned. Soledad, the wife on the other hand, portrays another

Filipino attitude of being jealous and a person who has doubts about her husband.

The story showed symbolizations that was quite evident if you really understand the story.

The small key represents the first wife of Pedro Buhay who passed away many years ago. It was a

key to open the trunk where her first wife’s belongings are hidden. It symbolizes how Pedro tried

to hide the memories of her dead wife. The large key represents Soledad, she has the power to burn

the clothes of Pedro’s first wife. Yhe story emphasized how love can transcend in different aspect

and faces. How love between Soledad and Pedro waivered when Soledad got jealous of Pedro's

deceased wife just because Pedro still keeps and treasures her belongings leading to Soledad

burning the clothes. Pedro however proved his love for his wife and forgave her despite of what
she had done without even confronting her. It only shows that he understands his wife and

acknowledged that he has mistakes too.

In conclusion, marriage is something that's different to a mere boyfriend and girlfriend

relationship. It is a commitment, that the couple vowed in front of God to stick with each other

through thick and thin. We should always trust our partner to avoid issues and to make our married

life happy. Although it's inevitable not to have problems during marriage, love, forgiveness and a

good communication will settle everything.

 Youth

by Maximo D. Ramos

Life as we all know, we owe it to our Almighty God. Life is so beautiful that we should

live it like there’s no tomorrow. Enjoy and savor every single moment and try to be as happy and

contented as you can be because life is only temporary. We may not know when God would take

it back.

The poem “Youth” by Maximo D. Ramos describes the beauty and at the same time

mystery of life as it is lived by every individual. Upon reading it, I sort of understand that it was

all about life but have to reread it for like 5 times to fully understand the content and message of

the poem. I also have to look up some unfamiliar words in the dictionary. This poem only has 2

stanzas. In the first stanza, the fulfillment of being given the chance to see the light of the world

for the first time was beautifully described. Being born and having been given the chance to live a

life is one great manifestation of God’s graciousness and love. To be able to be raised by a mother,

to be accepted and cared for. Fun and wonderful memories are being made and enjoyed in the

restless days of childhood. And for most people, youth is the happiest part of their life, it is the

time when they are young, naïve, free, and have all the time in the world to grow and develop until

such time when one comes of age and gets the chance to raise a family. Whilst in the second stanza,

unfolding another mystery of life is being emphasized. This is somehow the moment when one

finally expresses content and enrichment of one’s experiences of the life that he has been given.

He takes the final phase of surrendering the life to be able to enter a new one and reunite with the

God, and that is the greatest and the most beautiful mystery of mankind. Furthermore, one evident

characteristic of a Filipino is being reflected on the poem. Filipinos are known for being religious

and God-fearing. The poem showed how life of an individual starts from God and goes back to

God.

To conclude, life is a journey, but it’s not always about your destination. Sometimes what

really matters are the experiences, places and people we encounter along the way. It’s not about

how many times we stumbled and fell. It’s about how we stood back up again, how we learned
from that fall and how we became stronger after that. I enjoyed reading the poem because it showed

me how beautiful life could be. It inspires me as well to live my life well, do the things that I

wanted to achieve and savor every moment and make memories that I spent with my family and

friends.