SHS

CORE SUBJECT

st
21 Century Literature
from the Philippines
and the World
Quarter 2
(Weeks 1 to 4)

Module 1: Contextual Reading

Approaches vis-à-vis World Literature
About the Module
This module exposes you to the different reading approaches along with the representative
texts and authors across the world.

This module is divided into four lessons namely:

Lesson 1 – Sociological Approach vis-a-vis Asian Literature
Lesson 2 – Feminist Approach vis-a-vis African Literature
Lesson 3 – Reader-Response Approach vis-a-vis European Literature
Lesson 4 – Formalist Approach vis-a-vis North and South American Literatures

Enjoy learning!

Day 1

Pretest
Directions: Read the statements carefully, and then write the letter of your chosen answer
on a whole sheet of paper (15 points).

1. Reading approaches are defined as _________________.

A. ways of analyzing a text C. skills in extracting information
B. methods of writing a story D. tools in defining a concept

2. Reading approaches are useful because they serve as a guide in __________________.

A. promoting literary trends C. communicating with the author
B. understanding works of literature. D. creating sources of entertainment

3. This term indicates the literary writings of a particular author, which are considered by
scholars and critics in general to be his/her genuine creations.
A. essay B. canon C. novel D. diary

4. This reading approach suggests that there is no single correct interpretation of a literary
work. Instead, it is based on the personal impressions made by the critic.
A. sociological B. formalism C. feminism D. reader-response

5. This reading approach explores the relationships between the text and society.
A. sociological B. formalism C. feminism D. reader-response

1
6. What reading approach is used in the analysis below?
'Buyayang, buyayang', a folk song from Butuan, a city in Mindanao, illustrates the impact
of violent conflict on Mindanao communities, in particular, the lumad communities.
A. sociological B. formalism C. feminism D. reader-response

7. "What is your overall reaction to the text?" This question will most likely be asked in which
reading approach?
A. sociological B. Feminism C. formalism D. reader-response

8. What literary approach is used in the analysis below?

In Dead Stars, I like how the author, Paz Marquez Benitez wrote the flow of the story
giving the readers’ questions on what will happen next, making them interesting and
inspiring at the same time.
A. sociological B. formalism C. feminism D. reader-response

9. In which reading approach will you most likely answer this question?
"How are these characters affected by the society?"
A. sociological B. formalism C. feminism D. reader-response

10. This element in literature includes the place and time of the actions that transpire in a
story.
A. character B. setting C. symbols D. plot

11. All of the following authors are considered Philippine representative authors EXCEPT,
A. Nick Joaquin C. N.V.M. Gonzalez
B. Shirley Siaton D. Fedirico Garcia Lorca

12. In reading the parable of the prodigal son in the New Testament, different readers are
likely to have different responses. What kind of critical approach is used?
A. feminism B. formalism C. sociological D. reader-response

13. This is an element of fiction that tells a significant truth about which a story attempts to
communicate to its readers.
A. conflict B. point-of-view C. theme D. Genre

14. It is an approach in reading that distinguishes the social stratification between the
capitalist and the working class, the ruler and its members, the rich and poor.
A. feminism B. formalism C. sociological D. reader-response

15. This is an element in fiction which refers to the opposition of forces that may set forth the
problems, issues, and challenges of various forms and sources that the main character
needs to face and to deal with.
A. conflict B. point-of-view C. theme D. genre

2
 Lesson 1 Sociological Approach
Week 1 vis-à-vis Asian Literature

What I Need to Know

After going through this lesson, you are expected to:

1. define the sociological approach to reading;

2. describe the characters and context of a literary work in relation to its society; and
3. write responses for a character in terms of the context.

What’s In

In Quarter 1, we discussed about literature from the Philippines. This quarter, we will focus
on literature from the world. How different is Philippine literature from world literature?

Describe Me!
Directions: Write a one-sentence description for each picture below. Relate the picture on
the left to Philippine literature and the picture on the right to world literature (5 points
each=10 points).

PHILIPPINE LITERATURE WORLD LITERATURE

Images credits to:

https://www.facebook.com/Philippine-Literature-Group5-342006059691897/
https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/a-small-giant-in-world-literature/

3
 Day 2

What’s New
Reading literature exercises the imagination. It transports us out of our current context and
into other ages and places. It enables us to see the world through the eyes of others. It
fosters reflection and improves our facility with language and vocabulary. There are times,
however, that we interpret and study literature differently. Some readers interpret literature
through their own experiences, some through the society’s point of view, and even some in
connection with the author. In interpreting literature, we may use different reading
approaches.

WHAT ARE READING APPROACHES?

Reading approaches (or literary criticisms, critical reading lenses, critical approaches, critical
theories, or literary theories) are ways to analyze, interpret, or evaluate works of literature. A
reading approach or literary criticism is essentially an opinion, supported by evidence,
relating to theme, style, setting or historical or political context. It usually includes discussion
of the work’s content and integrates your ideas with other insights gained from research.
Literary criticism may have a positive or a negative bias and may be a study of an individual
piece of literature or an author’s body of work.

Although criticism may include some of the following elements in order to support an idea,
literary criticism is NOT a plot summary, a biography of the author, or simply finding fault
with the literature. Researching, reading, and writing works of literary criticism will help you
to make better sense of the work, form judgments about literature, study ideas from different
points of view, and determine on an individual level whether a literary work is worth reading.

HOW WILL READING APPROACHES HELP YOU?

Reading approaches or literary criticisms will serve as your guide in understanding and
analyzing works of literature. You may analyze any work of literature depending on the
approach (sociological, reader-response, feminist, or formalist) you have chosen or asked of
you.

SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Sociological approach examines literature in the cultural, economic, and political context in
which it is written or received, exploring the relationships between the text and society. It
examines the artist's society to better understand the author's literary works. One influential
type of sociological criticism is Marxist criticism, founded by Karl Marx with Friedrich Engels,
which focuses on the economic and political elements of literature. Sociological or Marxist
readings often focus on exposing how the works depict the class struggle of the societies in
which they were written.

4
 EXAMPLE OF SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH IN READING LITERATURE

Below is a sample format for writing an analysis using the sociological approach.

I. Introduction
A. What is the title of the literary work?
B. What is it about? (in 1-2 sentences only)
C. Who is the author?
D. What is your main thesis statement or the main idea of your analysis?
II. Body
A. What is the setting of the story? What is the kind of society where the story was set?
B. Who are the characters and what are their characteristics?
C. How are these characters affected by the society? Use lines from the story to support
your answer.
D. What societal issue/s is/are evident in the story? Give examples to elaborate these
issues.
E. Are there class struggles and power struggles in the story? Use quotes from the
story to illustrate.
III. Conclusion
A. How do you restate your main thesis statement?
B. What is the possible solution to the societal issue/s presented?
C. What is your challenge to the readers in relation to the issue/s?

As you can see from the format above, sociological or Marxist critics are concerned with
examining the literary work as a product of its time and place, and are not easily tricked into
ignoring that context in exchange for the one depicted in the work.

Study the given analysis of Dead Stars by Paz Marquez-Benitez which uses the sociological
approach, then reflect on the questions that follow.

Dead Stars by Paz Marquez-Benitez shows the complicated circumstances that Alfredo
Salazar has to go through in life as he was engaged to Esperanza when he fell for another woman
named Julia. This situation led to Alfredo committing infidelity but, in the end, realizing that his love for
Julia was just infatuation. Indeed, love should be a commitment, not an obligation.

Written in 1925 during the American Period in the Philippines, Dead Stars was set during a
time when education was considered very important as seen in Alfredo being a lawyer. With education,
Alfredo was regarded as superior to those without education and even to women. This is evident in
Alfredo’s infidelity to Esperanza. However, Dead Stars was not only a story about love and affection
but also a reflection of the customs and practices of the people during the American Period. We
understand how courtship, marriage, and fidelity were considered by those in the upper class. Love
was not regarded as commitment but as part of one’s obligation to the family. With this, we can see
that women were regarded lesser than their true worth. There is tension between men and women
during the American Period as women did not have the voice yet to stand up for themselves.
As seen in the society during Alfredo’s time, love should have been regarded as a
commitment rather than a duty to fulfill. Two people in love should devote themselves to each other for
life instead of being influenced by the society. Love deeply and love truthfully. No pretensions.

5
Reflect on these questions in writing an analysis using the sociological approach (No need to
answer these questions on paper).

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:
1. How did the introduction begin?
2. How did the body develop?
3. How was the setting introduced in the body?
4. How were the characters presented in the body?
5. What content/s comprised the body?
6. How did the analysis end?

What I Can Do
Thumbs Up or Down!
Part 1. Directions: Identify whether the statements are true or false. Draw a thumbs up( )
if the statement is true; if false, draw a thumbs down ( ) (10 points).

1. A reading approach is also known as literary criticism.

2. Reading approaches are methods of interpreting a text.
3. To better understand a story, you can use a reading approach.
4. Literary criticism means finding faults from a work of literature.
5. Literary criticisms are purely based on opinion.
6. Reading approaches are plot summaries.
7. Sociological approach to reading examines the relationship between the text and the author’s life.
8. To better understand a story using the sociological approach, relate the text to the time
when it was written.
9. Marxist criticism shows the class struggles of the period of a certain work of literature.
10. Sociological approach believes that a literary work is a product of its time.

Day 3

Part 2. Directions: Read the literary text The Taximan’s Story by Catherine Lim from
Singapore. Read the notes in the boxes as well.

The Taximan’s Story

A short story by Catherine Lim (Singapore)

Very good, Madam. Sure, will take you there in plenty good time for your meeting, Madam.
This way better, less traffic, less car jams. Half hour should make it, Madam, so not to worry.
What is it you say, Madam? Yes, yes, ha, ha, been taximan for twenty years now, Madam.
Long time ago, Singapore not like this–so crowded so busy. Last time more peaceful, not so
much taximen, or so much cars and buses.

Yes, Madam, can make a living. So so. What to do. Must work hard if wants to success in
Singapore. People like us, no education, no capital for business, we must sweat to earn
money for wife and children.

6
Yes. Madam, quite big family–eight children, six sons, two daughters. Big family! Ha! ha! No
good, Madam. In those days, where got Family Planning in Singapore? People born many,
many children, every year, one child. Is no good at all. Today is much better. Two children,
three children, enough, stop. Our government say stop.

Lucky for me, all my children big now.

Four of my sons working–one a
businessman, two clerks, one a teacher
in Primary school, one in National Asian Literature
Service, one still schooling, in Secondary
Asian literature refers to the literature that was
Two. My eldest daughter, she is twenty
written over a period of thousands of years, in a
plus, stay at home, help the mother. No, variety of countries in Asia. Asian literature
not married yet–very shy, and her health encompasses East Asian literature that includes
not so good, but a good, obedient girl. Chinese, Japanese and Korean literature; Central
My other girl–Oh, Madam! very hard for Asian literature comprising of Bengali, Indian,
Pakistani and Tamil literature; West Asian Literature
father when daughter is no good and go that covers Arabic literature, Persian literature and
against her parents. Very sad, like Turkish literature and South East Asian Literature
punishment from God. Today, young that includes the literature of the Philippines,
people not like us when we are young. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and
Thailand.
We obey. Our parents say don’t do this,
we never do. Otherwise, the cane. My The study of the massive amount of Asian literature
father cane me, I was big enough to be as a whole requires the collection of literature under
married, and still, got caning. My father specific headings. Asian literature can be divided
he was very strict, and that is good thing into a host of different labels, categorized according
to religion, zone, region, ethnic group, literary genre,
for parents to be strict. If not, young boys historical perspective, or language of origin.
and girls become very useless. Do not
want to study, but run away, and go to Though throughout the centuries a vast amount of
night clubs and take drugs and make Asian literature has been written, most of Asian
literature can be broadly categorized as lyric, drama
love. You agree with me. Madam?
or narrative. The literary type of Asian writing was
Today, young people they are very usually determined by the surrounding culture of the
trouble to their parents. Madam, you see time and often expresses the ideologies (beliefs)
this young people over there, outside the prevalent in the era.
coffee-house? See what I mean,
Some ideologies in Asian literature revolve around
Madam? They are only schoolboys and nationalism, traditions and cultural values, nature
schoolgirls, but they act like big shots, and beauty, politics and social structure, spirituality,
spending money, smoking, wearing morality, duty and honor, and family.
latest fashion, and making love.
Ah Madam, I know, I know! As taximan, I know them and their habits. Madam, you are a
teacher, you say? You know or not that young schoolgirls, fifteen, sixteen years old, they go
to school in the morning in their uniforms and then after school, they don’t go home, they
have clothes in their schoolbag, and they go to public lavatory or hotel and change into
these clothes, and they put make-up on their face. Their parents never know. They tell their
Mum got school meeting, got sports and games, this, that, but they really come out and play
the fool.

Ah, Madam, I see you surprise, but I know, I know all their tricks. I take them about in my
taxi. They usual is wait in bowling alley or coffee house or hotel, and they walk up, and
friend, friend, the European and American tourists, and this is how they make fun and also
extra money. Madam, you believe or not when I tell you how much money they got? I say!
Last night, Madam, this young girl, very pretty and made-up, and wear sexy dress, she told
me take her to Orchid Mansions–this place famous, Madam, fourth floor flat–and she open
her purse to pay me, and I say! all American notes–ten dollar notes all, and she pull one out
and say keep change! As she has no time already. Madam, I tell you this, every month, I got
more money from these young girls and their American and European boyfriends in my taxi,
more than I get from other people who bargain and say don’t want go by meter and wait

7
even for ten cents change. Phui!! Some of them really make me mad. But these young girls
and their boyfriends don’t bargain, they just pay, pay, and they make love in taxi so much
they don’t know if you go round and round and charge them by meter! I tell you, Madam,
some of them don’t care how much they spend on taxi. It is like this: after 1p.m. taxi fare
double, and I prefer working this time, because naturally, much more money. I go and wait
outside Elroy Hotel or Tung Court or Orchid Mansions, and such enough, Madam, will have
plenty business. Last Saturday, Madam, no joking, on one day alone I make nearly one
hundred and fifty dollars! Some of it for services. Some of tourists don’t know where, so I tell
them and take them there, and that’s extra money.
Ah Madam, if I tell you all, no end to the story.
But I will tell you this, Madam. If you have
young daughter and she say Mummy I got
meeting today in school and will not come
About the Author
home, you must not say, Yes, yes, but you
Catherine Lim Poh Imm (born 21 March 1942) must go and ask her where and why and who,
is a Singaporean fiction author known for and you find out. Today young people not to
writing about Singapore society and of themes trust, like young people in many years ago. Oh,
of traditional Chinese culture.
Madam, I tell you because I myself have a
She began as a teacher, then was a project daughter–oh, Madam, a daughter I love very
director with the Ministry of Education, became much, and she is so good and study hard. And
a specialist lecturer with the Regional I see her report cards and her teacher write
Language Centre (RELC), and finally became ‘Good work’ and ‘Excellent’ so on, so on. Oh,
a full-time writer in 1992. She has won national
and regional book prizes for her literary Madam, she my favourite child, and I ask her
contributions. Her works are studied in local what she want to be after left school, and she
and foreign schools and universities and have says go to University. None of my other
been published in various languages in several children could go to University, but this one,
countries.
she is very smart and intelligent–no boasting,
Lim’s work deals largely with Singapore and Madam–her teachers write ‘Good ‘and
Singapore Chinese culture, often juxtaposing ‘Excellent’, and so on, so on, in her report
traditional customs and beliefs with modernity cards. She study at home, and help the
and prosperity. Women in particular are often mother, but sometimes a little lazy, and she
the protagonists as she examines traditional
roles with contemporary Westernised urban say teacher want her to go back to school to do
life. extra work, extra coaching, in her weak
subject, which is maths, Madam.
So I let her stay back in school and day after day she come home in evening, then she do
her studies and go to sleep. Then one day, oh Madam, it make me so angry even now–one
day, I in my taxi driving, driving along and hey! I see a girl looking like my Lay Choo, with
other girls and some Europeans outside a coffee-house but I think, it cannot be Lay Choo,
how can, Lay Choo is in school, and this girl is all dressed up and make-up, and very bold in
her behaviour, and this is not like my daughter at all. Then they go inside the coffee-house,
and my heart is very, very–how you describe it, Madam, My heart is very ‘susah hati’ and I
say to myself, I will watch that Lay Choo and see her monkey tricks. The very next day she
is there again I stop my taxi, Madam, and I am so angry. I rush up to this wicked daughter
and I catch her by the shoulders and neck, and slap her and she scream, but I don’t care.
Then I drag her to my taxi and drive all the way home, and at home I thrash the stupid food
and I beat her and slap her till like hell. My wife and some neighbours they pull me away,
and I think if they not pull me away, I sure to kill that girl. I lock her up in her room for three
days, and I ashamed to tell her teacher, so I just tell the teacher that Lay Choo is sick, so
please to excuse her. Oh, Madam, how you feel in my place? Make herself so cheap, when
her father drive taxi all day to save money for her University. What is it, Madam? Yes, yes,
everything okay now, thank you. She cannot leave the house except to go to school, and I
tell her mother always check, check in everything she do, and her friends–what sort of
people they are…

8
What, Madam? Oh, so sorry, Madam, cannot wait for you to finish your meeting. Must go off,
please to excuse me. In a hurry, Madam. Must go off to Hotel Elroy–there plenty people to
pick up. So very sorry, Madam, and thank you very much.
*******

About the Story

The Taximan’s Story was published in "Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore" in 1978. It is a first-person
narrative written in the form of a monologue centered on the taxi driver as the main character and the
story is told from his perspective.

Singapore emerged as a nation after 1965. For nearly one hundred fifty years, it had been a British
colony that was intimately linked to the whole Malay peninsula.

From 1945 until the early 1970s, the island had severe housing shortages and a poor infrastructure,
high criminality and unemployment, racial riots, and communist uprisings. The "survival policy" was
based on the attraction of foreign investment through low taxes, the development of an efficient
infrastructure, a disciplined workforce, and strict political control. In thirty years, Singapore changed from
a rough trading port to a rich, orderly, industrialized society. The remembrance of social and economic
difficulties influenced the development of a national culture with a focus on wealth and stability and the
idea of multiculturalism.

There are wide income and wealth differences, but the country is more differentiated by ethnicity than by
class. All the ethnic groups have experienced upward occupational mobility. There is an intense focus
on education. Good marks are a sure path to good positions with good wages. In this respect,
Singapore is a meritocracy.

Generally, children are expected to be quiet and obedient and may be physically punished for
misbehaving.

Complete Me!
Directions: Fill out the needed information in the table below using the Sociological
Approach in reading. Read About the Story in the box above for your reference (5 points
each=60 points).

How is the How is the situation

character affected Describe the of the character
Describe the
CHARACTER by the time and situation of affected by the time
character.
place when the the character. and place when the
story was written? story was written?

1. taxi driver

2. passenger

3. Lay Choo

9
 What I Have Learned
Rearrange to Reflect!
Directions: Reflect on the use of the sociological approach to reading a text by rearranging
the words in the box to form a sentence (10 points).

society affected be literature may by

Day 4

What’s More
Madam Says!
Taximan’s Story was written in the perspective of the taximan while talking to his passenger,
a teacher, who was constantly referred to as Madam in the story. Suppose Madam’s
responses were heard in the story, what would they be?

Directions: Write a one- sentence response to complete the dialogue between the taximan
and Madam. Consider the situation of Madam as a teacher in making the responses (2
points each=20 points).

Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: Very good, Madam. Sure, will take you there in plenty good time for your meeting,
Madam.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: Yes, yes, ha, ha, been taximan for twenty years now, Madam.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: Yes. Madam, quite big family–eight children, six sons, two daughters. Big family!
Ha! Ha!
Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: Oh, Madam! very hard for father when daughter is no good and go against her
parents.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: Ah Madam, I know, I know! As taximan, I know them and their habits.

Taximan: Ah, Madam, I see you surprise, but I know, I know all their tricks. I take them
about in my taxi.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: But I will tell you this, Madam. If you have young daughter and she say Mummy I
got meeting today in school and will not come home, you must not say, Yes, yes, but you
must go and ask her where and why and who, and you find out.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________

10
Taximan: Then one day, oh Madam, it makes me so angry even now–one day, I in my taxi
driving, driving along and hey! I see a girl looking like my Lay Choo, with other girls and
some Europeans outside a coffee-house but I think, it cannot be Lay Choo, how can,
Lay Choo is in school, and this girl is all dressed up and make-up, and very bold in her
behaviour, and this is not like my daughter at all.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: Oh, Madam, how you feel in my place? Make herself so cheap, when her father
drive taxi all day to save money for her University.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________
Taximan: What, Madam? Oh, so sorry, Madam, cannot wait for you to finish your meeting.
Madam: ________________________________________________________________

Lesson 2 Feminism Approach vis-à-vis

Week 2 African Literature

Day 1

What I Need to Know

After going through this lesson, you are expected to:
1. explain the feminism approach/criticism to reading;
2. tell the characters and situations of women in a literary work; and
3. appreciate the role of women in one’s life.

What’s In
Task 1
#MyHashTag
Directions: Recall what you learned about Asian Literature and the Sociological Approach
in analyzing a sample literary text. Create a # Hashtag to express what you know and in
three sentences explain your hashtag.

Hashtag: _________________________________

Explanation:
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
____________.

11
 Task 2
Getting to Know Africa!
Directions: Write T if the statement is True and F if it’s False.
1. Nadine Gordimer helped Nelson Mandela edit his famous speech “I Am Prepared to Die”
during Mandela’s trial for treason in 1962.
2. J.M. Cooetzee has not won a Nobel Prize for Literature.
3. Feminism works towards equality, not female superiority.
4. The goal of structuralism is to challenge the systemic inequalities women face on a
daily basis.
5. Out of Africa is a well-known book on Africa that was written by an African author.

Day 2

What’s New
In Lesson One, you were introduced to the ways or approaches in analyzing literary texts.
These various approaches offer a range of perspective which can be utilized to engage in
critical analysis of numerous texts. Aside from the Sociological Approach, Feminist criticism
or feminism, can also be used to analyze a text.

I. FEMINISM APPROACH IN READING

Feminist criticism or feminism, examines the role of women in literature. It looks into how the
female character may be empowered or discriminated against. Feminist criticism has, in
many ways, followed what some theorists call the waves of feminism:
1. The first comprised women's suffrage movements of the 19th and early-20th
centuries, promoting women's right to vote. Notable women in this period include
writer Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of Women, 1792), activists like
Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull.
2. The second wave, the women's liberation movement, began in the 1960s and
campaigned for legal and social equality for women. Writers like Simone de Beauvoir
(Le Deuxième Sexe, 1949) and Elaine Showalter established the groundwork for the
dissemination of feminist theories dove-tailed with the American Civil Rights
movement.
3. In or around 1992, a third wave was identified, characterized by a focus on
individuality and diversity. The term third wave is credited to Rebecca Walker.
4. The fourth wave, from around 2012, used social media to combat sexual
harassment, violence against women and rape culture; it is best known for the Me
Too Movement.

12
Feminism literary criticism may use any of the following methods:

 interpreting the way that women characters are described in novels, stories, plays,
biographies, and histories, especially if the author is male
 decoding how the readers own gender influences the reading and interpretation of a
text.
 unravelling how women autobiographers and biographers of women treat their
subjects, and how women are treated as secondary to the main subject
 describing relationships between the literary text and ideas about power, sexuality,
and gender
 critiquing of patriarchal or woman-marginalizing language, such as a "universal" use
of the masculine pronouns "he" and "him"
 noticing and unpacking differences in how men and women write: a style, for
instance, where women use more reflexive language and men use more direct
language (example: "she let herself in" versus "he opened the door")
 reclaiming women writers who are little known or have been marginalized or
undervalued, sometimes referred to as expanding or criticizing the canon—the usual
list of "important" authors and works (e.g. include raising up the contributions of early
playwright Aphra Behn and showing how she was treated differently than male
writers from her own time forward, and the retrieval of Zora Neale Hurston's writing
by Alice Walker.)
 reclaiming the "female voice" as a valuable contribution to literature, even if formerly
marginalized or ignored
 analyzing multiple works in a genre as an overview of a feminist approach to that
genre: for example, science fiction or detective fiction
 analyzing multiple works by a single author (often female)
 examining how relationships between men and women and those assuming male
and female roles are depicted in the text, including power relations
 examining the text to find ways in which patriarchy is resisted or could have been
resisted

II. TIPS IN USING FEMINIST CRITICISM IN READING

Here are some tips in analyzing some of the feminism issues which are represented in a
given literary sample, with attention on the female characters and the roles they played. The
following aspects should be given attention when examining and analyzing the work. They
are as follows:
 Get to know the characters. The characters background, work, sexuality,
childhood, and outlook on life should be taken into consideration in order for you to
draw conclusion.
 Get to know their roles in the literary text. Determine the specific role the main
female character in the text.
 Determine their relationship with each other. Explore the relationship of the lead
female character with other characters, particularly with the male counterpart in the
text.
 Evaluate their characters. Assess the characters’ attitudes and determine their
strengths and weaknesses.
 Time to write. Organize all the information you gathered and use them as the basis
in writing your analysis.

13
 EXAMPLE OF FEMINISM APPROACH IN LITERATURE

Below is a sample format in writing an analysis using the feminism approach.

I. Introduction
A. What is the title of the literary work?
B. What is it about? (1-2 sentences only)
C. Who is the author?
D. What is your main thesis statement or the main idea of your analysis?
II. Body
A. Who is the lead female character? Describe her background, childhood, sexuality,
work, and outlook on the world?
B. What is the setting of the sample literary piece? How is the relationship between men
and women portrayed? Is it typical for that time or not? Why or Why not?
C. How do the men interact with women? Women with men?
D. What roles/work/responsibilities do characters of either gender have?
E. What is considered socially acceptable behavior for each gender?
F. Is there evidence of characters being fundamentally shaped by gender expectations?
G. Do the men and women use language differently?
III. Conclusion
A. How do you restate your main thesis statement?
B. What is the possible solution to the women issue/s presented?
C. What is your challenge to the readers in relation to the issue/s?

As you can see from the format above, feminism critics are focused on the efforts to change
that include fighting against gender stereotypes and establishing educational, professional,
and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women that are equal to those for men.

Study the given analysis of The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin which uses the feminism
approach, and then reflect on the questions that follow.

In "The Story of an Hour" we are told that the protagonist suffers from a heart condition and she was
carefully informed of her husband Brently's death. In the course of an hour we see the protagonist
named Louise as a weak person become into a stronger woman. She contemplates her newly found
independence and is delighted over thought of being free. This surprising reaction reflects the
feeling women had in the late 19th century had towards marriage. Through this, Chopin voices that
marriage meant men had total control over women. The women were not allowed to have their own
identity, thoughts or purpose.

In Louise's case, her husband’s death frees her from the restraint of marriage. Her once forbidden
pleasure of independence will no longer hold her back. For just an hour, Louise experiences and
praises her freedom that is no longer chained to her husband's control. As she looks out the window
we realize how marriage made her into someone who did not have an identity. She has lived a life
that has given her limitations that she was only her husband's wife and nothing more. She believed
for a brief moment that she no longer have a man that will "[bend her] in that blind persistence with
which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature."
This demonstrates that patriarchal ideology that was the norm in the late 19th century.

Louise was an example of an average housewife who was not allowed her own identity and
freedom. I believe Kate had connection with the story and the main character. When Louise felt a
brief moment of sadness of her husband’s death and then have it replaced with happiness, this
reveals how truly Kate felt when she heard the news of her husband’s death. Kate felt restrained in
her marriage, even though she truly loved her husband, she was not happy. Even though, "The
Story of an Hour" is a fiction story, it speaks loud about the life of women in the late 19th century.

14
Reflect on these questions in writing an analysis using the feminism approach (No need to
answer these questions on paper).

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:
1. How did the introduction begin?
2. How did the body develop?
3. How was the setting introduced in the body?
4. How were the characters presented in the body?
5. What content/s comprised the body?
6. How did the analysis end?

What I Can Do

Part I. Directions: Answer the following items based on what you learned about Feminism
Criticism. Write your answers on the space provided.

1. Explain the feminism criticism as a reading approach.

2. Give three methods/ways in using this reading approach.
3. Present the significance of using feminism criticism in analyzing a sample 21st Century
literary work.

Day 3

Part II. Directions: Read the autobiography Desert

Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad
by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller from Somalia. Read Africa and its Literature
the notes in the boxes as well.
Africa is considered as the second largest
continent in the world and also having the
oldest civilization. It boasts of products like
Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a gold and diamond, yet up to now, there are
Desert Nomad still many underdeveloped countries that
By Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller suffer from poverty and diseases.
(For the full text, visit
Most African literature riot against
https://www.sjsu.edu/people/julie.sparks/courses/Engl-117B-
discrimination, injustice, and poverty while
spr2016/Excerpt%20from%20Desert%20Flower.pdf) at the same time scream of their pride and
celebrate being a nation that is the land of
the oldest, the wisest, and the strongest
Waris Dirie (the name means desert flower) lives a people in the world.
double life – by day she is a famous model and UN African literature produces writers who
spokeswoman on women’s rights in Africa, at night she have made an impact in the literary world.
dreams of her native Somalia. Waris, one of the 12 These writers created a body of literature
that reflects the reality of these countries
children, was born into a traditional family of desert from a narrative, rather than a Western or
nomads in East Africa. She remembers her early colonial perspective. By articulating their
own experience of oppression and
childhood as carefree-racing camels and moving on with liberation, they were able to decolonize the
her family to the next grazing spot – until it came her African past, and place to the fore the
turn to meet the old woman who administered the Africa that they themselves have imagined
and mapped onto the world.
ancient custom imposed on most Somalian girls:

15
circumcision (Female Genital Mutilation). Waris suffered this torture when she was just five
years old. Then, aged 12, when her father attempted to arrange a marriage with a 60 year
old stranger in exchange for five camels – she took flight. After an extraordinary escape
through the dangerous desert she made her way to London and worked as a maid for the
Somalian ambassador until that family returned home, Penniless and speaking little English,
she became a janitor in McDonalds where she was famously discovered by a fashion
photographer, Terence Donovan. Her story is a truly inspirational and extraordinary self-
portrait of a remarkable woman whose spirit is as breathtaking as her beauty.

About the Author About the Story

Waris Dirie (Somali: Waris Diiriye) (born Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert
1965) is a Somali model, author, actress Nomad is an autobiographical book written by Waris
and human rights activist in the fight Dirie and Cathleen Miller, published in 1998 about the
against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). life of Somali model, Waris Dirie.
From 1997 to 2003, she was a UN special
ambassador against female genital In 2009, the book was adapted into a film of the same
mutilation. In 2002 she founded her own name. Produced by Peter Herrmann and Benjamin
organization in Vienna, the Desert Flower Herrmann, the Ethiopian supermodel Liya
Foundation. Kebede plays Waris in the title role.

Task 1
Check It Out!
Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad
By Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller

Directions: After reading the text, answer the following questions.

1. Describe the qualities/attributes of the female lead character in the story.

2. What was the conflict shown? How does the conflict affect the transformation of the lead
character in the story?
3. What aspect of African culture towards women does the story show?
4. What do you think motivated the author to share her life story? How did you respond to
the authors’ “voice”?
5. Generate a new title for the story. Explain your new title.

16
 Task 2
Super Woman

Directions: In the autobiography of Waris Dirie, give three dominant traits or convictions
with supporting instances from the story. Compare these traits to real women in this modern
period and explain their similarities. Write your answers in the table below.

Dominant traits, values Real Women character in Explanation of the

or conviction in the the modern time similarities
story

Resilience- endurance, Malala Yousafzai The two ladies are similar in

strength terms of experiencing
There were several difficulties in life but they are
instances in the text that able to come victorious in
Waris Dirie experienced facing these challenges and
challenges but she was become role models to other
able to overcome with it women in the world.
and made her strong and
tough as a woman.
1.

2.

3.

What I Have Learned

Represent Me!

Directions: Complete the statement below by choosing one object found in your home that
represents a strong and an empowered woman. Relate this object to the lesson learned in
this topic.

I chose _________ (object) to relate my learning on ________ because_____.

17
 What’s More
Day 4

Character in Focus!

Directions: Answer the questions in the boxes below based on the sample literary text
Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad. Write at least 5 sentences to
answer each question. (5 points each)

FEMALE LEAD CHARACTER

How does the author describe the How will you describe the character
character? based on her words/dialogue?

How will you describe the character based How will you describe the character
on her actions? based on the perceptions of other
people?

Lesson 3 Reader-Response Approach

Week 3 vis-à-vis European Literature

Day 1

What I Need to Know

After going through this lesson, you are expected to:

1. explain the reader-response approach to reading;

2. respond to a literary work in relation to one’s experiences; and
3. create an alternate ending for a literary work using one’s preference.

18
 What’s In

In Lesson Two, we learned about the Feminist Approach vis-à-vis African Literature. This
lesson will help us understand another reading approach, the Reader-Response Approach
vis-à-vis European Literature.
Status Updated!

Directions: Suppose you were to update your Facebook status and share what you learned
about the Feminist Approach and what you know about the Reader-Response Approach,
what would you share? Write one sentence for Feminist Approach and one sentence for
Reader-Response Approach (5 points each=10 points).

What’s New
READER-RESPONSE APPROACH
The reader-response approach believes that literature does not exist as an artifact upon a
printed page but as a transaction between the physical text and the mind of a reader. It
attempts to describe what happens in the reader's mind while interpreting a text and reflects
that reading, like writing, is a creative process. Reader-response approach suggests that the
role of the reader is essential to the meaning of a text, for only in the reading experience
does the literary work come alive. According to reader-response critics, literary texts do not
contain a meaning; meanings derive only from the act of individual readings. Hence, two
different readers may derive completely different interpretations of the same literary text;
likewise, a reader who re-reads a work years later may find the work different. There is no
single "correct" interpretation for a literary work.

HOW DO YOU DO THE READER-RESPONSE APPROACH?

The purpose of a reader-response approach is examining, explaining, and defending your
personal reaction to a text. Your critical reading of a text asks you to explore:

19
  why you like or dislike the text;
 explain whether you agree or disagree with the author;
 identify the text’s purpose; and
 critique the text.
There is no right or wrong answer to a reading response. Nevertheless, it is important that
you demonstrate an understanding of the reading and clearly explain and support your
reactions. Do not use the standard approach of just writing: “I liked this text because it is so
cool and the ending made me feel happy,” or “I hated it because it was stupid, and had
nothing at all to do with my life, and was too negative and boring.”

In writing a response, you may assume the reader has already read the text. Thus, do not
summarize the contents of the text at length. Instead, take a systematic, analytical approach
to the text and give examples.
If you did not like a text, that is fine, but criticize it either from:
 principle, for example:
o Is the text racist?
o Does the text unreasonably puts down things, such as religion, or
groups of people, such as women or adolescents, conservatives
or democrats, etc?
o Does the text include factual errors or outright lies? It is too dark
and despairing? Is it falsely positive?
 form, for example:
o Is the text poorly written?
o Does it contain too much verbal “fat”?
o Is it too emotional or too childish?
o Does it have too many facts and figures?
o Are there typos or other errors in the text?
o Do the ideas wander around without making a point?

EXAMPLE OF READER-RESPONSE APPROACH IN LITERATURE

Below is a sample format for writing an analysis using the reader-response approach.
I. Introduction
A. What is the title of the literary work you are responding?
B. What is it about? (in 1-2 sentences only)
C. Who is the author?
II. Body
A. What does the text have to do with you, personally, and with your life (past, present
or future)?
B. How much does the text agree or clash with your view of the world, and what you
consider right and wrong? Use several quotes as examples of how it agrees with and
supports what you think about the world, about right and wrong, and about what you
think it is to be human.
C. What did you learn, and how much were your views and opinions challenged or
changed by this text, if at all? Did the text communicate with you? Why or why
not? Give examples of how your views might have changed or been strengthened (or
perhaps, of why the text failed to convince you, the way it is).

20
 D. How well does the text address things that you personally care about and consider
important to the world? How does it address things that are important to your family,
your community, to people of your economic or social class or background, or your
faith tradition? Use quotes from the text to illustrate.
E. What can you praise about the text? What problems did you have with it? Include
positive things about the text as well as pointing out problems, disagreements, and
shortcomings.
F. How well did you enjoy the text (or not) as entertainment or as a work of art? Use
quotes or examples to illustrate the quality of the text as art or entertainment.
III. Conclusion
A. What is your overall reaction to the text?
B. Would you read something else like this in the future?
C. Would you read something else by this author?
D. Would you recommend this text to someone else and why?

As seen above, the reader-response approach is concerned with the interaction between the
text and reader.

Study the given analysis of Balaki Ko ‘Day Samtang Gasakay Ta’g Habal-Habal by Adonis
Durado which uses the reader-response approach, then reflect on the questions that follow.

Written by Adonis Durado, Balaki Ko ‘Day Samtang Gasakay Ta’g Habal-Habal describes a very
common situation in the provincial areas – a habal-habal ride – but the unique thing about this habal-habal
ride is that it has a romantic and somehow sensual feel to it as the driver tells his passenger, a woman who is
most probably his lover, to hold on to him tighter for him to feel her heartbeat more clearly against his back.

As a young woman who rides habal-habal for transportation, it seems weird for me how the woman
in the poem is portrayed as someone who is sensual with the driver. Unless she is his lover, the poem would
totally be uncomfortable. The driver’s want for the woman to cling to him tight can be interpreted as an
expression of love. This craving of physical intimacy between the characters suggests of young love, as
young couples usually act as if they cannot get enough of each other and has to have their hands on each
other constantly. I have nothing against young love; however, I would rather call it infatuation than young love
because love is more than physical intimacy. Love is a commitment whether or not couples are together or
not, love does not change. Despite the conflict of the poem’s meaning to my preference, I do like its
lighthearted emotion as seen in the lines “Dayon samtang nagakatulin kining atong dagan,mamiyong tag
maghangad ngadto sa kawanangan aron sugaton ang taligsik sa uwan, dahon, ug bulak.” It was somewhat
refreshing while reading the poem. Somehow, I enjoyed it.

The poem was a good read because it was not the usual poem. I am interested to read other works
of Adonis Durado to explore more creative ways of writing literary pieces. My friends would probably like this
poem because most of them have very creative sides as well. They will definitely enjoy this poem.

Reflect on these questions in writing an analysis using the reader-response approach (No
need to answer these questions on paper).

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:
1. How did the introduction begin?
2. How did the body develop?
3. How was the reader’s personal experience introduced in the body?
4. How were the reader’s personal views and opinions presented in the body?
5. What content/s comprised the body?
6. How did the analysis end?

21
 What I Can Do
Truth or Change?

Part 1. Directions: Write TRUE if the statement is true; if NOT, change the underlined
word/phrase to make the statement true (5 points).

1. In reader-response approach, two readers may have different interpretations.

2. According to reader-response critics, meanings come from group sharing.
3. If you do not like a text, you may criticize the text using reader-response approach through
principle and biography.
4. Reader-response approach suggests that the role of the writer is essential to the meaning
of a text.
5. The reading experience makes the literary work come alive.

Day 2

Part 2. Directions: Read the summary of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes from United
Kingdom. Read the notes in the boxes as well.

Me Before You
(A Summary)
A novel by Jojo Moyes (United Kingdom)

Twenty-six-year-old Louisa Clark lives with her working-class family. Unambitious and with
few qualifications, she feels constantly outshone by her younger sister, Treena, an outgoing
single mother. Louisa, who helps support her family, loses her job at a local café when the
café closes. She goes to the Job Centre and, after several failed attempts, is offered a
unique employment opportunity: help care for Will Traynor, a successful, wealthy, and once-
active young man who developed quadriplegia, the paralysis of the body from at least the
shoulders down, from a pedestrian-motorcycle accident two years earlier. Will's mother,
Camilla, hires Louisa despite her lack of experience, believing Louisa can brighten his spirit.
Louisa meets Nathan, who cares for Will's medical needs, and Will's father, Steven, a
friendly upper-class businessman whose marriage to Camilla is strained.

22
 Louisa and Will's relationship starts out rocky due to his
bitterness and resentment over being disabled. Things
worsen after Will's ex-girlfriend, Alicia, and best friend
Rupert reveal that they are getting married. Under
Louisa's care, Will gradually becomes more
communicative and open-minded as they share
experiences together. Louisa notices Will's scarred
wrists and later overhears his mother and father
discussing how he attempted suicide shortly after
Camilla refused his request to end his life
through Dignitas, a Swiss-based assisted suicide
organisation. Horrified by his attempt, Camilla promised
to honour her son's wish, but only if he agreed to live six
more months. Camilla intends to prove that, in time, he
will believe his life's worth living.

Louisa conceals knowing about Will and Camilla's

If you are interested to read the full novel, agreement. However, she tells Treena, and together
this is the book cover. they devise ways that will help convince Will to abandon
Image credit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Before_You his death wish. Over the next few weeks, Will loosens
#/media/File:Me_Before_You.jpg up and Louisa begins taking him on outings and the two
grow closer.

Through their frequent talks,

European Literature
Louisa learns that Will has
European literature refers to the literature of European countries.
travelled extensively; his
It includes literature in many languages: among the most
favourite place is a café in important of the modern written works are those in English,
Paris. Noticing how limited her Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, German, Italian, Modern Greek,
Czech, and Russian and works by the Scandinavians and Irish.
life is and that she has few
European Literature in general has gone through different
ambitions, Will tries to motivate periods: Renaissance (1485- 1680), Enlightenment (1650- 1800),
Louisa to change. Romanticism (1798 – 1870), Realism (1820-1920), Victorian
Period (1837- 1901), Modernism (1910 – 1965), and Post-
Modernism (1965- present).
Louisa continues seeing her
During the Renaissance period, politics was the dominant
longtime boyfriend of 7 years, influence of literary works. The Enlightenment period in literature
Patrick, though they eventually was marked by new emphasis on logic and intellectualism.
Romanticism was a movement away from the enlightenment
break up due to her relationship focus of reason and logic, focusing more on imagination and
with Will. Meanwhile, Louisa's emotions instead. Realism portrayed the hypocrisy, brutality, and
dullness of life for the bourgeois. The Victorian Period showed a
father loses his job, causing
much more sober view of idealism than the visionary view seen in
more financial difficulties. Romanticism. Like the period of Realism, Modernism was also
Steven Traynor offers Mr. Clark critical of middle class society and morality, but was not
concerned by social issues like Realism was.
a position. Louisa realises that
Finally, Postmodernism developed after World War II and utilized
Will is trying to help her secure techniques such as fragmentation, paradox, and questionable
her freedom from her family. narrators. This was a reaction against Enlightenment ideas that
The two attend Alicia and were seen in literature from Modernism. Postmodernism tended
to stray from the neatly tied-up ending in modernism and
Rupert's wedding where they celebrated chance over craft. Questioning of the distinctions
dance and flirt. Will tells Louisa between low and high culture through a jumble of various
ingredients, known as pastiche, that before was not seen as
that she is the only reason he appropriate for literature. Metafiction was also often employed to
wakes in the morning. undermine the writer’s authority.

23
 Louisa convinces Will to go on a
holiday with her, but before they can
leave, Will contracts near-fatal
About the Story pneumonia. Louisa cancels the
plans for a whirlwind trip. Instead,
Me Before You is a novel written by Jojo Moyes first she takes Will to the island
published in 2012 in the United Kingdom. A sequel
titled After You was released in 2015 and a second of Mauritius. The night before
sequel, Still Me, was published in 2018. returning home, Louisa tells Will that
she loves him. Will says he wants to
According to Moyes, her inspiration for writing Me confide something, but she admits
Before You was a number of things. She had two close
relatives who were dependent on 24–hour care, and the
that she already knows about his
issue of quality of life and how people behave around plans with Dignitas. Will says their
the severely disabled was high in her mind. However, time together has been special, but
the novel was really spurred by a news story Moyes he cannot bear to live in a
heard, about a young rugby player who was left wheelchair. He will be following
quadriplegic after an accident and who persuaded his
parents to take him to Dignitas, the Swiss clinic, to through with his plans. Angry and
allow him to go through with an assisted suicide. Moyes hurt, Louisa storms off and does not
could not believe any parent would agree to do that— speak to him for the remainder of the
and yet the more she read up on the story, the more trip. When they return home, Will's
she realized the issue was not as clear–cut as she
would have liked to believe.
parents are pleasantly surprised by
his good physical condition. Louisa,
Me Before You was adapted in a film in 2014 and can however, resigns as his caretaker,
be downloaded at and they understand that Will
https://yts.mx/movies/me-before-you-2016 intends to end his life.
if you would like to watch the movie.
On the night of Will's flight to Switzerland, Louisa visits him one last time. They agree that
the past six months have been the best in their lives. He dies shortly after in the clinic, and it
is revealed that he left Louisa a considerable inheritance, meant to continue her education
and to fully experience life. The novel ends with Louisa at a café in Paris, reading Will's last
words to her in a letter, that tell her to 'live well'.
*******

About the Author

Jojo Moyes (Pauline Sara Jo Moyes) is an English journalist and, since 2002, a romance novelist and
screenwriter. She is one of only a few authors to have twice won the Romantic Novel of the Year
Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been translated into twenty-eight languages.
Moyes lives on a farm in Great Sampford, Essex, with her husband, journalist Charles Arthur, and their
three children. She enjoys riding her ex-racehorse, Brian, as well as tending to the numerous animals on
her family's farm, including Nanook, or 'BigDog', a rescued 58 kg female Pyrenean mountain dog.

Explain Me!
Directions: Read the questions and answer in 2-3 sentences (5 points each=60 points).

1. What is the meaning of the novel’s title “Me Before You”? To whom do the “me” and “you”
refer to? Explain.
___________________________________________________________________

2. If you were Camilla, Will’s mom, would you agree with Will’s death wish? Justify your
answer.
___________________________________________________________________

3. If you were Louisa, would you have quit working for the Traynors? Why or not?
___________________________________________________________________

24
4. What do you like most about the story? Elaborate.
___________________________________________________________________

5. What do you dislike most about the story? Give details.

___________________________________________________________________

6. Would you change the ending of the story? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________

What I Have Learned

This is What I Need!
Directions: Complete the sentence below with what you learned about Reader-Response
Approach (5 points).

I have learned that in Reader-Response approach, I need to

_______________________.

Day 3

What’s More
Task 1
A New Ending!

Directions: If you were to make an alternate ending for Me Before You, how would you end
it? Write your own ending in five sentences (20 points).

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

25
 Day 4

Task 2
Unleash your Creative Soul!

Directions: Create your own collage. Cut out photos that you can personally relate to the
story Me Before You from unused magazines, newspapers, or other resources available that
you can recycle. Use these cut outs to form a shape that would best represent the life of Will
Traynor. Then write a one-sentence explanation of your collage. Refer to the sample
collages and rubric for scoring below (30 points).

Will’s life is like a

crescent moon – the
light may seem dim,
but it is bright enough
to light up a dark sky.

The face of a woman

represents Will’s life in his
wonderful moments with
Louisa.

26
 RUBRIC FOR SCORING IN COLLAGE-MAKING

EXCELLENT ACCOMPLISHED DEVELOPING

CRITERIA
(10 points) (7 points) (5 points)
The shape created was not
The concept was original The concept was original
explained and related to
Concept and related to what is but somewhat related to
what is asked.
asked. what is asked.

Excellent variety of
pictures from different Good variety of pictures
Limited variety of pictures
Variety of Resources resources used to used to develop the
used to develop the shape.
develop the shape. shape.

The student The student

demonstrated creativity. demonstrated some Little effort was given to
Creativity Colors were distributed. creativity. It was make the collage creative
It was very neat and somewhat neat and and interesting.
appealing. appealing.

Formalism Approach vis-

Lesson 4
Week 4
à-vis North and South
American Literature

Day 1

What I Need to Know

After completing the module, you are expected to:
1. define the formalism approach to reading;
2. use the elements of the literary piece in relation to the said approach; and
3. write a critical analysis using the sociological, feminism, reader-response, or
formalism approach to reading.

27
 What’s In
Task I
Let’s Recall!

Directions: Write a single- sentence definition of what you know about each of the reading
approaches in the boxes below.

Literary Approach is the analysis of a literary text though various lenses that highlight
authorial stance, purpose, and perspective.

Several Types of Literary Approaches

Sociological Feminism Reader-Response

Task 2
Words of the Day!

Directions: Think of five words that you can associate with the term, formalism. Write them
down inside the boxes. Use these words to create a sentence definition of the term.

Formalism

The formalism approach in reading means _______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________.

28
 What’s New
The Formalism Approach in Analyzing Literature

Formalism regards literature as “a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be

examined on its own terms.” All the elements necessary for understanding the work are
contained within the work itself. Of particular interest to the formalist critic are the elements
of form—style, structure, tone, imagery, etc.—that are found within the text. A primary goal
for formalist critics is to determine how such elements work together with the text’s content
to shape its effects upon readers. Formalism critics use individual parts of the text, the
characters, the setting, the tone, the point of view, the diction, and all other elements of the
text to give meaning to the text in a more literal way.

This reading approach is also called Russian Formalism, Russian Russky Formalism,
innovative 20th-century Russian school of literary criticism. It began in two
groups: OPOYAZ, an acronym for Russian words meaning Society for the Study of Poetic
Language, founded in 1916 at St. Petersburg (later Leningrad) and led by Viktor Shklovsky;
and the Moscow Linguistic Circle, founded in 1915. Other members of the groups included
Osip Brik, Boris Eikhenbaum, Yury Tynianov, and Boris Tomashevsky.

The following aspects/elements of the different literary genres are taken into consideration
when using the formalist approach/perspective in analyzing a text:

I. Poetry: Author, title of the poem, persona, addressee, tone, attitude, motifs, conditions,
imagery, symbolisms, genre, structure, theme, and appeal.

II. Fiction: setting, characters (protagonist, antagonist, static/flat, dynamic, round, antihero,
and foil), plot (en medias res, flashback, prolepsis or flash-forward, foreshadowing, and
frame story), point-of-view (participant narrator/first person, second person, and non-
participant narrator/third person), conflict (man vs. himself, man vs. man, man vs. society,
man vs. culture, and man vs. nature), symbols, theme

III. Drama: Setting, characters, plot, dialogue, movements, music, and theme

EXAMPLE OF THE FORMALIST APPROACH IN LITERATURE

Below is a sample format for writing an analysis using the formalism approach.
I. Introduction
A. What is the title of the literary work?
B. What is it about? (1-2 sentences only)
C. Who is the author?
D. What is your main thesis statement or the main idea of your analysis?
II. Body
A. How does the author's choice of point of view affect the reader's understanding and
feelings about the story?
B. What influence does the setting have on the characters or their actions?
C. How do the rhythms and/or rhyme schemes of a poem contribute to the meaning or
effect of the piece?

29
 D. Is there a central or focal passage that can be said to sum up the entirety of the
work?
E. How are the various parts of the work interconnected?
III. Conclusion
A. How do you restate your main thesis statement?
B. What lesson does the author want me (the reader) to learn about life?
C. What is your challenge to the readers in relation to the issue/s?

As you can see from the format above, formalism critics examine the form of the work as a
whole, the form of each individual part of the text (the individual scenes and chapters), the
characters, the settings, the tone, the point of view, the diction, and all other elements of
the text which join to make it a single text. After analyzing each part, the critic then describes
how they work together to make give meaning (theme) to the text.

Study the given analysis of Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines by Pablo Neruda which
uses the formalism approach on the next page.

The speaker of the poem recently lost the love of his life. We can tell though that some time
passed since the separation from the first sentence. He says ‘tonight I can write’ implying that till
that day he couldn’t. Maybe the emotions and pain he felt were still too raw to put it down to words.
In that case this line implies that he is slowly healing from the separation.
Poets generally describe a broken heart using metaphors and imagery. Pablo Neruda’s style is
simple and concise. But the speaker says he can write flowery language too in the second
paragraph. That is how heart-broken he is. The speaker says that he loved her and she sometimes
loved him back too. This puts us in a state of thinking that the one who was primarily responsible
for the separation was the woman. The night he was sitting under was like the nights he used to
hold her and kissed her. He describes the sky as endless. Maybe he felt his love would be like the
sky too but sadly, it had ended. He says ‘kissed her again and again’. This type of eroticism was
shocking to the general public at the time, especially when the poet was only 18 years old.
Sentences like this earned the poem collection censorship.
The speaker continues by putting emphasis on his loss and sadness. He uses repetition and some
imagery to pull at the heart string of the reader. One feels sympathy for the speaker as he repeats
again that she loved him sometimes. The night which was described as endless before felt much
more so after the separation. And this makes him feel verse of poetry flow as naturally into his soul
as dew falls onto the pasture. This makes the reader feel that it was indeed true that the most
beautiful poetry flows from a broken heart.
‘The same night whitening the same trees’. He repeats ‘same’ twice to show that while they both
changed the world remained the same. Now he says that he no longer loved her as he used to. He
thinks that soon she will be another’s. ‘Like my kisses before.’ This line can have either of the two
following meanings. The speaker of the poem is now together with another girl and he kissed her
recently. In this case, he says that like how his kisses belonged to another now, hers will be too. Or
he simply says that she will be kissed by another man like how he used to kiss her. The meaning is
closer to the latter one when the whole poem is considered.
The speaker now contradicts himself saying that he no longer loves her for sure and then
immediately saying that maybe he loves her. This shows the conflict within in the speaker. He
loved her so deep that he finds it hard not to. This conflict is spoken of throughout the poem, albeit
in allusions. He says love is so short but forgetting is so long. This is one of the best remembered
quotes from the poem. And the nights aren’t helping his forgetting process. Nights like the one that
day particularly remind him of the time when he held her. And when these thoughts crossed his
mind, his soul becomes dissatisfied with the fact that he lost her. The conflict is shown deeply in
these two lines.
The speaker ends the poem saying that this, that particular night would be the last night he suffers
pain because of her and this poem will be the last one he will write for her. This shows that the
speaker has now finally resolved to completely move on.

30
 Reflect on these questions in writing an analysis using the formalist approach (No need to
answer these questions on paper).

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:
1. How did the introduction begin?
2. How did the body develop?
3. How are the literary elements (character, point of view, etc.) introduced in the body?
4. How are the parts related to one another in the body?
5. How did the analysis conclude/end?

Other Approaches in Analyzing a Text

 Biographical is a form of literary criticism which analyzes a writer's biography to show

the relationship between the author's life and their works of literature.

 Historical is literary criticism in the light of historical evidence or based on the context in
which a work was written, including facts about the author’s life and the historical and
social circumstances of the time.

 Gender is an approach that “examines how sexual identity influences the creation and
reception of literary works.”

 Psychological reflects on the effect that modern psychology has had upon both
literature and literary criticism. Fundamental figures in psychological criticism include
Sigmund Freud, whose “psychoanalytic theories changed our notions of human behavior
by exploring new or controversial areas like wish-fulfillment, sexuality, the unconscious,
and repression” as well as expanding our understanding of how “language and symbols
operate by demonstrating their ability to reflect unconscious fears or desires.”

 Mythological emphasizes “the recurrent universal patterns underlying most literary
works.” Combining the insights from anthropology, psychology, history, and comparative
religion, mythological criticism “explores the artist’s common humanity by tracing how
the individual imagination uses myths and symbols common to different cultures and
epochs.” One key concept in mythological criticism is the archetype, “a symbol,
character, situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response.”

Deconstructionist is an approach that “rejects the traditional assumption that language

can accurately represent reality.” Deconstructionist critics regard language as a
fundamentally unstable medium—the words “tree” or “dog,” for instance, undoubtedly
conjure up different mental images for different people—and therefore, because
literature is made up of words, literature possesses no fixed, single meaning.

The goal of literary criticism is always to help us understand and appreciate a

work more fully, no matter what approach(es) we use.

31
 What I Can Do
Task 1
Connecting Ideas
Directions: Study the illustration below and write your insights about the formalist approach in
reading. Write your responses inside the boxes.

Formalism Approach
Formalism Approach
h

Day 2

Part 1. Directions: Read the summary of A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia
Marquez from Colombia. Read the notes in the boxes as well.

Latin America and Its Literature

South America is the fourth largest continent in size and the fifth largest when we
consider population. The continent is located in the western hemisphere and
mainly in the southern hemisphere.

South American Literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin
America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and
the indigenous languages of the Americas as well as literature of the United States
written in the Spanish language. It rose to particular prominence globally during
the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the international success of the
style known as magical realism. As such, the region's literature is often associated
solely with this style, with the 20th Century literary movement known as Latin
American Boom, and with its most famous exponent, Gabriel García Márquez.
Latin American literature has a rich and complex tradition of literary production that
dates back many centuries.

32
 A Hundred Years of Solitude
(Summary)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Colombia
(For the full text, visit https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/solitude/section9/page/2/)

One Hundred Years of Solitude is the story of

seven generations of the Buendía Family in the
town of Macondo. The founding patriarch of
Macondo, José Arcadio Buendía, and Úrsula About the Author
Iguarán, his wife (and first cousin), Gabriel García Márquez (American
leave Riohacha, Colombia, after José Arcadio kills Spanish: [ɡaˈβɾjel ɣaɾˈsi.a ˈmaɾkes] (6
Prudencio Aguilar after a cockfight for suggesting March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was
José Arcadio was impotent. One night of their a Colombian novelist, short-story writer,
screenwriter, and journalist, known
emigration journey, while camping on a riverbank, affectionately
José Arcadio dreams of "Macondo", a city of as Gabo [ˈɡaβo] or Gabito [ɡaˈβito] through
mirrors that reflected the world in and about it. out Latin America. Considered one of the
Upon awakening, he decides to establish Macondo most significant authors of the 20th century,
at the riverside; after days of wandering the jungle, particularly in the Spanish language, he was
awarded the 1972 Neustadt International
his founding of Macondo is utopic. Prize for Literature and the 1982 Nobel
Prize in Literature. He pursued a self-
José Arcadio Buendía believes Macondo to be directed education that resulted in leaving
surrounded by water, and from that island, he law school for a career in journalism. From
invents the world according to his perceptions. early on he showed no inhibitions in his
criticism of Colombian and foreign politics.
Soon after its foundation, Macondo becomes a In 1958 he married Mercedes Barcha; they
town frequented by unusual and extraordinary had two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo.
events that involve the generations of the García Márquez started as a journalist and
Buendía family, who are unable or unwilling to wrote many acclaimed non-fiction works and
escape their periodic (mostly self-inflicted) short stories, but is best known for his
misfortunes. For years the town is solitary and novels, such as One Hundred Years of
Solitude (1967), Chronicle of a Death
unconnected to the outside world, with the Foretold (1981), and Love in the Time of
exception of the annual visit of a band of Cholera (1985). His works have achieved
gypsies, who show the townspeople technology significant critical acclaim and widespread
commercial success, most notably for
such as magnets, telescopes, and ice. The leader popularizing a literary style known as magic
of the gypsies, a man named Melquíades, realism, which uses magical elements and
maintains a close friendship with José Arcadio, events in otherwise ordinary and realistic
who becomes increasingly withdrawn, obsessed situations. Some of his works are set in the
fictional village of Macondo (mainly inspired
with investigating the mysteries of the universe
by his birthplace, Aracataca), and most of
presented to him by the gypsies. Ultimately he is them explore the theme of solitude.
driven insane, speaking only in Latin, and is tied to
Upon García Márquez's death in April
a chestnut tree by his family for many years until 2014, Juan Manuel Santos, the president of
his death. Colombia, called him "the greatest
Colombian who ever lived.
Eventually Macondo becomes exposed to the
outside world and the government of newly
independent Colombia. A rigged election between the Conservative and Liberal parties is held in
town, inspiring Aureliano Buendía to join a civil war against the Conservative government. He
becomes an iconic revolutionary leader, fighting for many years and surviving multiple attempts
on his life, but ultimately tires of war and signs a peace treaty with the Conservatives.
Disillusioned, he returns to Macondo and spends the rest of his life making tiny gold fish in his
workshop.
The railroad comes to Macondo, bringing in new technology and many foreign settlers. An
American fruit company establishes a banana plantation outside the town, and builds its own
segregated village across the river. This ushers in a period of prosperity that ends in tragedy as

33
the Colombian army massacres thousands of striking plantation workers, an incident based on
the Banana Massacre of 1928. José Arcadio Segundo, the only survivor of the massacre, finds
no evidence of the massacre, and the surviving townspeople refuse to believe it happened.
By the novel's end, Macondo has fallen into a decrepit and near-abandoned state, with the only
remaining Buendías being Amaranta Úrsula and her nephew Aureliano, whose parentage is
hidden by his grandmother Fernanda, and he and Amaranta Úrsula unknowingly begin an
incestuous relationship. They have a child who bears the tail of a pig, fulfilling the lifelong fear of
the long-dead matriarch Úrsula. Amaranta Úrsula dies in childbirth and the child is devoured by
ants, leaving Aureliano as the last member of the family. He decodes an encryption Melquíades
had left behind in a manuscript generations ago. The secret message informs the recipient of
every fortune and misfortune that the Buendía family's generations lived through. As Aureliano
reads the manuscript, a wind destroys all traces of Macondo's existence.

About the Story

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Spanish: Cien años de soledad, American Spanish: [sjen
ˈaɲos ðe soleˈðað]) is a landmark 1967 novel by Colombian author Gabriel García
Márquez that tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José
Arcadio Buendía, founded the (fictitious) town of Macondo. The novel is often cited as one
of the supreme achievements in literature.
The magical realist style and thematic substance of One Hundred Years of
Solitude established it as an important representative novel of the literary Latin American
Boom of the 1960s and 1970s, which was stylistically influenced by Modernism (European
and North American) and the Cuban Vanguardia (Avant-Garde) literary movement.
Since it was first published in May 1967 in Buenos Aires by Editorial Sudamericana, One
Hundred Years of Solitude has been translated into 46 languages and sold more than 50
million copies. The novel, considered García Márquez's magnum opus, remains widely
acclaimed and is recognized as one of the most significant works both in the Hispanic
literary canon and in world literature.

Task 2
Challenge My Mind!
Directions: Answer the following questions based on the text read. Write your answers in one
to two sentences. Support your answer with instances from the text.
1. What is the context/setting of the story?

2. Are the characters believable? Why or why not?

3. What images does the author present in the narrative?

4. What is the author’s message?

5. What lesson does this story teach about life?

34
Part 2. Directions: Read the poem of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost from United
States of America. Read the notes in the boxes as well.

North America and Its Contemporary Literature

North America is the third largest continent in size and the fourth largest when we consider
population. The North American continent houses 23 countries. The continent is located in
the Northern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.
North American Literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For
almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of colonies scattered along the
eastern seaboard of the North American continent—colonies from which a few hardy souls
tentatively ventured westward. After a successful rebellion against the motherland, America
became the United States, a nation. By the end of the 19th century this nation extended
southward to the Gulf of Mexico, northward to the 49th parallel, and westward to the Pacific.
By the end of the 19th century, too, it had taken its place among the powers of the world—its
fortunes so interrelated with those of other nations that inevitably it became involved in two
world wars and, following these conflicts, with the problems of Europe and East Asia.
Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as well as changes in ways of thinking and
feeling, wrought many modifications in people’s lives. All these factors in the development of
the United States molded the literature of the country.

The Road Not Taken

B Y R O B E R T F RO ST

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, . And both that morning equally lay
And sorry I could not travel both In leaves no step had trodden black.
And be one traveller, long I stood Oh, I kept the first for another day!
And looked down one as far as I could Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
To where it bent in the undergrowth; I doubted if I should ever come back.

Then took the other, as just as fair, I shall be telling this with a sigh
And having perhaps the better claim, Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
Though as for that the passing there I took the one less travelled by,
Had worn them really about the same, And that has made all the difference.

About the Poem

"The Road Not Taken" is a narrative poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916 as the first
poem in the collection Mountain Interval. Its central theme is the divergence of paths, both
literally and figuratively, although its interpretation is noted for being complex and potentially
divergent.

Frost spent the years 1912 to 1915 in England, where among his acquaintances was the
[2]
writer Edward Thomas. Thomas and Frost became close friends and took many walks
together. After Frost returned to New Hampshire in 1915, he sent Thomas an advance copy of
"The Road Not Taken". Thomas took the poem seriously and personally, and it may have
been significant in Thomas' decision to enlist in World War I. Thomas was killed two years
later in the Battle of Arras.

35
 About the Author
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. His work
was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his
[2]
realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech, Frost
frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century,
using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.
Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime and is the only poet to receive four Pulitzer
Prizes for Poetry. He became one of America's rare "public literary figures, almost an artistic
[3]
institution." He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works.
On July 22, 1961, Frost was named poet laureate of Vermont.

Task 3
Walk the Talk!
Directions: Answer the following questions based on the poem read. Write your answers in one
to two sentences. Support your answer with instances from the text.
1. Where is the poem set?
2. Describe the two paths that the persona encountered. Which path did he/she take? Was
he/she happy about his/her choice? How can you tell?
3. Compare the first line in stanza 1 and the third line in stanza 3. Why is this line repeated?
What does it mean?
4. What do you think the speaker means in the last line of the poem?
5. What are some of the major decisions that a person makes in his/her life?

Day 3

What I have Learned

Directions: Fill in the boxes with your learning/insights about the topic.

PMI MATRIX

PLUS MINUS INTERESTING

What’s best about the topic? What is quite difficult? What struck you most?

36
 What’s More
Task 1
Elements of Fiction

Directions: The chart below lists elements usually found in a work of fiction. Complete the
chart below by identifying examples of these elements from A Hundred Years of Solitude by
Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

ELEMENTS OF RESPONSES
FICTION
1. Character
2. Setting
3. Point-of-View
4. Plot
5. Tone
6. Style
7. Theme

Task 2

Write It Up!
Directions: Choose one literary text from the samples given in Lessons 1- 4 and write a
critical analysis of it using an appropriate reading approach. Follow the
suggested structure/format indicated for that specific reading approach and be
guided by the scoring rubric indicated below (35 points).
Note: The template or format for the reading approaches is given in the
discussion part of each lesson (What’s New). You may review this part as your
reference before writing your analysis.

NEEDS
EXCELLENT GOOD DEVELOPING IMPROVEMENT
CATEGORY 7 points 5 points 3 points 1 points
Focus & There is one clear, well There is one clear, There is one topic. The topic and
Content focused topic. Main well focused topic. Main ideas are main ideas are
ideas are clear and are Main ideas are clear somewhat clear. The not clear. The
well supported by but are not well approach is partially approach is not
detailed and accurate supported by implemented. evident.
information. The detailed information.
approach is evidently The approach is
manifested. somewhat
manifested.
Organization The introduction is The introduction The introduction There is no clear
inviting, states the main states the main topic states the main topic. introduction,
topic, and provides an and provides an A conclusion is structure, or
overview of the paper. overview of the included. conclusion.
Information is relevant paper. A conclusion
and presented in a is included.
logical order. The
conclusion is strong.

37
 Voice The author’s purpose The author’s The author’s purpose The author’s
of writing is very clear, purpose of writing is of writing is purpose of writing
and there is strong somewhat clear, and somewhat clear, and is unclear.
evidence of attention to there is some there is evidence of
audience. The author’s evidence of attention attention to audience.
extensive knowledge to audience. The The author’s
and/or experience with author’s knowledge knowledge and/or
the topic is/are evident and/or experience experience with the
with the topic is/are topic is/are limited.
evident.
Word The author uses vivid The author uses The author uses The writer uses a
Choice words and phrases. vivid words and words that limited
The choice and phrases. The choice communicate clearly, vocabulary.
placement of words and placement of but the writing lacks Jargon or clichés
seems accurate, words is inaccurate variety. may be present
natural, and not forced. at times and/or and detract from
seems overdone. the meaning.
Sentence All sentences are well Most sentences are Most sentences are Sentences sound
Structure, constructed and have well constructed and well constructed, but awkward, are
Grammar, & varied structure and have varied they have a similar distractingly
Mechanics length. The author structure and length. structure and/or repetitive, or are
makes no errors in The author makes a length. The author difficult to
grammar, and few errors in makes several errors understand. The
mechanics grammar, in grammar, author makes
mechanics, and/or mechanics, and/or numerous errors
spelling, but they do spelling that interfere in grammar,
not interfere with with understanding. mechanics,
understanding. and/or spelling
that interfere with
understanding.

Day 4

Post Test

Directions: Using a separate sheet of paper, write the letter of your chosen answer. Label
your paper as Post Test - Module 1 in 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and
the World (15 points).

1. A reading approach we can use to distinguish the roles of marginalized women in the
society.

A. feminism B. formalism C. sociological D. reader-response

2. The sociological approach to reading is done by analyzing the work in relation to its
_________.
A. female characters B. reader C. society D. structure

38
3. The following 21st century writers originate from Latin America. Which does not belong to
the Latin American Canon of writers?
A. Isabel Allende C. Mario Vargas Llosa
B. Jorge Volpi D. Albert Camus

4. What is the reader-response approach to reading?

I. It describes the transaction between the text and the reader.
II. It supports one correct analysis from a reader.
III. It provides meaning from individual readings.
A. I only B. I and II only C. I and III only D. I, II, and III

5. What reading approach is used in the text below?

As an only female child with a strong bond to my father, I empathize with the taximanin
disciplining Lay Choo in his desire to give her a brighter future. Fathers may be hard on
the outside, but they indeed have a soft spot inside.
A. sociological B. reader-response C. feminism D. formalism

6. In the reader-response approach, responding to the text is very important because this
approach focuses on how the reader’s ____________
A. response match with other readers C. mind interacts with the author
B. reaction connects with the audience D. experience affects the text

7. What Asian ideology is evident in The Taximan’s Story?

A. nationalism B. spirituality C. family D. social structure

8. Which is an example of a sociological approach to reading?

A. If I were Will in Me Before You, I would rather keep my life and allow God to take it
at His perfect time.
B. If I had a son like Will, I would give him all the love he needs to live life more
comfortably.
C. Me Before You encourages me to value life and appreciate the little things in life
because life is a gift.
D. Me Before You shows us the more liberated Western culture as they support the
granting of a death wish through assisted suicide.

9. In analyzing Art Spiegelman’s “Prisoner on the Hell Planet,” you take a more traditional
approach and discuss the setting, conflict, characters, tone, theme, and other elements of
the story. You assert that “Prisoner on the Hell Planet” is not a legitimate form of literature
because it fails to meet our expectations of what a story should be. What kind of critical
approach are you using?

A. feminism B. formalism C. sociological D. reader-response

10. How is contemporary European literature portrayed in Me Before You?

A. The ending is unexpected. C. The plot is confusing.
B. The structure is fragmented. D. The characters are questionable.

39
11. The following writers originate from North America. Which does not belong to the North
American Canon of writers?
A. Emily Dickinson C. T.S. Eliot
B. Samuel Johnson D. William Faulkner

12. In criticizing Pam Houston’s “How to Talk to a Hunter,” you discuss the stereotypical
views on women, men, and relationships expressed by the characters, focusing on the
advice of both female and male friends in particular. You assert that the author is highly
critical of these stereotypes. What kind of critical approach are you using?

A. feminism B. formalist C. sociological D. reader-response

13. In discussing T.B. Wood’s “A Loaf of Bread,” you focus on you focus on symbols,
characters, and theme and how these various elements help to create a unity in the
work. You do not discuss the author, the reader, or any considerations outside the text
itself. What kind of critical approach are you using?

A. feminism B. formalism C. Sociological D. reader-response

14. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was one of the best- known contemporary writers of Latin
America. Which of the following works did he author?

A. Wasted in Love C. The Stone Thrower

B. The Beautiful Indifference D. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

15. In the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, which of the following road signs
tells the motorists to expect the road to “diverge?

A. B. C. D.

40
References
Lessons 1 and 3

Online Sources:

Ahmad, Nureza (2018). Catherine Lim. Singapore Infopedia. Retrieved from

https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_461_2005-01-17.html.

Dickinson (2020). Criticism: Literature, Film, and Drama: Literature Criticism. Retrieved from
https://libguides.dickinson.edu/criticism#:~:text=Researching%2C%20reading%2C%
20and%20writing%20works,literary%20work%20is%20worth%20reading.

Lumen (n.d.). Reader-Response Criticism. Retrieved from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introliterature/chapter/reader-response-
criticism/#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20in%20Mary%20Wollstonecraft,co%2Dcre
ator%20of%20the%20text.&text=identify%20the%20text's%20purpose%3B%20and,c
ritique%20the%20text.

Memoria Press (2019). Why Read Literature? Retrieved from

https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/why-read-literature/.

University of Mississipi (1998). Critical Approaches to Literature. Retrieved from

http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/200/litcrit.html.

Wikipedia (2020). Me Before You. Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Before_You.

___________ (2013). Approaches to Reading Literature. Retrieved from

https://sites.google.com/site/approachestoreadingliterature/reading-lenses#TOC-
sociological-Marxist-criticism.

___________ (n.d.). Countries and their Cultures: Singapore. Retrieved from

https://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Singapore.html.

Lesson 2
Books:
Baronda, Andrew John C. 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World. Pasay
City: JFS Publishing Inc, 2016.

Borabo, Milagros L., and Heide Grace L. Interactive and Innovative Teaching Strategies 1.
Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing Inc, 2015.
Online Sources:

Wikipedia. “Waris Dirie.” Wikipedia.com. Accessed October 24, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waris_Dirie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Flower
RTSD. “Reading Comprehension Questions.” Rtsd.org. Accessed October 26, 2020.
https://www.rtsd.org/cms/lib/PA01000218/Centricity/Domain/841/Reading%20Comprehensio
n%20Questions.pdf.
Linda Napikoski. “Feminist Literary Criticism.” Thoughtco.com. Accessed October 28, 2020.
https://tinyurl.com/y2wvcnaq.

Vmagazinespain. “Feminist Criticism Essay Writing Instructions.” Vmagazinespain.com.

Accessed October 28, 2020.
http://vmagazinespain.com/topics/feminist-criticism-essay.php3.
Wikipedia. “Desert Flower.” Wikipedia.com. Accessed October 28, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Flower.
Csmonitor. “How Much Do You Know About African Literature.” Csmonitor.com. Accessed
October 29, 2020. https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2015/0521/How-much-do-you-know-
about-African-literature/Well-known-book.
Dosomething. “11 Facts About Feminism.” Dosomething.org. Accessed October 29, 2020.
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-feminism.
Tiny URL. “TinyURL was created.” Accessed November 2, 2020. tinyURL.com.

Julie Sparks. “Excerpt from Desert Flower.” Sjsu.edu. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://www.sjsu.edu/people/julie.sparks/courses/Engl-117B-
spr2016/Excerpt%20from%20Desert%20Flower.pdf

Wikipedia. “Feminism.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed November 3, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism#Waves

Writing About Literature. “Feminist Analysis Reading.” Writingaboutliterature.com. Accessed

November 5, 2020. https://www.writingaboutliterature.com/reading2.html.

Write my Papers. “How To Write A Feminist Criticism Essay.” Writemypapers.org. Accessed

November 5, 2020. https://www.writemypapers.org/examples-and-samples/how-to-write-a-
feminist-criticism-essay.html

Bobbooks. “10 of the Most Influential Women of the 21st Century.” Bobooks.co.uk. accessed
November 6, 2020. https://www.bobbooks.co.uk/blog-post/10-of-the-most-influential-women-
of-the-21st-century.

Wikipedia. “Feminism.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed November 6, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism.

Owlcation. “Feminist View of Kate Chopins’ Story of an Hour.” Owlcation.com. Accessed

November 6, 2020. https://owlcation.com/humanities/Feminist-View-of-Kate-Chopins-Story-
of-an-Hour.
Thesaurus. “Resilience.” Thesaurus.net. Accessed November 6, 2020.
https://www.thesaurus.net/resilience.

Lesson 4

Books:

Baronda, Andrew John C. 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World. Pasay
City: JFS Publishing Inc, 2016.

Borabo, Milagros L., and Heide Grace L. Interactive and Innovative Teaching Strategies 1.
Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing Inc, 2015.

Solmerano, Ernesto Thaddeus M. Adventures in 21st Century Literature from the Philippines
and the World. Manila Philippines: FastBooks Educational Supply, Inc., 2019.

Solmerano, Ernesto Thaddeus M., Ondevilla, Miel Kristian B., Palencia, Marjueve M.,
Jerusalem, Violeta L., and Cruz, Jesus Q. 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and
the World. Manila: FastBooks Educational Supply. Inc, 2017.

Tayao, Ma. Lourdes G., Alonzo, Rosario I., and Flores, Eden Regala. 21st Century Literature
from the Philippines and the World for Senior High School. Quezon City: C & E Publishing,
Inc. 2017.

Online Sources

Thinking About Literature. “Formalist Approach to Robert Frost.”

Thinkingaboutliterature.blogspot.com. Accessed October 28, 2020.
http://thinkingaboutliterature.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-formalist-approach-to-robert-frosts.html
Wikipedia. “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed October 28, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Hundred_Years_of_Solitude
Lumen Learning. “What is Literary Criticism.” Lumenlearning.com. Accessed November 2,
2020. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp2kscopex92x2/chapter/what-is-literary-
criticism/
Olemiss. “Critical Approaches to Literature.” Olemiss.edu. Accessed November 2, 2020.
http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/spring97/litcrit.html
Slideshare. “Formalist Criticism.” Slideshare.net. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://www.slideshare.net/rheynely/formalism-ppt
Slideplayer. “Formalist Criticism.” Slideplayer.com. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://slideplayer.com/slide/11825918/
Wikipedia. “Biographical Criticism.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biographical_criticism
Britannica. “Historical Criticism.” Britannica.com. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://www.britannica.com/art/historical-criticism-literary-criticism
Wikipedia. “Latin American Literature.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_literature
Britannica. “American Literature.” Britannica.com. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://www.britannica.com/art/American-literature
Wikipedia. “The Road Not Taken.” Wikipedia.com. November 2, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken
Wikipedia. “Robert Frost.” Wikipedia.com. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost
Slideshare. “Critiquing A Literary Piece.” Slideshare.net. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://www.slideshare.net/catherenecantalderoxas/the-road-not-taken-formalism-approach
Sparknotes. “One Hundred Year of Solitude Key Facts.” Sparknotes.com. Accessed
November 2, 2020. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/solitude/facts/
The Reading Notebook. “Questions to Support Comprehension of Fiction.” The
readingnotebook.weebly.com. Accessed November 2, 2020.
http://thereadingnotebook.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/6/9/1969834/questions_to_support_fictio
n.pdf
Hcpps. “Questions for Reading Fiction.” Hcpss.org. Accessed November 2, 2020.
https://www.hcpss.org/f/parents/tips_readingfiction.pdf
Readwritethink. “Essay Rubrics.” Readwritethink.org. Accessed November 2, 2020.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/Essay%20Rubric.pdf.
Britannica. “Formalism Literary Criticism.” Britannica.com. Accessed November 3, 2020.
https://www.britannica.com/art/Formalism-literary-criticism
https://www2.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/materials/engl/silano/fall2005/101lsb/formalistlitan
alyassgn.htm accessed November 5, 2020
Kids World Travel Guide. “South America Facts.” Kidsworldtavelguide.com. Accessed
November 5, 2020. https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/south-america-facts.html

Sparknotes. “Solitude.” Sparknotes.com. Accessed November 5, 2020.

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/solitude/section9/page/2/

Kids World Travel Guide. “North America Facts.” Kidsworldtavelguide.com. Accessed

November 5, 2020. https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/north-america-facts.html

Beaming Notes. “Summary and Analysis of Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines by Pablo
Neruda.” Beamingnotes.com. Accessed November 6, 2020.
https://beamingnotes.com/2017/07/17/tonight-i-can-write-the-saddest-lines-pablo-neruda-19-
6-17-docx/
Poem analysis. “Tonight I Can Write.” Poemanalysis.com. Accessed November 5, 2020.
https://poemanalysis.com/pablo-neruda/tonight-i-can-write/
Bellevue College. “Formalist Analysis.” Bellevuecollege.edu. Accessed November 5, 2020.
https://www2.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/materials/engl/silano/fall2005/101lsb/formalistlitan
alyassgn.htm#:~:text=A%20formalist%20critic%20examines%20the,make%20it%20a%20sin
gle%20text.
World of DTC Marketing. “DTC Marketing Differs Consumer Marketing.”
Worldofdtcmarketing.com. Accessed November 7, 2020.
https://worldofdtcmarketing.com/dtc-marketing-differes-consumer-marketing/
LTO. “Road Traffic Signs.” Lto.gov.ph. Accessed November 7, 2020.
https://www.lto.gov.ph/images/Services_LTO/DL/Road_Traffic_Signs_v4.pdf
Wikipedia. “Latin Ameircan Literature.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed November 7, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_literature#:~:text=Latin%20American%20author
s%20who%20figured,Octavio%20Paz%2C%20C%C3%A9sar%20Vallejo%2C%20Miguel
Wikipedia. “Literary Canon.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed November 7, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_canon#Literary_canon
Literary Devices. “Canon.” Literarydevices.net. Accessed November 7, 2020.
https://literarydevices.net/canon/
Wikipedia. “List of Filipino Writers.” Wikipedia.org. Accessed November 7, 2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Filipino_writers.

Google. “Analyzing Literature: The Formalist Perspective.” Google.com. Accessed

November 9, 2020.
https://www.google.com/search?q=formalism+questions&rlz=1C1CHBD_enPH908PH908&o
q=formalism+questions&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30l4.10010j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF
-8
Acknowledgements:

SHS Core Subject

21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Development of the Self-Learning Module Team

Contextualizers/Compilers: Karen A. Pedroso, TII, City Central National High School

Globe A. Caballero,TII, Bulacao Community High School

Editors: Rowena A. Diputado, TIII, Pardo National High School

Angelique B. Villafuerte, TIII, Mabolo National High School

Evaluator: Evelyn R. Pielago, Principal IV, Abellana National School

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Division of Cebu City

Office Address: Imus Avenue, Cebu City

Telephone Nos.: (032) 255-1516 / (032) 253-9095
E-mail Address: [email protected]