Written Report The Tale of the Two Brothers

Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE NORMAL UNIVERSITY
The National Center for Teacher Education
Mindanao
The Multicultural Education Hub

Tale

The
of the

Two

Brothers:

A Written Report
Submitted by
RIEZA MARIEL A. CABATAA
HONEYLYNN G. DELFIN
Bachelor in English Education II-2

Submitted to
Ms. JEALF ZENIA CASTRO
Course Instructor

The Tale of the Two Brothers

S-ENG10|Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Written Report The Tale of the Two Brothers

by Anonymous
1. About the Work
This story was written during the reign of Pharaoh Seti II (1209-1205 B.C.) of the
nineteenth Egyptian dynasty, and may have been a political satire based in part on
his own difficulties with his half-brother, the usurper Amenmesse. It is similar to the
story of Joseph in the house of Potiphar, in Genesis 39:1-20.
2. Character Web

LEGEND
brother lover god/s enemy servant/s -

Ra Harakhti

wife

The Seven Hathors

ANPU

BATA

The Nine Gods

Khnumu

young girl/princess

Pharaoh

woman

men and soldiers

messengers

wise men

chief fuller of Pharaoh

Characterization

Anpu the elder brother of Bata; attempted to kill his younger brother after
being deceived by his own wife
Bata the loyal younger brother of Anpu; almost killed by his own brother;
given a mate by Khnumu to dwell with him, but she eventually betrayed him

S-ENG10|Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Written Report The Tale of the Two Brothers

wife the wife of Anpu who purposely ignited the conflict between the two
brothers
Ra Harakhti the god whom Bata prayed at when his elder brother, Anpu,
attempted to kill him
The Nine Gods met by Bata outside his tower; informed him about the
slaying of Anpus wife
Khnumu one of the Nine Gods; made a mate for Bata to dwell with him
The seven Hathors made a prophecy about the death of Batas mate
young girl/princess the mate of Bata; betrayed Bata in exchange of
beautiful ornaments
chief fuller of Pharaoh hated the Pharaoh; he was responsible for the
entering of the smell of the hairs lock into the Pharaohs clothes
Pharaoh fell in love with the young girl; did everything to get her from Bata
wise men told the Pharaoh about the young girl; instructed the Pharaoh to
send messengers to every strange land to seek for her
messengers servants of the Pharaoh; sent to strange lands to look for the
young girl
men and soldiers sent by the Pharaoh to get the young girl from Bata
woman gave beautiful ornaments to the young girl in order for her to go to
the Pharaoh

3. Plot
1. Two brothers named Anpu and Bata lived in a house together with Anpus
wife.
2. One day, when Bata went to get corn from Anpus wife, he was seduced by
the latter; but Bata had a solid respect to his brother, thus, he strongly
refused.
3. Afraid of her own words, the wife twisted the whole story and told Anpu that
Bata seduced her, hence resulting to Anpus great rage which led to his plan
of slaying his very own brother.
4. Upon knowing about Anpus plan, Bata immediately fled while praying to Ra
Harakhtiwho, on the other hand, made wide water between themthus
preventing Anpu to come near him.
5. After explaining his side and telling Anpu the truth, Bata killed himself by
cutting down his own flesh. However, he told his elder brother that he shall
live again. He also told him, in detail, the signs of his rebirth.
6. Bata went to the Valley of Acacia. He slew wild animals of the desert for his
food and built himself a house under the sacred acacia tree, the tree sacred
to the gods, which bore his soul upon the topmost flower. He then built a
tower with his own hands.
7. One day, he met the Nine Gods. Ra told Khumunu to make for Bata a wife to
dwell with him. She was like a goddess as the essence of every god was in
her. But the seven Hathors came to see her and they said that she will die a
sharp death.
S-ENG10|Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Written Report The Tale of the Two Brothers

8. A woman brought Batas wife unto the Pharaoh. And his majesty loved her
exceedingly, and raised her to high estate. The Pharaoh spoke to her that she
should tell him concerning Bata then she told him to cut the acacia down
which will cause the death of Bata.
9. The princess said to the king that she wanted to eat the liver of the ox as he
said that whatever his wife shalt say, he will obey it for her sake.
10. She ordered to cut down the two Persea trees and be made into goodly
planks. As the craftsmen cut down the trees, she was standing looking on.
Then a chip flew up, it entered her mouth and swallowed it, and after how
many days she bore a son.
4. Elements of the Story
a) Setting

Chronological sometime in the past

Physical Anpus house; farm; stable; river bank; valley of the acacia;
tower; Egypt; palace/purified place;

b) Point of View Third Person POV

c) Conflicts

Man vs. Man Anpu attempted to kill his own brother

Bata killed all the messengers who went to the valley of
acacia to get the young lady from him
The Pharaoh stole the young lady from Bata
Man vs. Self Bata cut his own flesh
Man vs. Supernatural The princess requested to kill the bull which had
Batas spirit in it
The princess requested to cut down the two
Persea trees which had the spirit of Bata in it

5. Figures of Speech

And the elder brother became as a panther of the south simile

Then the sea saw her, and cast its waves up after her personification
And the sea called into the acacia personification
Behold I am to become as a great bull, which bears every good mark
simile
He threw two drops of blood over against the two doors of his majesty they
grew as two great Persia trees hyperbole
A chip flew up, and it entered into the mouth of the princess; she swallowed it,
and after many days she bore a son hyperbole

S-ENG10|Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Written Report The Tale of the Two Brothers

6. Styles of the Author

a) Symbols

field loyalty
beautiful garments seduction
illness deceit
knife betrayal; hurt
wide water disappointment
dust frustration and regret
tower home
acacia life
lock of hair enthrallment
beautiful ornaments betrayal
seed soul
bull revenge
Persea tress vengeance
son triumph

7. Quotable Statements
This is a great wonder which has come to pass.
For I shall not be with thee any more forever; I shall not be in the place in which
thou art.
Whereas thou hast devised an evil thing, wilt thou not also devise a good thing,
even like that which I would do unto thee?
8. Themes

A single lie can terminate all bonds, no matter how strong.

Despite of the closeness of Anpu and Bata, their bond was still ruined. The
strong brotherly love that they had for each other was forgotten and destroyed
just because of one single lie.

To betray is to destroy.
Due to Anpus betrayal to Bata (his attempt of killing his brother), the latter
was hurt and thus had a ruined life.

Taking vengeance means taking a well-deserved justice.

S-ENG10|Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Written Report The Tale of the Two Brothers

In the story, Bata did everything just to take revenge against his
treacherous wife. He did not mean any harm, he just wanted to take the
justice that he undoubtedly deserves.
9. Cultural Implication

having a mate/wife Anpu had a wife; Bata had a mate in the person of the
young girl
close family ties Anpu and Bata were very close to each other in the
beginning of the story; Anpu does not only consider Bata as his brother, but
also as his own son; Bata considers Anpu as his father and Anpus wife as his
mother
owning a field/working in a field Anpu and Bata had a field which serve
as their source of their everyday needs
belief on the existence of gods Bata prayed and met several gods in the
second half of the tale
swearing/making an oath Bata swore an oath to his brother Anpu about
his innocence with regard to Anpus accusations
kingship presence of a Pharaoh who rules a particular place or land

10. Implication of the Title

The story is about the two brothers, Anpu and Bata. It talks about how the elder
brother, Anpu, decided to betray Bata after being deceived by his own wife. The
story intensified as Anpus mistake of attempting to kill his own brother changed not
only his life, but also the fate of Bata. This triggered the occurrence of a rollercoaster-kind series of events, thus resulting to an epic saga of The Tale of the Two
Brothers.

S-ENG10|Survey of Afro-Asian Literature