The Landscape of Philippine Fiction

Fiction- is a story that is entirely made up and is not true. Fiction may resemble reality,
but it is purely circumstantial in philippine literature, there are many stories that have
shaped the way filipinos read and view their surrounding.

Elements of Fiction

Character
 The character of the story is the one you relate with converse with, or listen to the
thoughts of.
 Sometimes, CHARACTERS also serve as symbols of a story. It may symbolize a
community or an event in history. Two CHARATERS interacting in a story may
symbolize the conflict or union betweentwo different societies.
 Symbols – The fiction writer can use a object, action, or character in the
story to suggest or mean something other than its
dictionary or literal meaning.

 Francisco Sionil Jose - is a fictionist, essayist. and noveling. He is currently considered

one of the most widely read Filipino authors, having been translate into many languages
worldwide. His usual themes are social struggle and strife in philippines society.

- Part of fliction, especially in short stories is the challenge to the main characters: what
do they want, what do they do to get it, and what is the intention of the character? Short
stories also express a lot of irony in life situations. There are three kinds of irony that
you will encounter in short stories.
Three kinds of Irony
1. verbal irony- when what is said by the character is not what he or she originally
meant.
2. situational irony- when the actual outcome of a situation(say the conclusion) is
different from the expected outcome. This is also known
as the twists and turn in a story.
3. dramatic irony- which is when the readers know more than the characters in the
story.

 Merlinda Bobis - is a dancer, visual artist, and writer. She was born in Legaspi City,
Albay. She writes in English and Filipino (Tagalog and Bikolano). She tackles themes of
diaspora, immigrant cultures, and magic realism in her fiction. She was won numerous
awards for her literary works.

the world created by the writer

 This world, as imagined by the writer, may be fictional or real depending on the
choice of setting.
  In fiction, more often than not, these world and those in them have meanings or
symbolisms. For examples a place may not just be a place-it was chosen by the
writer because it fits perfectly the situationthe characters are going or will be
going through.
 If the whole story is a symbolism for something, then the story maybe an
allegory.
 Allegory- The writer creates a story in which the characters and events
form a system of symbolic meaning.

The Plot Structure of Fiction

Aristotle once declared that for a story to be considered a story, it must have a beginning, a
middle and an end. Plato agreed to this, and adhered to the idea of an organic unity in fiction-
the interdependent parts of a story are all needed to create a whole. If one part is lost, the
story cannot stand on its own.

In the 19th century, a German novelist by the name of Gustav Freytag realized that plots of
stories and even novels have common patterns which can summarized in a diagram.

Freytag Pyramid

Climax

Rising Falling
Action Action

Exposition Denouement

Exposition- is the beginning of the story, where in the writer sets the scene by introducing the
characters, describing the setting, and sometimes will give a brief
background of the story.

Before the next part of the Freytag pyramid, that something happens to begin the action. This
called the inciting incident- small events and tell tales sign that tell you that the conflict is
about to begin. It is also sometimes known as ”the complication” of the story

Rising Action- is when the complication begins to show itself on the characters, setting, and
events in the story. This is when the story starts to become more exciting.

Climax - is the event with the greatest tension in the story.

Falling Action- is the result of the climax, and it is the part whwn things start falling into place
for the characters.
Denouement- is a French term that means the “ending”. This is where the story reaches its
final conclusion and the writer starts to get ready to tell the ending by
way of explain finally, flashback, a peace treaty, or anything to make the story
complete.

 Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin (more popularly known as Nick Joaquin)

 was a Filipino fictionist, historian, and journalist who has written some of the
best short stories and novels in English. He considered to be one of the most
important Filipino writers in English up until now, and was awarded the title
National Artist for Literature in 1976.

Features of Fiction
Realistic Fiction- although untrue, could actually happen. Some events, the people, and
the places may even be real. It can possible that in the future imagined events could
physically happen.

Non-Realistic Fiction- the story’s events could not happen in real life, which involve an
alternate form of mankind other than that recorded, or need impossible technology.

Types Of Fiction
Commercial Fiction
 It attracts a broad audience and may fall into any subgenre like mystery,
romance, legal thriller, western, science fiction, and so on.

Literary Fiction- tends to appeal to a smaller, more intellectually adventurous audience.

Genres of Fiction
 Mystery- is a popular genre, boasting a huge established audience. It focus on a
crime, usually murder.
 Romance- is a huge category aimed at diverting and entertaining women.
In a romance novels, you have elements of fantasy, love, naivete,
extravagnance, adventure, and always the heroic lover
overcoming impossible odds to be with his true love.
 Womens Fiction- a focus in relationship, one or more strong female protagonists,
women triumphing over unbearable circumstances, and
the experiences of women unified in some way.
 Suspense/thriller- are tense, exciting, often sensational works with ingenious
plotting, swift action, and continuous suspense.
 Horror- filled with gut-wrenching fear, this popular genre keeps readers turning the
blood- filled pages.
-Includes fears of supernatural forces, alien visitations, madness, death,
dismemberment, and other terrifying notions.
 Young Adult- this genre includes any type of novel with a protagonist in the 12 to 16
age range that speaks to the concerns of teenagers.
 Fantasy - It is a genre of fiction that uses magic or other supernatural elements as
main plot element, theme, or setting.
 Inspirational Fiction - Is a fictional works with faith-based themes. It may be
targeted at a spesific demographic, such as Christians.