Worldlit Module 2 - Prose

Literature of the World
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Contents
A. Short Story and Its Elements ................................ 4
Test yourself................................................................. 7
B. Southeast Asia: “The Taximan’s Story” by
Catherine Lim (Singapore).............................. 8
Let us process ............... Error! Bookmark not
defined. Test Yourself
...............................................................12
C. Middle East: The Sleeper Awakened –
Anonymous ....................................................14
Let us Process.............................................................16
Test Yourself ...............................................................21
D. Europe: “The Jewels” by Guy de
Maupassant....22 Let us
Process.............................................................32 Test
yourself................................................................33
E. North America: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar
Allan Poe.........................................................34
Process this.................................................................40
Test yourself................................................................41
F. Africa: “The Hands of The Blacks” by Luis
Bernardo Honwana ........................................42
Test yourself................................................................46
Let us Process.............................................................47
Southern Luzon State University
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Introduction to MODULE 3: Drama and Its Elements
Read me before proceeding!

Hey there! Welcome to the SECOND SET of your Self-directed Material for World
Literature or LIT 102!
This module was created for you to learn more about the prominent features and
cultures around the world.
a. analyze exceptional short stories produced in different continents.

b. understand the significant roles played by the short stories in the societal and historical make
up in the respective continent.
c. broaden cultural background about other countries’ traditions, customs, beliefs, etc. through
the stories cited; and
d. identify the significant historical movements that shaped the world in general, and literature
in particular.
At the end of the lesson, expect a material to answer. In addition, do not forget to make
notes! Freely do so at the section stating “Notes about this lesson.”
Feel free to visit the sites or links to gain more understanding about the topic. Make
sure you have gained mastery over the material so you would be able to respond well to the
Test yourself section.
I wish you all the best, and I hope you would enjoy your journey to the information about
the different culture as presented in the short stories in this module.
Sincerely,
Your Teacher

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Engage
How much do you know about short story? Figure it out by answering this. Please, be
completely honest as this will NOT affect your grade, yet it can affect your personal view
about the subject, your study habit, and yourself in general.
Name: ___________________________________________________ Course-Yr:

__________ So far, how much time do I spend reading for the Literature class? Circle your
answer. 1 hr 2 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 5 hrs and more I am familiar with the following baseline
information:
€ Elements of a Short Story

€ Formalist Criticsim
€ Sociological Criticism
I am familiar with the following authors:
€ Catherine Lim
€ Guy de Maupassant
€ Edgar Allan Poe
€ Luis Bernardo Honwana
I am familiar with the following stories:
€ The Taximan’s Story
€ The Sleeper Awakened
€ The Jewels
€ The Cask of Amontillado
€ The Hands of The Blacks
I can tell from which continent or culture these stories originated (Name the continent):
€ The Taximan’s Story _____________________
€ The Sleeper Awakened _____________________
€ The Jewels _____________________
€ The Cask of Amontillado _____________________
€ The Hands of The Blacks _____________________
Understanding that reading short stories can take up more time than reading poetry, how much
time am I willing to devote in studying each lesson?
a. 30 mins/ day b. 30 mins every other day c. 1 hr/day d. 1.5 hrs/ week e. 3 hrs/ week

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A. Short Story and Its Elements
Have you been binge-watching lately? Or have you been staying up because that book had put
you on hook? Isn’t it a thrilling experience to have that excitement over a story— whether fancy,
fictional or real? If you are a story-lover, reding short stories could be one of your past time, and
if reading isn’t your thing, then perhaps a short story can be a good way to start.
Short story is characterized by having simpler plot-line and of less characters or conflicts
compared to novels—the longer counterpart. Just like any other forms of literature, a short story
has a number of elements that you have to be familiar with in order to get along with the
material well.
Let us have a look at its elements.
Your high school teacher—college profs, too—must have told you many times that there
are five essential elements of a story. Can you name them here?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Very well if you answered them all, and if you forgot a few, do not worry as I will help you
recall them in the next pages.

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Elements of Short Story
1. Character – the main character in action and its characteristics

a. Character in action
i. Protagonist – the central character
ii. Antagonist – the opposition or enemy
b. Character type
i. Round – a character with evolving quality (eg. A story depicting a police
juggling multiple roles—officer, father, husband)
ii. Flat – one-dimensional (e.g. A police whose role is to patrol the town—
only patrolling and policing in the story)
iii. Dynamic – a character with evolving quality (eg. Bad to good)
iv. Static – a character with no change (e.g. sidekick throughout the story)
2. Point of View – This is important in making you understand the story. a. First person –
this gives the feeling of listening or taking the story from a teller who experienced the
event himself, the narrator uses his own point of view (I, me, mine, etc.)
b. Second person – the narrator makes you feel that you are active participant in
the story by addressing “you”
c. Third Person Limited – the narrator seems telling or retelling his own observation
d. Third Person Omniscient – the narrator seems to know everything, including
what the other characters feel, see, think, etc.
3. Plot – logical arrangement of events: beginning, middle and ending.
Parts of the Plot
a. Exposition – beginning of the story; characters are introduced
b. Rising action – start of the complication
Conflicts:
i. Character vs self – struggle within self: physical, emotional, or
psychological struggle, struggle against conscience
ii. Character vs character – struggle against another
iii. Character vs nature – struggle against whether, environment, accident
and incident

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iv. Character vs society – struggle against customs, norms, ideas, belief as

dictated or practiced by the society
c. Climax – the turning point, usually the conflict is shown and will either be
resolved or not
d. Falling action – events lead to how they are supposed to happen, usually the
conflict is resolved and the sense of ending is felt
e. Resolution – final outcome
Common Plot techniques
1. Foreshadowing – a hint is given for a later event
2. Flashback – the story is interrupted to tell about an earlier event
3. Surprise ending – an event in the ending that reader may not expect
4. Suspense – heightened excitement unfolds the story
5. In medias res – the story begins in the middle, usually the climax then proceeds
to the exposition
4. Setting – time, place, context of the story. This can be contributory to the actions of the
characters. Here are some aspects of the setting you may consider:
a. Place – geographical location
b. Time – day? Year?
c. Whether condition – rainy, sunny or what season?
d. Social conditions – customs, manners, etc.
e. Mood or atmosphere – happy, gloomy or what?
5. Theme – this shows the central message of the story where all the other elements work
in congruence
Common themes:
a. Love is powerful
b. Love is blind
c. People make mistakes
d. Things are not what you expect them to be
e. Hard work leads to success
f. Once evil always an evil

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Test yourself
NAME: __________________________________________________ Date: _____________
1. This is the structure that shows what happens in the story

a. Character
b. Conflict
c. Plot
d. Exposition
2. What shows the struggle between or among opposing forces?
a. Character
b. Conflict
c. Plot
d. Exposition
3. The message that the author tries to convey is best presented through what element?
a. Figurative language
b. Genre
c. Symbolism
d. Theme
4. What serves a s the turning point of the character?
a. Character
b. Conflict
c. Plot
d. Exposition
5. A story that begins with a character jumping off a building uses what plot technique?
a. Suspense
b. Foreshadowing
c. Flashback
d. Surprise ending

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B. Southeast Asia: “The Taximan’s Story” by Catherine Lim

(Singapore)
SNIPPETS
Catherine Lim
- Malaysian-born
- The most prolific by far of Singaporean authors
- An experienced
- teacher of English language, curriculum consultant, and author
The Taximan’s Story
Catherine Lim
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.
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 childs.Is no good at all.Today is much better.Two children,three
children,enough,stop.Our goverment 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 Service,one still schooling,in Secondary
Two.My eldest daughter,she is twenty plus,stay at home,help the mother.No,not married
yet–very

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shy,and her health not so good,but a good,obedient girl.My other girl–Oh,Madam!very hard for
father when daughter is no good and go against her parents.Very sad,like punishment from God
Today,young people not like us when we are young.We obey.Our parents say don’t do this,we
never do.Otherwise,the cane.My father cane me,I was big enough to be married,and still,got
caning.My father he was very strict,and that is good thing for parents to be strict.If not,young
boys and girls become very useless.Do not want to study,but run away,and go to night clubsand
take drugs and make love.You agreewith me.Madam?Today,young people they are very trouble
to their parents.Madam,you see this young people over there,outside the coffee-house?See
what I mean,Madam?They are only schoolboys and schoolgirls,but they act like big
shots,spending money,smoking,waering 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 yuo 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,f ourth 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 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

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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 home,you must not say,Yes,yes,but you must go and
ask her where and why and who,and you find out.Today young people not to trust,like young
people in many years ago.Oh,Madam,I tell you because I myself have a daughter–oh,Madam,a
daughter I love very much,and she is so good and study hard.And I see her report cards and her
teacher write’Good work’and ‘Excellent’so on,so on.Oh,Madam,she my favourite child,and I ask
her what she want to be after left school,and she says go to University.None of my other
children could go to University,but this one,she is very smart and intelligent–no
boasting,Madam–her teachers write ‘Good’and ‘Excellent’,and so on,so on,in her report
cards.She study at home,and help the mother,but sometimes a little lazy,and she say teacher
want her to go back to school to do 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…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.

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Let us Process
1. Identify the characters in the story and name any people you know who tends to be similar to
them. Tell their similarities.
Character People I know Similarities
2. What conflicts have you experienced with any other member in your family (or your circle)
which you think is due to a gap in your generations? (5 sentences only)
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3. Do you find the attitude, belief or act of the taximan justifiable or right? Cite an instance in the
story and discuss why you think it is justifiable or not
SPECIFIC INSTANCE IN THE STORY:
JUSTIFICATION (3-5 sentences):

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Test Yourself
NAME: __________________________________________________ Date: _____________
1. Which of the following themes is not evident in the story?

a. Generation gap or difference
b. Making a living
c. Oppression of the government
d. Raising the young
2. What is the taximan’s conflict or struggle?
a. Conflict with others: Not being able to raise his daughter well
b. Conflict with self: Being bothered by his conscience
c. Conflict with nature: He had accident down the road
d. Conflict with society: He is not treated well because he is only a taximan
3. Which of the following is true of the story?
a. The story depicts real-life event
b. The story seems fantasy as the characters’ actions are beyond natural
c. The story is entirely fictional with less depiction of reality
d. The story is legendary, showing the heroic prowess of the taximan
4. What irony is presented in the story?
a. The taximan happened to be a rich person pretending to be por
b. Lay Choo is intelligent yet fools around in school and elsewhere
c. The passenger turned out to be the taximan himself at the end of the story
d. The taximan only made up what he said, as revealed in the ending
5. Who could LEAST sympathize with the taximan?
a. A father who wants the best for his child
b. A worker who desperately wants to earn a living
c. A teacher or doctor who advocates for physical wellbeing
d. Any person who struggles with generation gap

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Notes about this Lesson
TOPIC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Date/s I engaged with the material
Time I took to complete the material (1 hr, 30 mins)

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C. Middle East: The Sleeper Awakened – Anonymous

SNIPPETS
- No one knows the original writer of the
story
- This is sometimes titled as The Story of
Abou-Hassan the Wag
- The story is part of the One Thousand and
One Nights—a collection of Arabic
Middle Eastern folk tales
The original manuscript of the
- The 1001 Nights is also known as the Arabian Nights in Arabic text.
Arabian Nights in English—with the
translation first released in the 1700s
The Sleeper Awakened
Translated by Richard Burton
It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that there was once at Baghdad, in the Caliphate of
Harun al-Rashid, a man and a merchant, who had a son Abú al-Hasan-al-Khalí’a by name. The
merchant died leaving great store of wealth to his heir who divided it into two equal parts,
whereof he laid up one and spent of the other half; and he fell to companying with Persians and
with the sons of the merchants and he gave himself up to good drinking and good eating, till all
the wealth[FN#4] he had with him was wasted and wantoned; whereupon he betook himself to
his friends and comrades and cup-companions and expounded to them his case, discovering to
them the failure of that which was in his hand of wealth. But not one of them took heed of him or
even deigned answer him. So he returned to his mother (and indeed his spirit was broken) and
related to her that which had happened to him and what had befallen him from his friends, how
they had neither shared with him nor required him with speech. Quoth she, “O Abu al-Hasan, on
this wise are the sons of this time: an thou have aught, they draw thee near to them, and if thou
have naught, they put thee away from them.” And she went on to condole with him, what while
he bewailed himself and his tears flowed and he repeated these lines:--

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“An wane my wealth, no mane will succour me, * When my wealth waxeth all men friendly show:
How many a friend, for wealth showed friendliness * Who, when my wealth departed, turned to
foe!”
Then he sprang up and going to the place wherein was the other half of his good, took it and
lived with it well; and he sware that he would never again consort with a single one of those he
had known, but would company only with the stranger nor entertain even him but one night and
that, when it morrowed, he would never know him more. Accordingly he fell to sitting every
eventide on the bridge over Tigris and looking at each one who passed by him; and if he saw
him to be a stranger, he made friends with him and caroused with him all night till morning.
Then he dismissed him and would never more salute him with the Salam nor ever more drew
near unto him neither invited him again. Thus he continued to do for the space of a full year, till,
one day, while he sat on the bridge, as was his wont, expecting who should come to him so he
might take him and pass the night with him, behold, up came the Caliph and Masrur, the
Sworder of his vengeance
disguised in merchants dress, according to their custom. So Abu al-Hasan looked at them and
rising, because he knew them not, asked them, “What say ye? Will ye go with me to my dwelling
place, so ye may eat what is ready and drink what is at hand, to wit, platter-bread and meat
cooked and wine strained?” The Caliph refused this, but he conjured him and said to him, “Allah
upon thee, O my lord, go with me, for thou art my guest this night, and baulk not my hopes of
thee!” And he ceased not to press him till he consented; whereat Abu al-Hasan rejoiced and
walking on before him, gave not over talking with him till they came to his house and he carried
the Caliph into the saloon. Al-Rashid entered a hall such as an thou sawest it and gazedst upon
its walls, thou hadst beheld marvels; and hadst thou looked narrowly at its water-conduits thou
would have seen a fountain cased with gold. The Caliph made his man abide at the door; and,
as soon as he was seated, the host brought him that eating might be grateful to him. Then he
removed the tray and they washed their hands and the Commander of the Faithful sat down
again; whereupon Abu al-Hasan set on the drinking vessels and seating himself by his side, fell
to filling and giving him to drink[FN#9] and entertaining him with discourse. And when they had
drunk their sufficiency the host called for a slave-girl like a branch of Ban who took a lute and
sang to it these two couplets:--
“O thou aye dwelling in my heart, * Whileas thy form is far from sight,
Thou art my sprite my me unseen, * Yet nearest near art thou, my sprite.”

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His hospitality pleased the Caliph and the goodliness of his manners, and he said to him, O
youth, who art thou? Make me acquainted with thyself, so I may requite thee thy kindness.” But
Abu al Hasan smiled and said, “O my lord, far be it, alas! that what is past should again come to
pass and that I company with thee at other time than this time!” The Prince of True Believers
asked, “Why so? and why wilt thou not acquaint me with thy case?” and Abu al-Hasan
answered, “Know, O my lord, that my story is strange and that there is a cause for this affair.”
Quoth Al-Rashid, “And what is the cause?” and quoth he, “The cause hath a tail.” The Caliph
laughed at his words and Abu al-Hasan said, “I will explain to thee this saying by the tale of the
Larrikin and the Cook. So hear thou, O my lord.”
Excerpt from : http://al-hakawati.net/en_stories/StoryDetails/2829/1-The-Sleeper-and-the-Waker

TOPIC:

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Let us Process
Answer the following questions before proceeding to the next material.
1. How did you find the story? How much did you like it?
2. What is the interesting aspect in the story that you have read?
3. Will you shortly tell what the story is about?
4. Did you have difficulty reading the material? If so, can you identify them?
5. What techniques did you use or can be used in order to assist in comprehending a reading
material?
You may be playing a trick on me—or on yourself—if you just said that you had
no difficulty going through it. You should know that the story of Abu al-Hasan had
been translated by many writers—thus, the material you just read uses a language in
an era that is a little far from yours. In this regard, let me give you a modern
translation and see if you would find it easier to understand.

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The Sleeper and the Waker
There is a merchant during the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid who has a son named
Abu al-Hasan-al-Khali’a. The merchant dies and leaves a great store of money to his son. Abu
divides the sum into two equal parts. He keeps one part and spends the other. He gets a lot of
companions, but when his money is gone his friends leave him. He then goes back to his mother
and she says that people leave if you have nothing. He then decides to use his other half of his
inheritance and live well from it.
Abu al-Hasan invites one guest per night, have a good time and then dismiss him and
would never more salute him again. So he lives for a full year until he meets the Caliph and
Masrur, the Sworder of his vengeance, disguised in merchants’ dress. The Caliph is invited in
his home and they have a great time. But then Abu tells the Caliph they won’t meet after this
night and he explains his condition through a story.
Story of the Larrikin and the Cook
In the story the Larrikin says that the story has a tail, a cause, and the Caliph says he
would like to know the cause of the story of Abu. Abu tells his story and the Caliph says he won’t
leave his host. Abu says that this will happen as he told before. When the Caliph asks Abu if
there is something he really would like to do, Abu says he would like to be Caliph for one day
and avenge himself on four shaykhs, who don’t like Abu taking in guests. and oppress him
exceedingly. Abu wants to bat them with four hundred lashes as well as the Imam of the mosque
and parade them around the city of Baghdad and bid cry before them: “This is the reward and
the least of the reward of whoso exceeds in talk and vexes the folk and turns their joy to annoy.”
The Caliph hopes his wish will be fulfilled one day. Then he secretly put Cretan Bhang in Abu’s
drink and he falls asleep. He orders his slave Masrur to take Abu to the Palace. The Caliph
informs his whole Palace to pretend Abu is the Caliph and they have to obey him.
When Abu al-Hasan wakes up he finds himself in a luxurious apartment. He thinks he is

either dreaming or in Paradise. All the slaves and Mamelukes in the Palace claim he is the
Commander of the Faithful. Slowly but surely he accepts himself being the Caliph, whilst the real
Caliph sees everything in hiding and laughs. Abu commands a hundred dinars are to be given to
the mother of Abu al-Hasan the Wag, and to deal with the shaykhs and Imam as he told the

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Caliph. He goes to the Harem and thinks either he is the Commander of the Faithful or the
Harem are Jann and the visitor of last night one of their kings. Then, when night falls, the real
Caliph puts Bhang in a drink, gives it to one of the slave-girls and lets Abu drink from it. He falls
asleep and is brought to his own home again.
The next morning Abu wakes up and find his mother at this bedside. He says he is the
Caliph, but his mother says he has only dreamed. They quarrel on this and he beats his mother
with a staff. Folk outside think he is a madman, afflicted by a Jinn. He is brought to prison,
stripped of his clothes and chained. He mother comes to him and asks her son to return to
reason as this must be the Devil’s doing. Abu agrees and the Superintendent lets him go.
Abu turns to his old habit, going forth to the bridge and inviting people for the night. He
again meets the Caliph, but says he doesn’t want to invite him anymore, because he thinks he is
the Devil. The Caliph says that maybe the Devil entered Abu’s home because he left the door
open. He also states that he made sure Abu’s wish was granted. The Caliph has to swear not to
make his Jinns make fun of Abu, and then he is invited. Again the Caliph puts Bhang in Abu’s
drink and he falls asleep.
Abu wakes up in the Palace again and he thinks he has become mad. Everybody at the
Palace states, again, that he is the Caliph and they have to bite Abu to make sure he knows it’s
for real. Then he puts off his clothes and dances naked among the slave-girls. The Caliph
appears from behind the curtain laughing and takes him into special favour. He is married to
Nuzhat al
Fuad and preferred by the Caliph. They enjoyed the full delight of life.
Then, when the money is all spent, Abu comes with an idea to get more money from the
Caliph by use of a trick. They will feign their death. Abu will first pretend that he is dead. Nuzhat
has to go to Lady Zubaydah and tell her Abu is dead, she will get one hundred dinars and a
piece of silk. When she comes back, she has to switch places with Abu. He will go to the Caliph
and tell the same story about Nuzhat. Abu will get a hundred dinars from the Caliph and a piece
of silk. They do so and receive the money.
Then Lady Zubaydah condoles the Caliph with the death of Abu al-Hasan. The Caliph is
confused for he has just seen Abu. He says Nuzhat is dead, which Lady Zubaydah denies. They

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make a wager who is right send Masrur to the home of Abu and see who is dead. When Masrur
goes to the home of Abu, he is spotted and Abu says to Nuzhat to lie down and pretend she is
died. Masrur reports back to the Palace that it is Nuzhat who is dead. Upon hearing this Lady
Zubaydah sends her duenna. When the old woman is spotted, Abu pretends to be dead. The old
woman returns to the Palace and tells Abu al-Hasan is dead. The Caliph says she lies and he
and Lady Zubaydah go to the home of Abu and Nuzhat to see for themselves. When they are
spotted, Abu and Nuzhat both pretend they are dead. At Abu’s home, the Caliph says he would
give a thousand dinars to know who died first. Upon hearing this Abu springs up and says: “I
died first!” Now the Caliph sees their death was a trick to get the gold, but he laughs about it
and gives them a thousand dinars for the joke. Caliph also increases Abu’s solde and supplies
and Abu al Hasan and Nuzhat al-Fuad cease not to live in joy and contentment until there
comes the Garnerer of graves.
This version was retrieved from : https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/26-the-sleeper-and-the

waker/26a-story-of-the-larrikin-and-the-cook/
By now you should have been more conscious about how the physical structure of a
material can affect comprehension. Your understanding and consciousness of the
differences in the form and style of texts would provide you more competency in
approaching a literary piece. The same concept applies when viewing a piece in the
lens of Formalist Criticism. In this approach, the elements are examined in order
figure out how they work together with the text’s content.
Where do we focus as formalist critics? We focus on the elements of form such as

style, structure, tone, imagery, symbolism, including the specific elements of the
short story itself.
I hope that this time, after dealing with three different literary pieces, you have
developed consciousness on the different elements of the short story, making it
easier f to understand the text. In addition, I have provided you a material of two
different versions, creating a slight effect on its form.
Had there been a change in your comprehension of the story of Abu after dealing
with its Modern English version? Let us test your comprehension then!

20
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Test Yourself
NAME: __________________________________________________ Date: _____________
1. Which of the following is NOT true of Abu al-Hasan?

a. He is a trickster
b. He had a wife
c. He was a son of a wealthy merchant
d. He was a murder
2. What did Caliph do in order for Abu al-Hasan’s desire of becoming “the Caliph” himself?
a. By drugging him
b. By using a magical spell on him
c. By praying to Allah that Abu’s dream comes true
d. By passing on to Abu al-Hasan his wealth
3. Why was Abu al-Hasan’s put to prison?
a. He took Caliph’s wealth
b. He pretended to be devil
c. He beat his mother
d. He made Nuzhat al-Fuad his accomplice
4. Re-order the story as it happened:
a. 1-4-3-2 b. 2-4-3-1 c. 4-3-2-1 d. 3-1-4-2
1. Abu was released from prison and plots on taking money from Caliph
2. Abu al Hasan woke up believing that he was afflicted by the Jinn
3. The palace was ordered to regard Abu al-Hasan as the Caliph
4. Abu al Hasan wanted to be Caliph to avenge himself on four shaykhs
5. What is the theme of the story?
a. Love
b. Friendship
c. Trickery
d. Jealousy

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TOPIC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

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D. Europe: “The Jewels” by Guy de Maupassant

SNIPPETS
- Maupassant had published more than 300 short
stories
- French world depicts most of his writings that one
can easily know about France between the 18th
and 19the century through his works
- The Jewels was set in the late 19th century -
The Jewels i s also titled as The False Gems
The Jewels
Guy de Maupassant (translated by Roger Colet)
Monsieur Lantin had met the girl at a party given one evening by his office superior and love
had caught him in its net.
She was the daughter of a country tax collector who had died a few years before. She had
come to Paris then with her mother, who struck up acquaintance with a few middle-class
families in her district in the hope of marrying her off. They were poor and decent, quiet and
gentle.
The girl seemed the perfect example of the virtuous woman to whom every sensible young
man dreams of entrusting his life. Her simple beauty had a modest, angelic charm and the
imperceptible smile which always hovered about her lips seemed to be a reflection of her heart.
Everybody sang her praises and people who knew her never tired of saying: “Happy the
man who marries her. Nobody could find a better wife.”
Monsieur Lantin, who was then a senior clerk at the Ministry of the Interior with a salary of
1
three thousand five hundred francs a year, proposed to her and married her.

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He was incredibly happy with her. She ran his household so skillfully and economically that
they gave the impression of living in luxury. She lavished attention on her husband, spoiling
and coddling him, and the charm of her person was so great that six years after their first
meeting he loved her even more than in the early days.
He found fault with only two of her tastes: her love for the theater and her passion for imitation
jewelry.
Her friends (she knew the wives of a few petty officials) often obtained a box at the theater for
her for popular plays, and even for first nights; and she dragged her husband along willy-nilly to
these entertainments, which he found terribly tiring after a day’s work at the office. He therefore
begged her to go to the theater with some lady of her acquaintance who would bring her home
afterwards. It was a long time before she gave in, as she thought that this arrangement was not
quite respectable. But finally, just to please him, she agreed, and he was terribly grateful to her.
Now this love for the theater soon aroused in her a desire to adorn her person. True, her
dresses remained very simple, always in good taste, but unpretentious; and her gentle grace,
her irresistible, humble, smiling charm seemed to be enhanced by the simplicity of her gowns.
But she took to wearing two big rhinestone earrings which sparkled like diamonds, and she
also wore necklaces of fake pearls, bracelets of imitation gold, and combs set with colored
glass cut to look like real stones.
Her husband, who was rather shocked by this love of show, often used to say: “My dear,
when a woman can’t afford to buy real jewels, she ought to appear adorned with her
beauty and grace alone: those are still the rarest of gems.”
But she would smile sweetly and reply: “I can’t help it. I like imitation jewelry. It’s my only
vice. I know you’re right, but people can’t change their natures. I would have loved to own
some real jewels.”
Thenshewouldrun the pearl necklaces through herfingersand makethe cut-glass gems flash
in the light, saying: “Look! Aren’t they beautifully made? Anyone would swear they were
real.”

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He would smile and say: “You have the taste of a gypsy.”
Sometimes, in the evening, when they were sitting together by the fireside, she would place
on the tea table the leather box in which she kept her “trash,” as Monsieur Lantin called it.
Then she would start examining these imitation jewels with passionate attention, as if she
were enjoyingsomedeepandsecretpleasure;andshewouldinsistonhanginganecklace
around her husband’s neck, laughing uproariously and crying: “How funny you look!” And
then she would throw herself into his arms and kiss him passionately.
One night in winter when she had been to the opera, she came home shivering with cold. The
next morning she had a cough, and a week later she died of pneumonia.
Lantin very nearly followed her to the grave. His despair was so terrible that his hair turned
white within a month. He wept from morning to night, his heart ravaged by unbearable grief,
haunted by the memory, the smile, the voice, the every charm of his dead wife.
Time did nothing to assuage his grief. Often during office hours, when his colleagues came
along to chat about the topics of the day, his cheeks would suddenly puff out, his nose wrinkle
up, his eyes fill with tears, and with a terrible grimace he would burst out sobbing.
He had left his wife’s room untouched, and every day would shut himself in it and think
about her.All the furniture and even her clothes remained exactly where they had been on
the day she had died.
But life soon became a struggle for him. His income, which in his wife’s hands had covered all
their expenses, was now no longer sufficient for him on his own; and he wondered in
amazement how she had managed to provide him with excellent wines and rare
delicacieswhich he could no longer afford on his modest salary.
He incurred a few debts and ran after money in the way people do when they are reduced to
desperate shifts. Finally, one morning, finding himself without a soul a whole week before the
end of the month, he decided to sell something; and immediately the idea occurred to him of
disposing of his wife’s “trash.” He still harbored a sort of secret grudge against those false

25
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gems which had irritated him in the past, and indeed the sight of them every day somewhat
spoiled the memory of his beloved.
He rummaged for a long time among the heap of gaudy trinkets she had left behind, for she
had stubbornly gone on buying jewelry until the last days of her life, bringing home a new
piece almost every evening. At last he decided on the large necklace which she had seemed
to like best, and which, he thought, might well be worth six or seven francs, for it was
beautifully made for a piece of paste.
He put it in his pocket and set off for his Ministry, following the boulevards and looking for a
jeweler’s shop which inspired confidence.
At last he spotted one and went in, feeling a little ashamed of exposing his poverty in this way,
and of trying to sell such a worthless article.
“Monsieur,” he said to the jeweler, “I would like to know what you think this piece is worth.”
The man took the necklace, examined it, turned it over, weighed it, inspected it with a
magnifying glass, called his assistant, made a few remarks to him in an undertone, placed the
necklace on the counter and looked at it from a distance to gauge the effect.
Monsieur Lantin, embarrassed by all this ritual, was opening his mouth to say: “Oh, I know
perfectly well that it isn’t worth anything,” when the jeweler said: “Monsieur, this necklace
is worth between twelve and fifteen thousand francs; but I couldn’t buy it unless you told
me where it came from.”
The widower opened his eyes wide and stood there gaping, unable to understand what the
jeweler had said. Finally he stammered: “What was that you said?… Are you sure?”
The other misunderstood his astonishment and said curtly: “You can go somewhere else
and see if they’ll offer you more. In my opinion it’s worth fifteen thousand at the most.
Come back and see me if you can’t find a better price.” Completelydumbfounded,

26
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MonsieurLantintookback his necklace and lefttheshop, inobedience toa vague desireto be

alone and tothink.
Once outside, however, he felt an impulse to laugh, and he thought: “The fool! Oh, the
fool! But what if I’d taken him at his word? There’s a jeweler who can’t tell real diamonds
from paste!” And he went into another jeweler’s shop at the beginning of the Rue de la
Paix. As soon as he saw the necklace, the jeweler exclaimed: “Why, I know that necklace
well: it was bought here.” Monsieur Lantin asked in amazement: “How much is it worth?”
“Monsieur, I sold it for twenty-five thousand. I am prepared to buy it back for eighteen thousand
once you have told me, in accordance with the legal requirements, how you came to be in
possession of it.”
This time Monsieur Lantin was dumbfounded. He sat down and said: “But…but…examine
it carefully, Monsieur. Until now I thought it was paste.”
“Will you give me your name, Monsieur?” said the jeweler.

“Certainly. My name’s Lantin. I’m an official at the Ministry of the Interior, and I live at No.
16, Rue des Martyrs.”
The jeweler opened his books, looked for the entry, and said: “Yes, this necklace was sent
to Madame Lantin’s address, No. 16, Rue des Martyrs, on the 20th of July 1876.”
The two men looked into each other’s eyes, the clerk speechless with astonishment, the
jeweler scenting a thief. Finally the latter said: “Will you leave the necklace with me for
twenty-four hours? I’ll give you a receipt.”
“Why, certainly,” stammered Monsieur Lantin. And he went out folding the piece of paper,
which he put in his pocket.
Then he crossed the street, walked up it again, noticed that he was going the wrong way,went

27
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back as far as the Tuileries, crossed the Seine, realized that he had gone wrong again, and
4
returned to the Champs-Élysées, his mind a complete blank. He tried to think it out, to
understand. His wife couldn’t have afforded to buy something so valuable—that was certain.
But in that case it was a present! A present! But a present from whom? And why was it given
her?
He halted in his tracks and remained standing in the middle of the avenue. A horrible doubt
crossed his mind. Her? But in that case all the other jewels were presents, too! The earth
seemed to be trembling under his feet and a tree in front of him to be falling; he threw up his
arms and fell to the ground unconscious.
He came to his senses in a chemist’s shop into which the passersby had carried him. He
took a cab home and shut himselfup.
He wept bitterly until nightfall, biting on a handkerchief so as not to cry out. Then he went to
bed worn out with grief and fatigue and slept like a log.
A ray of sunlight awoke him and he slowly got up to go to his Ministry. It was hard to think of
working after such a series of shocks. It occurred to him that he could ask to be excused andhe
wrote a letter to his superior. Then he remembered that he had to go back to the jeweler’s and
he blushed with shame. He spent a long time thinking it over, but decided that he could not
leave the necklace with that man. So he dressed and went out.
It was a fine day and the city seemed to be smiling under the clear blue sky. People were
strolling about the streets with their hands in their pockets.
Watching them, Lantin said to himself: “How lucky rich people are! With money you can
forget even the deepest of sorrows. You can go where you like, travel, enjoy yourself. Oh, if
only I were rich!”
He began to feel hungry, for he had eaten nothing for two days, but his pocket was empty.
Then he remembered the necklace. Eighteen thousand francs! Eighteen thousand francs!
That was a

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tidy sum, and no mistake!
WhenhereachedtheRuedelaPaixhestartedwalkingupanddownthepavementoppositethe
jeweler’s shop. Eighteen thousand francs! A score of times he almost went in, but every time
shame held him back.
He was hungry, though, very hungry, and he had no money at all. He quickly made up his
mind, ran across the street so as not to have any time to think, and rushed into the shop.
As soon as he saw him the jeweler came forward and offered him a chair with smiling
politeness. His assistants came into the shop, too, and glanced surreptitiously at Lantin with
laughter in their eyes and on their lips.
“I have made inquiries, Monsieur,” said the jeweler, “and if you still wish to sell the
necklace, I am prepared to pay you the price I offered you.”
“Why, certainly,” stammered the clerk.
The jeweler took eighteen large bank notes out of a drawer, counted them and handed them to
Lantin, who signed a little receipt and with a trembling hand put the money in his pocket.
Then, as he was about to leave the shop, he turned towards the jeweler, who was still smiling,
and lowering his eyes said: “I have…I have some other jewels which have come to me
from…from the same legacy. Would you care to buy them from me, too?”
The jeweler bowed.
“Certainly, Monsieur.”
One of the assistants went out, unable to contain his laughter; another blew his nose loudly.
Lantin, red faced and solemn, remained unmoved. “I will bring them to you,” he said.
And he took a cab to go and fetch the jewels.

29
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When he returned to the shop an hour later he still had had nothing to eat. The jeweler and
his assistants began examining the jewels one by one, estimating the value of each piece.
Almost all of them had been bought at that shop.
Lantin now began arguing about the valuations, lost his temper, insisted on seeing the
sales registers, and spoke more and more loudly as the sum increased.
The large diamond earrings were worth twenty thousand francs, the bracelets thirty-five
thousand, the brooches, rings, and lockets sixteen thousand, a set of emeralds and sapphires
fourteen thousand, and a solitaire pendant on a gold chain forty thousand—making a total
sum of one hundred and ninety-six thousand francs.
The jeweler remarked jokingly: “These obviously belonged to a lady who invested all her
savings in jewelry.”
Lantin replied seriously: “It’s as good a way as any of investing one’s money.” And he went
off after arranging with the jeweler to have a second expert valuation the next day.
5
Out in the street he looked at the Vendôme column and felt tempted to climb up it as if it
were a greasy pole. He felt light enough to play leapfrog with the statue of the Emperor
perched up there in the sky.
He went to Voisin’s for lunch and ordered wine with his meal at twenty francs a bottle.
Then he took a cab and went for a drive in the Bois.6 He looked at the other carriages with a
slightly contemptuous air, longing to call out to the passersby: “I’m a rich man, too! I’m worth
two hundred thousand francs!”
Suddenly he remembered his Ministry. He drove there at once, strode into his superior’s office,
and said: “Monsieur, I have come to resign my post. I have just been left three hundred
thousand francs.”

30
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He shook hands with his former colleagues and told them some of his plans for the future;
then he went off to dine at the Café Anglais.
Finding himself next to a distinguished-looking gentleman, he was unable to refrain from

informing him, with a certain coyness, that he had just inherited four hundred thousand francs.
For the first time in his life he was not bored at the theater, and he spent the night with some
prostitutes.
Six months later he married again. His second wife was a very virtuous woman, but extremely
bad-tempered. She made him very unhappy.
TOPIC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

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Let us Process
1. What are your standards in choosing a partner? How did you arrive at these standards?
2. Do you think that Monseiur Lantin made a good decision in marrying Madame Lantin? Justify
your answer.
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Test yourself
NAME: __________________________________________________ Date: _____________
1. Where was the story set?

a. New York
b. London
c. Italy
d. Rome
2. Monsieur Lantin, could tolerate all his wife’s characteristics EXCEPT for what?
a. Economic prowess
b. Love of the theater
c. Loving playfulness
d. Modest beauty
3. All of the following EXCEPT one had been Monseur Lantin’s struggles:
a. Death of wife
b. Materialistic wife
c. Being broke
d. Unhappy marriage with Madame Lantin
4. Re-order the story as it happened:
a. 1-2-3-4 b. 2-4-3-1 c. 4-3-2-1 d. 3-1-4-2
1. Monseur Lantin met the woman he eventually married. She happened to be a
poor girl
2.Madame Lantin died of pneumonia
3.Monseur Lantin ran out of money
4.Madame Lantin’s jewelry was sold
5. What was the THEME of the story?
a. Deception
b. Pride
c. True love
d. Tragedy

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E. North America: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

SNIPPETS:
- Poe is an influential American writer of the 19th
century (during your great grandparents’ era)
- Poe invented detective fiction giving rise to the genre
of science
- Sometimes spelled “The Casque of Amontillado”
- The story was told in the murderer’s perspective
THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO
By Edgar Allan Poe (1847)
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult
I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that
gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but
the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only
punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its
redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him
who has done the wrong. It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given
Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my in to smile in his face, and he did
not perceive that my to smile now was atthe thought of his immolation.
He had a weak point --this Fortunato --although in other regards he was a man to be respected
and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true
virtuoso spirit. For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and opportunity, to
practise imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires. In painting and gemmary,
Fortunato,
Southern Luzon State University34

_____________________________________________
like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I
did not differ from him materially; --I was skilful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely
whenever I could. It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival
season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been
drinking much. The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head
was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should
never have done wringing his hand. I said to him --"My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How
remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipeof what passes for
Amontillado, and I have my doubts."
"How?" said he. "Amontillado, A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!""I have my
doubts," I replied; "and I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you
in the matter. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain." "Amontillado!" "I
have my doubts." "Amontillado!" "And I must satisfy them." "Amontillado!" "As you are engaged,
I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me --" "Luchresi
cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry." "And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for
your own. "Come, let us go." "Whither?" "To your vaults." "My friend, no; I will not impose upon
your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement. Luchresi--" "I have no engagement; --
come." "My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you
are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre." "Let us go,
nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for
Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado." Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed
himself of my arm; and putting on a mask of black silk and drawing a roquelaire closely about
my person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo.
There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time. I
had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to
stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate
disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned. I took from their sconces two
flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato, bowed him through several suites of rooms to the
archway that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to
be cautious as he followed. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together
upon

_____________________________________________
the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors. The gait of my friend was unsteady, and
the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode. "The pipe," he said. "It is farther on," said I; "but
observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls." He turned towards me, and
looked into my eves with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.
"Nitre?" he asked, at length. "Nitre," I replied. "How long have you had that cough?" "Ugh! ugh!
ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh!" My poor friend found it
impossible to reply for many minutes. "It is nothing," he said, at last. "Come," I said, with
decision, "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved;
you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go
back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi --" "Enough," he
said; "the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough." "True --true," I
replied; "and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you unnecessarily --but you should use all
proper caution. A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps. Here I knocked off the
neck of a bottle which I drew from a long row of its fellows that lay upon the mould.
"Drink," I said, presenting him the wine. He raised it to his lips with a leer. He paused and
nodded to me familiarly, while his bells jingled. "I drink," he said, "to the buried that repose
around us." "And I to your long life." He again took my arm, and we proceeded. "These vaults,"
he said, "are extensive." "The Montresors," I replied, "were a great and numerous family." "I
forget your arms." "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant
whose fangs are imbedded in the heel." "And the motto?" "Nemo me impune lacessit." "Good!"
he said. The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled. My own fancy grew warm with the
Medoc. We had passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons
intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs. I paused again, and this time I made
bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow.
"The nitre!" I said; "see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults. We are below the river's
bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones. Come, we will go back ere it is too late.
Your cough --" "It is nothing," he said; "let us go on. But first, another draught of the Medoc." I
broke and reached him a flagon of De Grave. He emptied it at a breath. His eyes flashed with a
fierce

_____________________________________________
light. He laughed and threw the bottle upwards with a gesticulation I did not understand. I looked
at him in surprise. He repeated the movement --a grotesque one. "You do not comprehend?" he
said. "Not I," I replied. "Then you are not of the brotherhood." "How?" "You are not of the
masons." "Yes, yes," I said; "yes, yes." "You? Impossible! A mason?" "A mason," I replied. "A
sign," he said, "a sign." "It is this," I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my
roquelaire a trowel. "You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. "But let us proceed to the
Amontillado.""Be it so," I said, replacing the tool beneath the cloak and again offering him my
arm. He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search of the Amontillado. We
passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at
a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame.
At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. Its walls had been
lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of
Paris. Three sides of this interior crypt were still ornamented in this manner. From the fourth side
the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a
mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing of the bones, we perceived
a still interior crypt or recess, in depth about four feet, in width three, in height six or seven. It
seemed to have been constructed for no especial use within itself, but formed merely the interval
between two of the colossal supports of the roof of the catacombs, and was backed by one of
their circumscribing walls of solid granite.
It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his dull torch, endeavoured to pry into the depth of the
recess. Its termination the feeble light did not enable us to see. "Proceed," I said; "herein is the
Amontillado. As for Luchresi --" "He is an ignoramus," interrupted my friend, as he stepped
unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at his heels. In niche, and finding an instant he
had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood
stupidly bewildered. A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were
two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these
depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but
the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the
key I stepped back from the recess. "Pass your hand," I said, "over the wall; you cannot help
feeling the nitre. Indeed, it is very damp. Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I
must positively leave

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you. But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power." "The Amontillado!"
ejaculated my friend, not yet recovered from his astonishment. "True," I replied; "the
Amontillado."
As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken.
Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these
materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche. I
had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry when I discovered that the intoxication of Fortunato
had in a great measure worn off. The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from
the depth of the recess. It was not the cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and
obstinate silence. I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard the
furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might
hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labours and sat down upon the bones.
When at last the clanking subsided, I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the
fifth, the sixth, and the seventh tier. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my breast. I
again paused, and holding the flambeaux over the mason-work, threw a few feeble rays upon
the figure within. A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of
the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back. For a brief moment I hesitated, I
trembled. Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of
an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt
satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied to the yells of him who clamoured. I re-echoed, I
aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamourer grew still.
It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. I had completed the eighth, the ninth
and the tenth tier. I had finished a portion of the last and the eleventh; there remained but a
single stone to be fitted and plastered in. I struggled with its weight; I placed it partially in its
destined position. But now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the hairs
upon my head. It was succeeded by a sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognizing as that of
the noble Fortunato.
The voice said-- "Ha! ha! ha! --he! he! he! --a very good joke, indeed --an excellent jest. We will
have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo --he! he! he! --over our wine --he! he! he!" "The

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Amontillado!" I said. "He! he! he! --he! he! he! --yes, the Amontillado. But is it not getting late?
Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone."
"Yes," I said, "let us be gone." "For the love of God, Montresor!" "Yes," I said, "for the love of
God!" But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called aloud --
"Fortunato!" No answer. I called again -- "Fortunato!" No answer still. I thrust a torch through the
remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My
heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an
end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new
masonry I re erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed
them. In pace requiescat!
Read more about Poe and his other works: https://www.poemuseum.org/poes-works-and

timeline
_____________________________________________
Process this
Read all the questions first before attempting to answer. The questions are interconnected.
1. Name three aspects of the story that you find WRONG and JUSTIFY why it is so.
WRONG JUSTIFICATION
2. Give a little background about on an event in your life (or a well-known individual) which
relate well (or is similar) with your chosen WRONGDOING from the story.
3. Discuss what should have been done to CORRECT the wrongdoing and tell what lesson this
event had brought to your life.

_____________________________________________
Test yourself
NAME: __________________________________________________ Date: _____________
1. What is an Amontillado?
a. wine
b. pipe
c. person
d. animal
2. Which may NOT describe the story?
a. a fistfight or duel between gentlemen Fortunato and Montresor
b. the unexpected tragic death of Fortunato
c. the ill yet witty plan of Montresor
d. how Fortudado had fallen weak by after being lured to his own strength
3. What LEAST describes the conflicts evident in the story?
a. To self: Montresor’s jealousy
b. To others: Montresor and Fortunato
c. To nature: Fortunato died a natural death
d. All are conflicts as shown in the story
4. Arrange the story as it happened:
a. 1-4-3-2 b. 2-4-3-1 c. 4-3-2-1 d. 3-1-4-2
1. Montresor invited Fortunato into a private wine-tasting excursion
2. Fortunato screams for help and laughingly believed what seemed a joke
3. Montresor leaves after burying Fortunato alive
4. Fortunato was too sober to escape from being chained
5. What is the theme of the story?
a. Death comes naturally – as shown by Fortunato
b. Friendship remains – as depicted between gentlemen
c. Revenge – as told and planned by Montresor
d. Jealousy – as shown repeatedly by the succeeding the events

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At this stage, you might be wondering why Fortunato and Montresor’s story ended
that way. You may be questioning the actions and thoughts of the characters in
Poe’s Cask of Amontillado. If so, I should congratulate you!
Did you know that having the capacity to understand right from wrong is already
considered an intelligence? It is known as moral intelligence. Interestingly, you
have just approached the short story through Moral or Philosophical Criticism
by criticizing the moral principle in the text. Do you think Poe intended to teach us
moral lesson through the story? I bet so!
TOPIC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

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F. Africa: “The Hands of The Blacks” by Luis Bernardo Honwana

SNIPPETS
- Writer Luis Bernardo Honwana may still be living to
date; born 1942 in Mozambique.
- The story makes readers conscious about the
misconceptions of people against blacks
- The story was from the POV of a very young kid -
Story shows the lightly-perceived racism affect the
many.
The Hands of the Blacks
Luis Bernardo Honwana (1992)
I don’t remember now how we got on to the subject, but one day, Teacher said
that the palms of the Blacks’ hands were much lighter than the rest of their bodies. This is
because only a few centuries ago, they walked around with them like wild animals, so their
palms weren’t exposed to the sun, which made the rest of their bodies darker. I thought of this
when Father
Christiano told us after catechism that we were absolutely hopeless, and that even the pygmies
were better than us, and he went back to this thing about their hands being lighter, and said it
was like that because they always went about with their hands folded together, praying in
secret. I thought this was so funny, this thing of the Blacks’ hands being lighter, that you should
just see me now. I do not let go of anyone, whoever they are, until they tell me why they think
that the palms of the Blacks’ hands are lighter. Doña Dores, for instance, told me that God
made Blacks’ hands lighter so they would not dirty the food they made for their masters, or
anything else they were ordered to do that had to be kept clean.
Señor Antunes, the Coca-Cola man, who only comes to the village now and
again when all the Cokes in the cantinas have been sold, said it was a lot of baloney. Of
course, I do not know if it was really such, but he assured me, it was. After that I said, “All right,
it was baloney,” and then he told me what he knew about this thing of the Blacks’ hands. It was
like this: “Long

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ago, many years ago, God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Peter, many other
saints, all the angels that were in Heaven, and some of the people who had died and gone to
Heaven— they all had a meeting and decided to create the Blacks. Do you know how? They got
hold of some clay and pressed it into some second-hand molds and baked the clay of
creatures, which they took from the heavenly kilns. Because they were in a hurry and there
was no room next to the fire, they hung them in the chimneys. Smoke, smoke, smoke—and
there you have them, black as coals. And now, do you want to know why their hands stayed
white? Well, didn’t they have to hold on while their clay baked?”
When he told me this, Señor Antunes and the other men who were around us
were very pleased and they all burst out laughing. That very same day, Señor Frias told me that
everything i had heard from them there had been just one big pack of lies. Really and truly, what
he knew about the Blacks’ hands was right—that God finished men and told them to bathe in a
lake in Heaven. After bathing, the people were nice and white. The Blacks, well. They were
made very early in the morning and at this hour, the water in the lake was very cold, so they
only wet the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet before dressing and coming to the
world.
But i read in a book that happened to mention the story, that the Blacks have
hands lighter like this because they spent their lives bent over, gathering the white cotton of
Virginia and i dont know where else. Of course, Doña Estefania did not agree when i told her
this. According to her, it is only because their hands became bleached with all that washing.
Well, i do not know what to think about all this but the truth is that however
calloused and cracked they may be, Black hands are always lighter than the rest of him. And
that’s that!
My mother is the only one who must be right about this question of a Black’s
hands being lighter than the rest of his body. On the day that we were talking about it, i was
telling her what i already knew about the question, and she could not stop laughing. When i was
talking, she did not tell me at once what she thought about all this and she only talked when she
was sure that i wouldn’t get tired of bothering her about it. And even then, she was crying and
clutching herself around the stomach like someone who had laughed so much that it was quite
unbearable. What she said was more or less this:
“God made Blacks because they had to be. They had to be, my son. He thought
they really had to be. Afterwards, He regretted having made them because other men laughed
at them and took away their homes and put them to serve as slaves and not much better. But

_____________________________________________
because He couldn’t make them all white, for those who were used to seeing them black would
complain, He made it so that the palms of their hands would be exactly like the palms of the
hands of other men. And do you know why that was? Well, listen: it was to show that what men
do is only the work of men... that what men do is done by hands that are the same—hands of
people. How, if they had any sense, would know that before anything else they are men. He
must have been thinking of this when He made the hands of those men who thank God they
are not black!”
After telling me all this, my mother kissed my hands. As i ran off to the yard to
play ball, i thought that i had never seen a person cry so much as my mother did then.
___________________________________
pygmies- African group of very small people

baloney- Large sausage or bologna
kilns - Oven for hardening such as pottery
_____________________________________________
Test yourself
NAME: __________________________________________________ Date: _____________
For numbers 1 and 2. At what setting were the following descriptions about blacks where found
by the young kid?
a. community b. school c. church d. home
1. Blacks walked like any other four-legged animals, making their palms wight as they were not
exposed to the sun
2. Blacks’ hands are lighter, so they would not dirt the food they prepare for their masters
3. When the father believe that the palms of the black became white because they started
praying, what element do we find here?
a. Allegory – this shows the story of the good and the evil
b. Allusion – father speaks of what the bible tells so about blacks
c. Irony – black treated badly but must not be at all
d. Symbolism—black is bad and white is good
4. Although a short story, what other form literature can be found in the story which the author
used as a creative technique?
a. Folktale – these are stories on blacks
b. Ballad – the lines were meant to be sung
c. Epic – this is a heroic story of the black character in the story
d. Ode – this gives praise to the black people and their importance
5. Which best describes the THEME of the story?
a. Black Traditions
b. Heroism
c. Racism
d. Tragedy

_____________________________________________
Let us Process
Study the following facts about Honwana and answer the questions that follow:
- Hownana lived in time when Portugues introduced Christianity in Mozambique -
Introduction of Christianity lead to the abolishment of most indigenous African religions -
Africians adopted Christianity but still secretly practiced their indigenous African beliefs
on deities
1. How would the facts have affected the writer’s perspective in the story? Highlight the
evidence to prove your point; do this by identifying the specific scene in the story that tends to
connect with Honwana’s background or context.
2. What can you say about how the society have perceived the blacks? The last one had been
done for you; give your interpretation to the other stories.
Character Belief Perception about black people
Teacher
Father Christiano
Dona Dores
Senor Antunes
Senor Frias
Dona Estefania Black’s hands were white due Blacks were made to be
to excessive washing with servants (wash clothes) making
bleach their hands white

_____________________________________________
Do you think Honwana had used a good technique in revealing a societal

issue? Were you able to connect Honwana’s context or social milieu to the story
itself? If you said YES, then you have applied an approach to Sociological
Criticism. This is done by examining the cultural context at which the work was
written. As you would have read, the context of the black people was depicted in
the story, including the culture of the characters.
TOPIC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

_____________________________________________
Re-Engage
Now that you have finished the module, check on how much you have engaged
with literature. Honestly answer the following.
Name: ___________________________________________________ Course-Yr:

__________ So far, how much time do I spend reading for the Literature class? Circle your
answer. 1 hr 2 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 5 hrs and more I have fully understood the following baseline
information:
€ Elements of a Short Story

€ Formalist Criticsim
€ Sociological Criticism
I am familiar with the following authors:
€ Catherine Lim
€ Guy de Maupassant
€ Edgar Allan Poe
€ Luis Bernardo Honwana
I am familiar with the following stories:
€ The Taximan’s Story
€ The Sleeper Awakened
€ The Jewels
€ The Cask of Amontillado
€ The Hands of The Blacks
I can tell from which continent or culture these stories originated (Name the continent):
€ The Taximan’s Story _____________________
€ The Sleeper Awakened _____________________
€ The Jewels _____________________
€ The Cask of Amontillado _____________________
€ The Hands of The Blacks _____________________
At an average, how much time DID I devote in studying each lesson?

a. 30 mins/ day b. 30 mins every other day c. 1 hr/day d. 1.5 hrs/ week e. 3 hrs/ week

_____________________________________________
References
Brazilian Tales. Retrieved from

https://archive.org/details/braziliantales00goldrich/page/14/mode/2up
Commentary on ‘The Hands of the Blacks’ by Luis Bernardo Honwana. Retrieved

from https://www.aresearchguide.com/the-hands-of-the-blacks.html
Edgar Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. Retrieved from http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/cask/

Five elements of fiction.
https://www.rcboe.org/cms/lib010/GA01903614/Centricity/Domain/4395/Elements%20of%20a
% 20Story.pdf
The five essential elements of a short story. Retrieved from

http://www.katiekazoo.com/pdf/KK_FiveEssentialElements.pdf

Worldlit Module 2 - Prose

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Literature of the World

Introduction to MODULE 3: Drama and Its Elements

Read me before proceeding!

a. analyze exceptional short stories produced in different continents.

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Name: ___________________________________________________ Course-Yr:

€ ​Elements of a Short Story

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A. Short Story and Its Elements

Let us have a look at its elements.

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Elements of Short Story

1. Character – the main character in action and its characteristics

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iv. Character vs society – struggle against customs, norms, ideas, belief as

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1. This is the structure that shows what happens in the story

Southern Luzon State University ​

B. Southeast Asia: “The Taximan’s Story” by Catherine Lim

The Taximan’s Story

What is it you say,Madam?Yes,yes,ha,ha,been taximan for twenty years

Yes,Madam,can make a living.So so.What to do.Must work hard if wants to success in

Yes.Madam,quite big family–eight children,six sons,two daughters.Big family!Ha!ha!No

Lucky for me,all my children big now.Four of my sons working–one a businessman,two

Southern Luzon State University ​

Southern Luzon State University ​

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Character People I know Similarities

SPECIFIC INSTANCE IN THE STORY:

JUSTIFICATION (3-5 sentences):

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1. Which of the following themes is not evident in the story?

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Notes about this Lesson

Date/s I engaged with the material

Time I took to complete the material (1 hr, 30 mins)

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C. Middle East: The Sleeper Awakened – Anonymous

The Sleeper Awakened

Translated by Richard Burton

Southern Luzon State University ​

Southern Luzon State University ​

Notes about this Lesson

Time I took to complete the material (1 hr, 30 mins)

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3. ​Will you shortly tell what the story is about?

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The Sleeper and the Waker

Story of the Larrikin and the Cook

When Abu al-Hasan wakes up he finds himself in a luxurious apartment. He thinks he is

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Southern Luzon State University ​

This version was retrieved from : https://1000into1night.wordpress.com/26-the-sleeper-and-the

Where do we focus as formalist critics? We focus on the elements of ​form ​such as

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1. ​Which of the following is NOT true of Abu al-Hasan?

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Notes about this Lesson

Date/s I engaged with the material

Time I took to complete the material (1 hr, 30 mins)

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D. Europe: “The Jewels” by Guy de Maupassant

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€ Elements of a Short Story

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Southern Luzon State University

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Southern Luzon State University

Southern Luzon State University

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3. Will you shortly tell what the story is about?

Southern Luzon State University

Southern Luzon State University

Southern Luzon State University

Where do we focus as formalist critics? We focus on the elements of form such as

Southern Luzon State University

1. Which of the following is NOT true of Abu al-Hasan?

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Southern Luzon State University

Guy de Maupassant (translated by Roger Colet)

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Southern Luzon State University

Southern Luzon State University

Southern Luzon State University

Southern Luzon State University

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Read more about Poe and his other works: https://www.poemuseum.org/poes-works-and

Southern Luzon State University40

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pygmies- African group of very small people

NAME: ______________________________________ Date: _

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€ Elements of a Short Story

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Edgar Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. Retrieved from http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/cask/

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