A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE MAJOR PLOT PARTS OF THE SHORT

STORY “THE VISITATION OF THE GODS” BY GILDA

CORDERO-FERNANDO

A Stylistic Analysis
Presented to the
Faculty of College of Arts and Letters
Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Linguistics
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Sta. Mesa, Manila

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Arts in English Language Studies

by

CARL ANGELO R. BALASA

REUEL A. RAVANERA
JAMES ERICSON SALARIOZA
PETER ALMIR G. VOLANTE

February 2022
INTRODUCTION

Stylistic analysis can be perplexing for some, even more so since it is

occasionally mistaken for literary critique (interpretation). Scholars emphasize the

critical nature of delineating the two domains. The purpose of literary interpretation is to

interpret and comprehend the content and message of a literary work, as well as its

characteristics, while also attempting to decode the author's intention. On the other

hand, style refers to the manner or way a text is expressed. It is the variance in

language use, the collection of linguistic elements, the author's selection of objects and

their distribution and patterning within the text. Understanding style can aid in the

definition of Stylistics. As stated by Verdonk (2002), stylistics is a linguistic study of

language style. It is primarily a study of language; hence it falls under the purview of

linguistics, however it can also be approached from a literary viewpoint.

On the rise of stylistics, the scope of its subject matter expanded. Literary works

are first analyzed using stylistics. It's all about prose and poetry as subjects of study.

Non-literary works may also benefit from stylistic considerations. There are various

forms of discourse, including advertising, journalism, popular music, and even informal

conversation that demonstrate a high degree of stylistic scope. Simpson (2004) asserts

that literary text is the chosen study in stylistics. The study of stylistics can now be

applied in a wider range of contexts, and it is more versatile and adaptable than before.

It is said by Leech and Short (2007) that the study of stylistics strives to provide an

explanation of language use and the artistic function of writing.

 In literary stylistics, the language of literature is analyzed using linguistic

concepts and categories to show how specific language choices and patterns, the

linguistic foregrounding, in the text create literary meanings. According to Toolan (2019),

stylistics has periodically claimed to be objective, replicable, inspectable, falsifiable and

rigorous, and thus quasi-scientific, subjective interpretation is an ineradicable element of

such textual analysis. Nonetheless, the most effective stylistic analyses are explicit in

their techniques and argumentation, methodical, and verifiable by independent

researchers. They reveal direct relationships between major linguistic forms and

patterns in a text and the meanings or effects readers feel. Stylistics is a

cross-disciplinary field located between literary studies and linguistics that has been

spurned at times by both, which for decades anticipated its demise, if not extinction.

An author's writing style isn't only for show; it's a technique to identify how ideas

are expressed in language. Meaning is deduced from the author's choice of words and

literary methods. Analyzing an author's style requires understanding how a piece is

written. Style refers to how one writes rather than the words themselves. Style requires

examining the writer's unique way of expressing ideas. Writing styles are created by the

author to express a specific emotion or effect. Style is sometimes related with pathos

because it typically uses emotional appeals to persuade. A writer's style frequently

establishes or destroys their authority and credibility. Style does not simply add a tragic

or ethical dimension to the logical fundamental knowledge.

Language used in a short story depends on the writer and the style of writing. If

it’s a novel, play, short story, or diary entry you can use slang and curse words,

especially in dialogue, but keep it to a minimum. If it’s a personal essay, poem, piece of
travel writing, speech or newspaper article it’s best to avoid cursing and slang (unless

quoting someone). There are several styles of language used in writing. Writing that

expresses personal beliefs and logically refutes opposing ones is argumentative.

Argumentative language is reasonable and rational. Clearly, there is some overlap with

informational language, with a concentration on facts, figures, and examples. Unlike

informational language, you do not offer all the facts and let the reader decide. Instead,

you focus on facts that support your position and argue that people who disagree with

you are wrong. Persuasion Language, Persuasive writing engages you emotionally in

order to control your feelings and thoughts. Rather from being strictly factual

(knowledge) or logical (argument), persuasion plays on your emotions to elicit strong

feelings about a topic. The writer uses personal experiences to elicit feelings in the

reader or viewer - sympathy, pain, disgust, admiration, pride, rage, terror, and fun.

Narrative language is narrative in nature. Using words, descriptive language creates an

image. To write descriptively, it is necessary to employ specific verbs. Choose verbs that

impart vitality and movement. Lastly, Aesthetics, Language that is designed to be

attractive. Only information avoids trying to be beautiful and interesting, instead

presenting the facts objectively. Each of the other categories aims for both beauty and

clarity. Alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm, repeating motifs, tragic fallacy,

allusion, foreshadowing, dramatic irony, poetic justice. Using literary devices does not

automatically make your writing appealing. What I find lovely, you may find

uninteresting.
OBJECTIVES

This literary analysis will be executed in terms of answering the following objectives:

1. to classify and analyze the use of language in the major plot parts of the text through

the following categories:

1.1 lexical categories;

1.1.1 vocabulary,

1.1.2 parts of speech:

1.1.2.1 nouns,

1.1.2.2 adjectives,

1.1.2.3 verbs,

1.1.2.4 adverbs,

1.2 grammatical categories;

1.2.1 sentence types,

1.2.2 sentence complexity,

2. to determine the author’s deviant style the demonstration of the major plot parts

through the categories of the language use in the text

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This article focused on the main components of the story, The Visitation of the

Gods, including the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, as

well as details significant to classifying and evaluating language use based only on

lexical and grammatical categories. However, it lacks any relevant analysis of the

clauses and phrases in terms of grammatical categories. This paper also does not

examine figures of speech, context, or cohesiveness due to the discovered deviant style

of the writer.

The writer would only be lexically and grammatically dependent in delivering the

essential plot components. This paper's approach is solely stylistic, with no intention of

deconstructing the meaning of the text using any other tools or approaches to literary

analysis.

LITERATURE REVIEW

This segment looks on to different literature to serve as a basis in the

classification of the importance of this analysis and to serve as a guide in the following

parts of the analysis of the plot. The literature review is divided into three themes which

are lexical categories, grammatical categories, and deviance of writing style.

Lexical Categories

When we talk about lexical categories, we usually mean noun, verb, adjective,

and perhaps a few others (Haspelmath, 2012). Many people use the term "part of
speech" as a synonym. Noun phrases, determiner phrases, sentences, etc. are all

examples of phrasal categories. Lexical categories, on the other hand, can be thought

of as units made up of words. When it comes to lexical and functional categories like

affixes (cases, complementizers, etc.), lexical categories express semantic content, but

functional categories represent semantic operators or can even be empty of meaning.

The difference between lexical and functional categories is left ambiguous in this

section, focusing instead on the most important lexical categories.

Both formal and functional methods to grammatical analysis agree on the

fundamental importance of lexical categories. In fact, textbooks from both the classical

and modern schools of linguistics make this claim. Consider the work of O'Grady,

Dobrovolsky, and Aronoff (1997) with Finegan (2006). The nature of lexical categories

has also been the topic of theoretical examination and discussions in both formal and

functional traditions, as well as in other disciplines.

Finding lexical categories like nouns and verbs, which are required for adult

verbal competence, is a difficult case. Constraints governing the relationship between

lexical categories of words in a sentence are at the heart of syntactic knowledge. But

gaining this knowledge offers a “chicken-and-egg” dilemma: The validity of grammatical

categories depends on how well they support syntactic constraints. As this knowledge is

critical in language acquisition, much debate has focussed on how it is obtained from

raw input. Even assuming that the categories themselves are innate, For example, in

French [sou], the sound [su] is a noun, but in English [sue], it is a verb. The complicated

process of allocating lexical items to such categories must be taught. Importantly,

children must still determine the exact syntactic links between the various grammatical
categories in their local language in order to transfer the appropriate sound strings onto

them (Pinker, 1984).

Grammatical Categories

A grammatical category is a group of units (like nouns and verbs) or attributes

(like number and case) that share a set of qualities. They are the linguistic building

pieces that allow us to speak with one another. However, there are no hard and fast

standards for defining these shared qualities, making it difficult for linguists to agree on

what is and is not a grammatical category. As the linguist and author (Trask, 2007) put

it, the term category in linguistics, "is so varied that no general definition is possible; in

practice, a category is simply any class of related grammatical objects which someone

wants to consider."However, there are several ways you may use to categorize words

depending on how they operate in the English language. (Consider components of

speech.)

According to (Jakobson, 1959), grammatical categories (both morphological and

syntactic) are defined as those that must be present in the production of acceptable

messages, whereas specific lexical categories (for example, terms pertaining to space)

are optional. Jakobson established a semantic and operational approach to the

relationship between language and cognition through this perspective of grammar:

grammatical categorizations give the required patterns of thought.

Deviance of Writing Style

Deviation is defined as an action of moving away from an established norm or a

standard. In other words, deviation is breaking of rules which others obey. Language is

considered to be a systematic way of usage of words, it has rules and conventions that

exist to keep it efficient and functional. One of the major functions of language is said to

be a medium for communication, sending and getting information, and interaction

between humans. However, as Medhat and Pirnajmuddin (2011) puts it, “language is

not just a way of communicating daily needs”.

Another function of language is to be used artistically and aesthetically through

literature and poetry. The artistic process of the function of language happens when

there is a distortion in the standard usage of language. Leech argues that there are

eight types of deviation in poetry which are as follows: a) lexical deviation, b) semantic

deviation, c) phonological, d) morphological deviation, e) syntactic deviation, f) register

use deviation, g) historical deviation, and h) graphological deviation (in Rahman and

Weda, 2019, p. 38). Moreover, the 8 types of deviation are not limited to poetry hence,

it can also occur in other types of literary works including fictions and dramas. Rahman

and Weda (2019) claims that an author has an ability to manipulate a language for the

purpose of dramatic and rhetorical effect, and the process of manipulation can be

considered as LD or Language Deviation.

SYNTHESIS

​In conducting a stylistic analysis, various indicators or factors should be taken

into consideration to effectively assess the structural foundation and content of a written

text or speech. Moreover, in analyzing the story, “Visitation of the Gods,” lexical and

grammatical categories, along with the deviance of writing style, are crucial

determinants and standards that serve as tools of analysis. Moreover, the collected

literature and claims give emphasis and justification to the significance and standard of

this analysis that gives rise to the stylistic functions.

​To summarize and synthesize the contribution of the gathered literature and

claims in supporting this analysis, first, Haspelmath (2012) expounded the concept and

function of lexical categories. In Haspelmath’s words, lexical categories are tantamount

to noun, verb, adjective, and perhaps a few others which can be thought of as units

made up of words. In addition, lexical categories bring out semantic contents.

Subsequently, the paper of Dobrovolsky and Aronoff (1997), alongside Finegan

(2006), emphasized the claim that both formal and functional methods to grammatical

analysis agree on the fundamental importance of lexical categories. In fact, Pinker

(1984) also believed that, as varieties of meaning in syntactic links have been present,

persons should be clear in meaning and grammatical categories for the adaptation of

their local language. In that essence, lexical categories are an imperative standard to

analyze the given story.

Moreover, as the grammatical category has been opened up, Trask (2007)

thought of category in linguistics as “so varied that no general definition is possible; in

practice, a category is simply any class of related grammatical objects which someone
wants to consider." Meanwhile, Jakobson (1959) was parallel to this approach of the

grammatical category. Establishing that grammatical categorization gives the required

patterns of thought. Hence, grammatical categorization and pattern are significant in

stylistic analysis. And of course, under the deviance of writing style, Medhat and

Pirnajmuddin (2011) thought that “language is not just a way of communicating daily

needs,” rather, it is much more complex that it has its own rules and norms to be

followed in writing and speaking.

Furthermore, Rahman and Weda (2019), in this narrative, claimed that language

deviation can be utilized by some authors to manipulate a language for the purpose of

dramatic and rhetorical effect. To wit, deviance can be a form of style or breaking of

norms. ​Finally, all literature and claims considered, these external sources are a

significant contribution that advances the foundation and basis of this stylistic analysis.

MATERIAL FOR CRITICISM

Short Profile of the Author

Gilda Cordero-Fernando, born on June 04, 1930, studied BA and BS Education

in St. Theresa’s College and graduated in 1951 and she attained her M.A. in English

literature from Ateneo De Manila University. Her writing career started in the late 1950s

when she began writing short stories in English, where she mostly wrote about the lives

of the Filipino urban middle class, which was not seen in Philippine literature back in

those times. Her works mainly consisted of short fiction such as The Butcher, The

Baker, The Candlestick Maker in 1962; A Wilderness of Sweets in 1973; and her Story

Collection in 1994. Over the years of her writing career, Gilda was recognized by
different award giving bodies for literature writing in the country and she has received

multiple recognitions such as the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award, Patnubay ng Sining

Awardee for literature in 1993, Gawad Awardee for publishing and literature in 1994,

Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi in 2008, and Gawad Dangal ng Lahi in 2014.

Synopsis of the Story

In Gilda Cordero-Fernando’s The Visitation of the Gods, a letter is sent to the

Pugad Lawin High School regarding a visitation by the superintendent, district

supervisors, and the division supervisors for the purpose of “inspection and evaluation”

of the high school. With the intention of impressing the visitors, the school premises

were given a makeover and the school principal, Mr. Olbes, divided the teaching staff

and student body into four groups for different tasks as preparation for the visit. Miss

Noel, an English teacher, was assigned to steward the fourth and discriminated group in

landscaping the premises. Miss Noel is known for being at odds with the principal’s wife,

Mrs. Olbes, because of an issue regarding a half-effaced smile of the English teacher

about the sack dress of Mrs. Olbes. When the visitors arrived at the school, Ms. Noel

vainly looked for Mr. Ampil or the old Language Arts supervisor only to be greeted by

Mr. Sawit, the new English supervisor, that bore the bad news to the English teacher

about the tragic passing of Mr. Ampil, and his misfortune of not getting a cent of what he

was not working for despite being diligent in his service for thirty-three years. After the

demo class of Miss Noel and the tour around the school, the guests were served supper

followed by a lot of music and dancing. Subsequently, before the night ends, the new

English supervisor talked to Miss Noel concerning the English teacher’s thought of how
the school visitations reveal the pretentiousness in such events and the flawed system

in the education system, in general. The conversation between the two led the English

teacher to rethink the sacrifices that she made in her life for her teaching.

TREATMENT OF MATERIAL

Literary criticism implies the intellectual capacity to evaluate and understand the

literary work, the analysis of particular works being the main aim of the literary criticism,

but, though achieved by most of the critics prior to twentieth century, in English

background criticism has started with some alien to the nature of critical act purposes

(Golban & Ciobanu, 2008). Even before Charles Bally created this method in the latter

half of the twentieth century, it may be traced back in time. Other historical individuals,

like Aristotle, relied on stylistics to decode the written word and probe their own

thoughts. The idea of digging deeper into a text was introduced by Bally, who changed

the way literary works were traditionally studied.

This method is used to examine the author's motivations for employing the

techniques and language he or she did, as well as the piece's general tone. It predicts

an analysis that is "broadly based, rigorous, and objective" since it applies linguistics to

literature. Any literary appreciation can benefit from stylistics, which focuses on linguistic

techniques or applications at the phonetic, lexical, or syntactic level.

This research used a stylistics technique to analyze and classify language use in

the short story's five major plot sections, focusing on lexical and grammatical

categories. In particular, Leech and Short (2007, pp. 61-62)'s checklist of linguistic and
stylistic criteria was used in this investigation: For example, the following questions were

asked in terms of lexical categories:

1. General. How difficult is it to use the vocabulary? Is it formal or informal?

Describe or assess? Is it better to be broad or narrow in your approach? To what extent

does the writer rely on words' evocative and other connotative properties rather than

their literal meaning? Whether or not the text contains idiomatic phrases or famous

collocations, and if so, with which dialect or register are these idioms or collocations

associated? Is there any use of specialized or unusual terminology? Do any

morphological categories (such as compound words or special suffixes) stand out?

What categories do words fall into in terms of meaning?

2. Nouns. What are the kinds of noun present? Abstract or Concrete? What type

of abstract nouns are used?

3. Adjectives. Is there a frequent usage of adjectives? What are the kinds of

attributes adjectives refer to? Physical, psychological, visual, auditory, color, referential,

emotive, or evaluative? Attributive or predicative?

4. Verbs. What important meaning does the verbs convey? Are the verbs stative

or dynamic? Are they referring to movements, physical acts, speech acts, psychological

states or activities, or perception?

5. Adverbs. Is there a frequent usage of adverbs? To what semantic function

does the adverb execute? Adverb of manner, negation, degree, frequency, time, or

place?
In terms of grammatical categories, the following sets of questions were utilized to guide

the analysis:

1. Types of Sentences. Is the author solely using statements (declarative

sentences), or does the text also include questions, directives, exclamations, other

minor sentence kinds (such as sentences with no verb)? What is the purpose of these

subtypes if they appear?

2. Sentence Complexity is a term that refers to the complexity of a sentence. Is

the structure of sentences in general complex or straightforward? What is the average

length of a sentence (in terms of words)? What is the percentage of dependent clauses

against independent clauses? Is there a significant difference in complexity from one

sentence to the next? Is coordination, subordination, or parataxis (the juxtaposition of

phrases or other analogous structures) the primary cause of complexity? Complexity is

more common in which parts of a sentence? Is there, for example, any evidence of

anticipatory structure (e.g., complicated subjects before verbs, dependent clauses

preceding the main clause's subject)? The text was further analyzed in lexical density

using an online text analyzer available at Online-Utility.org. However, significant

laborious quantification was done to provide statistics and data that assisted in the

analysis of the central storyline of the short story. A web-based lexical and syntactic

complexity analyzer was also utilized to provide figures on the lexical variants in nouns,

adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Finally, the results of the first two phases of the analysis

(grammatical and lexical) will be used to determine the author's deviant writing style for

the supplied short story.

DISCUSSION

To identify the deviant style used in the short story, The Visitation of the Gods, by

the writer Gilda Cordero-Fernando, the major plot parts will be classified and analyzed

through the use of language in terms of lexical categories and grammatical categories.

The lexical category will the analysis include vocabulary and parts of speech and the

grammatical categories will include the classification of the types and complexity of the

sentences. The events in the story will be divided and identified to their corresponding

plot part in the story.

1. Language Use in Major Plot Parts

In the analysis of the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and

resolution of the short story, the following results are presented. The findings will be

divided into two parts. The first one will be the lexical categories followed by the bases

of grammatical categories:

1.1 Lexical Categories

1.1.1 Vocabulary

In terms of analyzing the lexical complexity, the syllables among the words, that

is limited to the content words or the nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs in the major

plot parts of the short story were counted. The syllabic complexity was analyzed to help

identify the vocabulary in the short story. The results of the analysis showed that the

author used monosyllabic words and disyllabic words in the presentation of the story in

the major plot parts. Three-syllable and four-syllable words had an occasional

occurrence such as the words cemented, gyrated, recovered, remarkable, visitation,

and superintendent. Furthermore, words with five syllables have appeared in the
 exposition, rising action and rare occurrence in climax, falling action, and resolution.

Ultimately, words with six syllables appeared once in exposition and three times in the

climax.

Table 1

Syllabic Complexity in Major Plot Parts of the Story

Major Plot Parts

Number
FALLING
of
EXPOSITION RISING ACTION CLIMAX ACTION RESOLUTION
Syllables
Number of Number of Number Number Number of
words % words % of words % of words % words %
One 841 63.6% 1333 65.5% 539 72.0% 290 71.6% 155 68.9%
Two 298 22.5% 498 24.5% 148 19.8% 93 23.0% 50 22.2%
Three 122 9.2% 118 5.8% 45 6.0% 13 3.2% 12 5.3%
Four 50 3.8% 71 3.5% 13 1.7% 7 1.7% 7 3.1%
Five 11 0.8% 16 0.8% 1 0.1% 2 0.5% 1 0.4%
Six 1 0.1% 0 0.0% 3 0.4% 0 0.0% 0 0.0%

Table 1 presents the comparison of all plot parts. The table shows that the author

consistently uses monosyllabic and disyllabic content words in over 90% of the text. In

terms of formality or informality, the content was written in an informal yet figurative

style. Despite this, no colloquial terms are identified in this short story. On the other

hand, three (3) of the eleven (11) character names are not originated from the story's

setting location, the Philippines, because the surnames de Dios, del Rosario, and

Divinagracia are all from the influence and spread of Spanish, hence these instances

are common in the setting location.

 Furthermore, word contraction is only seen in dialogues throughout the whole

storyline. Although contractions are markers of informality, they are common in ordinary

speech, which does not decrease formality but results in more natural and realistic

dialogues. In the text, the author used a descriptive, emotive and evaluative language.

The story's use of these languages was evident in all parts of the story. The author

demonstrated an efficient technique for creating a clear image of the scene and the

identities of the individuals by weaving basic descriptive words to create a compelling

picture of detailed fiction.

Table 2

Lexical Categories in the Major Plot Parts of the Short Story

Major Plot Parts

Lexical Rising Falling Resolution/
Category Exposition Action Climax Action Ending Total
Word Count 1323 2036 749 405 225 4738
Noun 395 605 174 109 67 1350
Adjective 133 186 70 35 23 447
Verb 231 374 138 75 30 848
Adverb 40 92 43 21 6 202

As seen in table 2, nouns and verbs had the most terms in all of the major plot

parts, whereas modifiers such as adjectives and adverbs had the least. This figure is

quite normal because nouns and verbs are the main elements of the sentence, which

are the subject and predicate. Furthermore, the presence of word modifiers, adjectives,

and adverbs serves an important function in completing the picture of the story and all

of its elements. As a result, the meaning and theme of the story are conveyed through a

variety of content words. Such variety can be seen in the next illustration.
 Figure 1

Lexical Varieties of Content words in the Major Plot Parts

In terms of variation, adjectives and adverbs are recorded as the highest rate

whereas nouns and verbs have the lowest rate, occurring only twice in all parts of the

plot. These kinds of indicators and effects would be examined in the specified analysis

for each content word.

1.1.2.1. Nouns

Figure 2

Distribution of Concrete and Abstract Nouns in Major Plot Parts

Figure 2 depicts the distribution of concrete and abstract nouns in the major plot

parts. This shows that the majority of nouns used throughout the plot are abstract

nouns, with a total of 691 occurrences. This gives the impression that the majority of the

nouns and noun phrases are names for ideas, events, qualities, or concepts rather than

concrete objects.
 Table 3

Dominant themes of Concrete and Abstract Nouns in Major Plot Parts

Major Plot Parts

Noun
Types Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution/ Ending

Faculty Members Visitors Visitors Faculty Members Rurality or Topography

Food School-related School related Body Parts Visitors

Rurality or Topography Food Faculty Members School-related School-related

Concrete
Home Economics related Faculty Members Food Rurality or Topography Student Name

Visitors Flag day Rurality or Topography Household items

Season Time Judgement Emotion Human Principle

Time Reason Reason Time

Abstract Condition Judgement Sentiment Condition

Sentiment Condition Time

Based on the data gathered, the colored items shows that the author is

consistent in including concrete nouns that can be associated with faculty members,

rurality or topography, and visitors in all parts of the plot, as well as abstract nouns that

can be associated with time and condition concepts in the majority of sections.

1.1.2.2. Adjectives

Adjectives are sometimes referred to as modifiers because their primary role is

to ‘modify' a noun or nominal phrase. Additionally, these words play a significant role

in each chapter of the story.

 Table 4

Frequency of Adjectives in the Major Plot Parts

Table 4 demonstrates the number of adjectives used in each part of the plot.

Aside from having the most words among all the plot parts, exposition and rising action

also have the most adjectival use, whereas falling action and resolution have a relatively

low number of adjectives. Aside from counting numbers, it is also vital to evaluate the

modifier in terms of its positioning in the text. An adjective can be classed as either

attributive (pre-nominal) or predicative (post-verb or part of a sentence’s predicate).

 Figure 3

Distribution of Adjectives in the Major Plot Parts

Figure 3 illustrates how adjectives are utilized in different plot sections, and it

might be beneficial to understand how they are applied in different plot sections. When it

comes to vocabulary in the story, attributional adjectives make up the vast majority of

the words that are used. The predicative is used by the author, but only in the context of

falling action. Another important technique for assessing adjective choice and usage is

modifier classification, which is seen in the accompanying table.

Table 5

Categories of adjectives used in the Major Plot Parts

Rising Falling
Categories of adjectives Exposition Action Climax Action Resolution
Coordinate X X X X
Descriptive X X X X X
Distributive X X X
Style
Sequence X X X
Indefinite X X X
 Physical X X X
Emotive X X X X X
Referential X X X
Attribution
Evaluative X X X X X

Table 5 displays how adjectives are utilized categorically throughout the plot,

according to type (coordinate, descriptive, distributive, sequence, and indefinite) and

attribution (physical, emotive, referential, and evaluative). In terms of adjectival type,

descriptive adjectives are present in all aspects of the plot. There was also frequent use

of coordinate adjectives identified from all parts of the story except in the resolution.

While distributive, sequence, and indefinite are noted in three different areas of the plot.

Aside from their existence in various portions of the text, the author's usage of this

lexical category can be regarded as normative.

On the other hand, in terms of adjectival attribution, both emotional and

evaluative adjectives are found throughout the plot. While there are physical and

referential adjectives that appear in three different parts of the plot.

1.1.2.3. Verbs

Verbs play a vital role in the constructions of sentences. Almost every sentence

needs a verb and the use of it helps determine many grammatical forms in sentences.
 Figure 4

Verb types in the Major Plot Parts

As illustrated in Figure 4, we find a range of different verbs being employed

throughout the text. More than half of the verbs in the text are action verbs, which

indicates that they are taking action. This is an approach that many writers employ.
1.1.2.4. Adverbs

Adverbs, like adjectives, have the function of clarifying or clarifying specific

elements of a sentence. The significance of this adverb is made abundantly clear in

the text.

Table 6

Frequency of adverbs in the Major Plot Parts

The use of adverbs in the important plot moments is seen in Table 6 (above). The

rising action has the greatest number of adverbs (92) and the falling action contains the

least number of adverbs (6). The rising action has around half of the adverbs that are

used throughout the text. In addition, a significant number of adverbs were used in the

exposition and climax, but the falling action and resolution had the least number: (21) in

the falling action and (6) in the resolution, respectively. The information in the following

table is significant in understanding the roles that these adverbs play in the text.
 Table 7

Types of Adverbs in the Major Plot Parts

Types Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution

Manner X X X X X

Negation X

Degree X X X X

Frequency X X

Time X X X X X

Place X X X

Confirmation X X

Conjuncts/
Disjuncts X X X

Table 7 lists the different kinds of adverbs used in the text's important plot points.

Generally speaking, the number of adverb types utilized decreases from (7) in the rising

action, (6) both in the exposition of the story and through the middle of the climax, (4) in

the falling action, and (2) in the end of the story. The author's writing style or the

diminishing number of words and sentences may be to blame. Some examples of the

text's usage of adverbs may be found in the following paragraphs from various plot

points. Accordingly, we've listed the most often used adverbs in this section: manner,

negation; degree; frequency; time; place; and confirmation.

1.2. Grammatical Categories

The sentence types and the sentence complexity will be classified for the

analysis of the grammatical categories.

 Figure 5

Syntactic varieties of content words in the Major Plot Parts

Figure 5 depicts the wide range of syntactic forms used in the text's major plot

points by content words. Observe how many sentences, verb phrases, clauses and tone

units were recorded in the increasing action. Verb phrases outnumber sentences and

clauses in every story section. The number of tone units in each plot section is similar to

the number of tone units in each sentence. The number of all grammatical categories

decreases dramatically as the story progresses toward its conclusion. The climax and

the resolution both have shorter sentences than the remainder of the story, while the

exposition, rising action, and falling action all have similar sentence lengths. Two of the

text's components, sentence kinds and sentence complexity, can be used to elucidate

this difference in syntax.

1.2.1. Sentence Types

The types of sentences are based on structure. On the contrary, the types of

sentences are based on meaning.

 Figure 6

Sentence types in Major Plot Parts

Figure 6 illustrates the wide range of sentence structures used across the text's

major plot sections. As can be deduced, the statements are often declarative in nature.

A general conclusion can be drawn from the sentences. Climax and resolution, where

the strongest feelings or emotions should be expressed with exclamation points, are

conspicuously absent of exclamatory sentences. In spite of the fact that the climax is

designed to soothe the reader, a series of short declarative statements made the climax

more exciting, more believable, and more dramatic for the reader.

1.2.2. Sentence Complexity

A complex sentence is created by combining one or more subordinate

(dependent) clauses with the main (independent) clause, which is done with

conjunctions and/or relative pronouns.

 Figure 7

Sentence structures in the Major Plot Parts

Figure 7 presents the distribution of sentences in various structures across the

major plot sections. According to the data, the vast majority of the text, or nearly half of

it, is written in simple sentences. Some plot elements, on the other hand, make use of

compound and complex sentences. Only a few sentences contain statements in

compound-complex sentences, and only a few sentences contain minor (or no-verb)

sentences. When it comes to the climax and resolution, there are a variety of sentence

structures used. While all four major sentence structures are present in exposition,

rising action, and falling action, they are not present in the other two types.
 Figure 8

Average number of words per sentence in the Major Plot Parts of the text

Figure 8 displays the number of words per phrase that are used in each key story

point in the novel, as represented by the number of words per phrase in Figure 7. It is

clear from the graph that exposition has the highest MLS and resolution has the lowest

MLS, which is exactly what you would expect to observe. It is the exposition that has the

longest sentence (81 words), yet it is also the conclusion that contains the shortest

sentence (just three words).

Following the MLS's guidelines, all of the sentences in this text are within the

standard range of 15.80 words per phrase, which follows the MLS's guidelines.

2. Deviant style/s ni presenting the Major Plot Parts of the short story

In order to determine the internal structure of the sentence in the language, an

analysis in the syntactic and morphological level must be performed. The foregrounding
and deviation style will be revealed through the analysis of the clauses, phrases, tone

units, words, nouns, etc. Moreover, The following segment will ascertain the deviant

style of the Gilda Cordero-Fernando in presenting the major plots in her writing, in terms

of lexical and grammatical categories.

Lexical Categories

The beginning of the story or the exposition gives out a sense of feeling of

tension and a clear picture of the current situation in the setting where the story is taking

place. The analysis revealed that the author made use of monosyllabic and disyllabic

words most of the time, which implies the usage of simple words in the presentation of

the story. Hence, determines the style of the author of telling a story that will cater a

wider spectrum of readers, telling powerful stories in a simple way. The style is

considered effective for establishing the situation and the environment fictional word for

the readers for the exposition, building a feeling of tension that is arising between the

characters for the rising action, initiating a significant event for the character and also for

the totality of the story for the climax, walking the changes and development in from the

tension in the previous situation for the falling action, and providing the readers with a

sense of closure for the life of the character for the part of the resolution.

The author exhibits her writing with an almost fair usage of concrete and abstract

nouns yet there is a slight dominance of the use of abstract nouns over concrete nouns,

in general. Some themes of the nouns that showed frequent usage in the story are

faculty, members, rurality or topography, visitors, and food – for the concrete nouns.

While the theme of the abstract nouns that occurred in the story are time and condition.
The demonstration of the establishing factor in the setting of the story in school on the

mountains and the pressure in the whole situation with the visitors are evident in the

dominant themes of the nouns used by the author.

In terms of adjectives, the author showed a greater use of attributive adjectives

compared to the predicative adjectives. The story is considered to be descriptive as the

descriptive adjectives are found in all of the plot parts of the text. The highest number of

the use of adjectives appeared in the rising action followed by the exposition, which was

evident in executing the immersive experience for the readers through painting detailed

scenes in the exposition and the rising action with the use of adjectives.

The items presented in the table shows that the author used a more significant

amount of action verbs compared to the non-action verbs. The author utilized action

verbs in demonstrating the actions of the characters in different situations that

constitute to the greater message and essence of the story. For Adverbs, all of the 8

types were found in the rising action part in the story. Hence, as its function to describe

the verbs, the author made use of adverbs in putting up additional elements to the

storytelling, particularly in the part of the rising action.

Grammatical Categories

In terms of the grammatical categories in the story, there are three distinct

characteristics found in the results. The first one is that rising action showed the highest

number of sentences, clauses, verb phrases, and tone units followed by the part of the

climax. Second, there is a momentous decrease in the number of sentences starting

from the rising action to the resolution. Third, despite the exposition having a lower
number of sentences compared to the climax, the exposition showed a significantly

greater amount of clauses than the climax. It also had the least count of simple

sentences compared to the count of its compound, complex, and compound-complex

sentences.In general, the author used simple sentences for the text. However, there is

an occasional usage of complex sentences in the parts of the rising action and climax.

As Leech and Short (2007) states it, complex sentences are to be preferred if the aim of

the writer is to present us with a complex structure of ideas, a complex reading

experience. It can be deduced that the author was supplying the readers complex ideas

in the course of the exposition to the rising action, and to the climax of the story.

Presenting a rich experience to the readers that is found from the significant parts of the

story.

CONCLUSION

After a thorough stylistic analysis of the major plots of the story, the results lead

to such conclusions:

1. The Language use analysis and classification in major plot parts:

1.1 lexical categories

1.1.1 In all plot parts, the vocabulary used is average and straightforward, placed

in a well-chosen placement of descriptive and evaluative statements in the text.

1.1.2 The parts of speech in the whole text features a proportionate ratio

between function words and content words.

1.1.2.1 Nouns used are mostly abstract, which suggests that the subjects and

objects in the text are largely ideas, qualities, and states rather than concrete

objects.

1.1.2.2 Adjectives are more prominent in the rising action and exposition. Most of

which are attributive than predicative but the types vary like on predicatives we

have coordinate, descriptive, distributive, sequence, and indefinite. Attributive

variations also includes physicals, emotives, referentials, amd evaluatives

1.1.2.3 Action verbs constitute the majority of the verb population throughout text

rather than non-action verbs. There is a significant difference in number between

the two types.

1.1.2.4 Most adverbs are located in the rising action while the least in the falling

action and resolution or ending. All of the types of adjectives are present in the

rising action but not in the rest of the plot parts.

1.1.3 grammatical categories

1.1.3.1 Declarative sentences constitute the majority of sentences however all

other types are well distributed and present throughout the text.

1.1.3.2 A large number of sentences are simple but varieties like compound,

complex, and compound-complex sentences are widely spread and present

throughout the entirety of the text.

2. to identify the deviant style of the author in presenting the major parts of the plot

based on the categorized language use of the piece

2.1 In terms of lexical categories

The utilization of the monosyllabic and disyllabic words by the author implies the

simplicity of the language use in terms of the lexical category. The usage of

simple language aids in sending the powerful message of the story to a wider

number of readers. The author showcased a fair usage between concrete and

abstract nouns – with a slight dominance of abstract than the concrete nouns.

The noun usage implies the process of evoking emotion or the sense of tension

in the scenes that is caused by other characters or the visitors. The usage of

attributive adjectives was favored compared to the predicative. The author used

adjectives to paint detailed scenarios of the story for an immersive experience for

the readers. For the verb, the author’s writing favored the usage of the action

verbs rather than the non-action verbs. The verbs were used to demonstrate the

actions of the characters in each situation that constitute a great amount of

meaning to the totality of the story. Lastly, adverbs were utilized as an addition to

the elements of the storytelling, particularly in the part of the rising action.

2.2 In terms of grammatical categories

The author presents a rich and complex experience in the story through the use

of complex sentences in the exposition, rising action, and climax. The author

utilizes the function of complex sentences in setting out the story in the beginning
and walking the readers through the rising action to the significant part of the

text, which is the climax.

THE MATERIAL

"The Visitation of the Gods"

By Gilda Cordero-Fernando's

The letter announcing the visitation (a yearly descent upon the school by the

superintendent, the district supervisors and the division supervisors for "purposes of

inspection and evaluation") had been delivered in the morning by a sleepy janitor to the

principal. The party was, the attached circular revealed a hurried glance, now at

Pagkabuhay, would be in Mapili by lunchtime, and barring typhoons, floods, volcanic

eruptions and other acts of God, would be upon Pugad Lawin by afternoon.

Consequently, after the first period, all the morning classes were dismissed. The Home

Economics building, where the fourteen visiting school officials were to be housed,

became the hub of a general cleaning. Long-handled brooms ravished the homes of

peaceful spiders from cross beams and transoms, the capiz of the windows were

scrubbed to an eggshell whiteness, and the floors became mirrors after assiduous bouts

with husk and candlewax. Open wood boxes of Coronas largas were scattered within

convenient reach of the carved sofa, the Vienna chairs and the stag- horn hat rack. The

sink, too, had been repaired and the spent bulbs replaced; a block of ice with patches of

sawdust rested in the hollow of the small unpainted icebox. There was a brief

discussion on whether the French soap poster behind the kitchen door was to go or

stay: it depicted a trio of languorous nymphs in various stages

of deshabille reclining upon a scroll bearing the legend Parfumerie et Savonerie but the

woodworking instructor remembered that it had been put there to cover a rotting jagged

hole - and the nymphs had stayed.

The base of the flagpole, too, had been cemented and the old gate given a whitewash.

The bare grounds were, within the remarkable space of two hours, transformed into a

riotous bougainvillea garden. Potted blooms were still coming in through the gate by

wheelbarrow and bicycle. Buried deep in the secret earth, what supervisor could tell that

such gorgeous specimens were potted, or that they had merely been borrowed from the

neighboring houses for the visitation? Every school in the province had its special point

of pride - a bed of giant squashes, an enclosure or white king pigeons, a washroom

constructed by the PTA. Yearly, Pugad Lawin High School had made capital of its

topography: rooted on the firm ledge of a hill, the schoolhouse was accessible by a

series of stone steps carved on the hard face of the rocks; its west windows looked out

on the misty grandeur of a mountain chain shaped like a sleeping woman. Marvelous,

but the supervisors were expecting something tangible, and so this year there was the

bougainvillea.

The teaching staff and the student body had been divided into four working groups. The

first group, composed of Mrs. Divinagracia, the harassed Home Economics instructor,

and some of the less attractive lady teachers, were banished to the kitchen to prepare

the menu: it consisted of a 14-lb. suckling pig, macaroni soup, embutido, chicken salad,

baked lapu-lapu, morcon, leche flan and ice cream, the total cost of which had already

been deducted from the teachers' pay envelopes. Far be it to be said that Pugad Lawin

was lacking in generosity, charm or good tango dancers! Visitation was, after all, 99%
impression - and Mr. Olbes, the principal, had promised to remember the teachers'

cooperation in that regard in the efficiency reports.

The teachers of Group Two had been assigned to procure the beddings and the dishes

to be used for the supper. In true bureaucratic fashion they had relegated the

assignment to their students, who in turn had denuded their neighbors' homes of cots,

pillows, and sleeping mats. The only bed properly belonging to the Home Economics

Building was a four-poster with a canopy and the superintendent was to be given the

honor of slumbering upon it. Hence it was endowed with the grandest of the sleeping

mats, two sizes large, but interwoven with a detailed map of the archipelago. Nestling

against the headboard was a quartet of the principal's wife's heart-shaped pillows - two

hard ones and two soft ones - Group Two being uncertain of the sleeping preferences of

division heads.

"Structuring the Rooms" was the responsibility of the third group. It consisted in the

construction (hurriedly) of graphs, charts, and other visual aids. There was a scurrying

to complete unfinished lesson plans and correct neglected theme books; precipitate

trips from bookstand to broom closet in a last desperate attempt to keep out of sight the

dirty spelling booklets of a preceding generation, unfinished projects and assorted rags -

the key later conveniently "lost" among the folds of Mrs. Olbes' (the principal's wife)

balloon skirt.

All year round the classroom walls had been unperturbably blank. Now they were, like

the grounds, miraculously abloom - with cartolinaillustrations of Parsing, Amitosis Cell

Division and the Evolution of the Filipina Dress - thanks to the Group Two leader, Mr.
Buenaflor (Industrial Arts) who, forsaken, sat hunched over a rainfall graph. The distaff

side of Group Two were either practicing tango steps or clustered around a vacationing

teacher who had taken advantage of her paid maternity leave to make a mysterious trip

to Hongkong and had now returned with a

provocative array of goods for sale.

The rowdiest freshman boys composed the fourth and discriminated group. Under the

stewardship of Miss Noel (English), they had, for the past two days been "Landscaping

the Premises," as assignment which, true to its appellation, consisted in the removal of

all unsightly objects from the landscape. That the dirty assignment had not fallen on the

hefty Mr. de Dios (Physics) or the crafty Mr. Baz (National Language), both of whom

were now hanging curtains, did not surprise Miss Noel. She had long been at odds with

the principal, or rather, the principal's wife - ever since the plump Mrs. Olbes had come

to school in a fashionable sack dress and caught on Miss Noel's mouth a half- effaced

smile.

"We are such a fashionable group," Miss Noel had joked once at a faculty meeting. "If

only our reading could also be in fashion!" -- which statement obtained for her the ire of

the only two teachers left talking to her. That Miss Noel spent her vacations taking a

summer course for teachers in Manila made matters even worse - for Mr. Olbes

believed that the English teacher attended these courses for the sole purpose of

showing them up. And Miss Noel's latest wrinkle, the Integration Method, gave Mr.

Olbes a pain where he sat.

Miss Noel, on the other hand, thought utterly unbecoming and disgusting the manner in

which the principal's wife praised a teacher's new purse of shawl. ("It's so pretty, where

can I get one exactly like it?" - a heavy-handed and graceless hint) or the way she had

of announcing, well in advance, birthdays and baptisms in her family (in other words,

"Prepare!"). The lady teachers were, moreover, for lack of household help, "invited" to

the principal's house to make a special salad, stuff a chicken or clean the silverware.

But this certainly was much less than expected of the vocational staff - the

Woodworking instructor who was detailed to do all the painting and repair work on the

principal's house, the Poultry instructor whose stock of leghorns was depleted after

every party of the Olbeses, and the Automotive instructor who was forever being

detailed behind the wheel of the principal's jeep - and Miss Noel had come to take it in

stride as one of the hazards of the profession.

But today, accidentally meeting in the lavatory, a distressed Mrs. Olbes had appealed to

Miss Noel for help with her placket zipper, after which she brought out a bottle of lotion

and proceeded to douse the English teacher gratefully with it. Fresh from the trash pits,

Miss Noel, with supreme effort, resisted from making an untoward observation - and

friendship was restored on the amicable note of a stuck zipper.

At 1:30, the superintendent's car and the weapons carrier containing the supervisors

drove through the town arch of Pugad Lawin. A runner, posted at the town gate since

morning, came panting down the road but was outdistanced by the vehicles. The

principal still in undershirt and drawers, shaving his jowls by the window, first sighted the

approaching party. Instantly, the room was in a hustle. Grimy socks, Form 137's and a

half bottle of beer found their way into Mr. Olbes' desk drawer. A sophomore breezed
down the corridor holding aloft a newly-pressed barong on a wire hanger. Behind the

closed door, Mrs. Olbes wriggled determinedly into her corset.

The welcoming committee was waiting on the stone steps when the visitors alighted. It

being Flag Day, the male instructors were attired in barong, the women in red, white or

blue dresses in obedience to the principal's circular. The Social Studies teacher,

hurrying down the steps to present the sampaguita garlands, tripped upon an

unexpected pot of borrowed bougainvillea. Peeping from an upstairs window, the

kitchen group noted that there were only twelve arrivals. Later it was brought out that

the National Language Supervisor had gotten a severe stomach cramp and had to be

left at the Health Center; that Miss Santos (PE) and Mr. del Rosario (Military Tactics)

had eloped at dawn.

Four pairs of hands fought for the singular honor of wrenching open the car door, and

Mr. Alava emerged into the sunlight. He was brown as a sampaloc seed. Mr. Alava

gazed with satisfaction upon the patriotic faculty and belched his approval in cigar

smoke upon the landscape. The principal, rivaling a total eclipse, strode towards Mr.

Alava minus a cuff link. "Compañero!" boomed the superintendent with outstretched

arms.

"Compañero!" echoed Mr. Olbes. They embraced darkly.

There was a great to-do in the weapons carrier. The academic supervisor's pabaon of

live crabs from Mapili had gotten entangled with the kalamay in the Home Economics

supervisor's basket. The district supervisor had mislaid his left shoe among the

squawking chickens and someone had stepped on the puto seco. There were overnight
bags and reed baskets to unload, bundles of perishable and unperishable going-away

gifts. (The Home Economics staff's dilemma: sans ice box, how to preserve all the food

till the next morning). A safari of Pugad Lawin instructors lent their shoulders gallantly to

the occasion.

Vainly, Miss Noel searched in the crowd for the old Language Arts supervisor. All the

years she had been in Pugad Lawin, Mr. Ampil had come: in him there was no sickening

bureaucracy, none of the self-importance and pettiness that often characterized the

small public official . He was dedicated to the service of education, had grown old in it.

He was about the finest man Miss Noel had ever known.

How often had the temporary teachers had to court the favor of their supervisors with

lavish gifts of sweets, de hilo, portfolios and what-not, hoping that they would be given a

favorable recommendation! A permanent position for the highest bidder. But Miss Noel

herself had never experienced this rigmarole -- she had passed her exams and had

been recommended to the first vacancy by Mr. Ampil without having uttered a word of

flattery or given a single gift. It was ironic that even in education, you found the highest

and the meanest forms of men.

Through the crowd came a tall unfamiliar figure in a loose coat, a triad of pens leaking in

his pocket. Under the brave nose, the chin had receded like a gray hermit crab upon the

coming of a great wave. "Miss Noel, I presume?" said the stranger.

The English teacher nodded. "I am the new English supervisor - Sawit is the name."

The tall man shook her hand warmly.

"Did you have a good trip, Sir?"

Mr. Sawit made a face. "Terrible!"

Miss Noel laughed. "Shall I show you to your quarters? You must be tired."

"Yes, indeed," said Mr. Sawit. "I'd like to freshen up. And do see that someone takes

care of my orchids, or my wife will skin me alive."

The new English supervisor gathered his portfolios and Miss Noel picked up the heavy

load of orchids. Silently, they walked down the corridor of the Home Economics building,

hunter and laden Indian guide.

"I trust nothing's the matter with Mr. Ampil, Sir?"

"Then you haven't heard? The old fool broke a collar bone. He's dead." "Oh."

"You see, he insisted on doing all the duties expected of him - he'd be ahead of us in the

school we were visiting if he felt we were dallying on the road. He'd go by horseback, or

carabao sled to the distant ones where the road was inaccessible by bus - and at his

age! Then, on our visitation to barrio Tungkod - you know that place, don't you?"

Miss Noel nodded.

"On the way to the godforsaken island, that muddy hellhole, he slipped on the banca -

and well, that's it." "How terrible."

"Funny thing is - they had to pass the hat around to buy him a coffin. It turned out the

fellow was as poor as a churchmouse. You'd think, why this old fool had been
thirty-three years in the service. Never a day absent. Never a day late. Never told a lie.

You'd think at least he'd get a decent burial - but he hadn't reached 65 and wasn't going

to get a cent he wasn't working for. Well, anyway, that's a thorn off your side."

Miss Noel wrinkled her brow, puzzled.

"I thought all teachers hated strict supervisors." Mr. Sawit elucidated. "Didn't you all

quake for your life when Mr. Ampil was there waiting at the door of the classroom even

before you opened it with your key?"

"Feared him, yes," said Miss Noel. "But also respected and admired him for what he

stood for."

Mr. Sawit shook his head smiling. "So that's how the wind blows," he said, scratching a

speck of dust off his earlobe.

Miss Noel deposited the supervisor's orchids in the corridor. They had reached the

reconverted classroom that Mr. Sawit was to occupy with two others.

"You must be kind to us poor supervisors," said Mr. Sawit as Miss Noel took a cake of

soap and a towel from the press. "The things we go through!" Meticulously, Mr. Sawit

peeled back his shirt sleeves to expose his pale hairless wrists. "At Pagkabuhay, Miss

What's-her-name, the grammar teacher, held a demonstration class under the mango

trees. Quite impressive, and modern; but the class had been so well rehearsed that they

were reciting like machine guns. I think it's some kind of a code they have, like if the

student knows the answer he is to raise his left hand, and if he doesn't he is to raise his
right, something to that effect." Mr. Sawit reached for the towel hanging on Miss Noel's

arm.

"What I mean to say is, hell, what's the use of going through all that palabas? As I

always say," Mr. Sawit raised his arm and pumped it vigorously in the air, "Let's get to

the heart of what matters."

Miss Noel looked up with interest. "You mean get into the root of the problem?"

"Hell no!" the English supervisor said, "I mean the dance! I always believe there's no

school problem that a good round of tango will not solve!"

Mr. Sawit groped blindly for the towel to wipe his dripping face and came up to find Miss

Noel smiling. "Come, girl," he said lamely. "I was really only joking."

As soon as the bell rang, Miss Noel entered I-B followed by Mr. Sawit. The students

were nervous. You could see their hands twitching under the desks. Once in a while

they glanced apprehensively behind to where Mr. Sawit sat on a cane chair, straight as

a bamboo. But as the class began, the nervousness vanished and the boys launched

into the recitation with aplomb. Confidently, Miss Noel sailed through a sea of

prepositions, using the Oral Approach Method:

"I live in a barrio."

"I live in a town."

"I live in Pugad Lawin."

"I live on a street."

"I live on Calle Real..."

Mr. Sawit scribbled busily on his pad.

Triumphantly, Miss Noel ended the period with a trip to the back of the building where

the students had constructed a home-made printing press and were putting out their

first school paper.

The inspection of the rest of the building took exactly half an hour. It was characterized

by a steering away from the less presentable parts of the school (except for the

Industrial Arts supervisor who, unwatched, had come upon and stood gaping at the

French soap poster). The twenty-three strains of bougainvillea received such a chorus

of praise and requests for cutting that the poor teachers were nonplussed on how to

meet them without endangering life and limb from their rightful owners. The Academic

supervisor commented upon the surprisingly fresh appearance of the Amitosis chart and

this was of course followed by a ripple of nervous laughter. Mr. Sawit inquired softly of

Miss Noel what the town's cottage industry was, upon instructions of his uncle, the

supervisor.

"Buntal hats," said Miss Noel.

The tour ended upon the sound of the dinner bell and at 7 o'clock the guests sat down

to supper. The table, lorded over by a stuffed Bontoc eagle, was indeed an impressive

sight. The flowered soup plates borrowed from Mrs. Valenton vied with Mrs. De los

Santos' bone china. Mrs. Alejandro's willoware server rivalled but could not quite
outshine the soup tureens of Mrs. Cruz. Pink paper napkins blossomed grandly in a

water glass.

The superintendent took the place of honor at the head of the table with Mr. Olbes at his

right. And the feast began. Everyone partook heavily of the elaborate dishes; there were

second helpings and many requests for toothpicks. On either side of Mr. Alava, during

the course of the meal, stood Miss Rosales and Mrs. Olbes, the former fanning him, the

latter boning the lapu-lapu on his plate. The rest of the Pugad Lawin teachers,

previously fed on hopia and coke, acted as waitresses. Never was a beer glass empty,

never a napkin out of reach, and the supervisors, with murmured apologies, belched

approvingly. Towards the end of the meal, Mr. Alava inquired casually of the principal

where he could purchase some buntal hats. Elated, the latter replied that it was the

cottage industry right here in Pugad Lawin. They were, however, the principal said, not

for sale to colleagues. The Superintendent shook his head and said he insisted on

paying, and brought out his wallet, upon which the principal was so offended he would

not continue eating. At last the superintendent said, all right, compañero, give me one or

two hats, but the principal shook his head and ordered his alarmed teachers to round up

fifty; and the ice cream was served.

Close upon the wings of the dinner tripped the Social Hour. The hosts and the guests

repaired to the sala where

a rondalla of high school boys were playing an animated rendition of "Merry Widow"

behind the hat rack. There was a concerted reaching for open cigar boxes and presently

the room was clouded with acrid black smoke. Mr. Olbes took Miss Noel firmly by the
elbow and steered her towards Mr. Alava who, deep in a cigar, sat wide-legged on the

carved sofa. "Mr. Superintendent," said the principal. "This is Miss Noel, our English

teacher. She would be greatly honored if you open the dance with her."

"Compañero," twinkled the superintendent. "I did not know Pugad Lawin grew such

exquisite flowers."

Miss Noel smiled thinly. Mr. Alava's terpsichorean knowledge had never advanced

beyond a bumbling waltz. They rocked, gyrated, stumbled, recovered, rolled back into

the center, amid a wave of teasing and applause. To each of the supervisors, in turn, the

principal presented a pretty instructor, while the rest, unattractive or painfully shy, and

therefore unfit offering to the gods, were left to fend for themselves. The first number

was followed by others in three-quarter time and Miss Noel danced most of them with

Mr. Sawit.

At ten o'clock, the district supervisor suggested that they all drive to the next town where

the fiesta was being celebrated with a big dance in the plaza. All the prettier lady

teachers were drafted and the automotive instructor was ordered behind the wheel of

the weapons carrier. Miss Noel remained behind together with Mrs. Divinagracia and

the Home Economics staff, pleading a headache. Graciously, Mr. Sawit also remained

behind.

As Miss Noel repaired to the kitchen, Mr. Sawit followed her. "The principal tells me you

are quite headstrong, Miss Noel," he said. "But then I don't put much stock by what

principals say."
Miss Noel emptied the ashtrays in the trash can. "If he meant why I refused to dance

with Mr. Lucban..." "No, just things in general," said Mr. Sawit. "The visitation, for

instance. What do you think of it?"

Miss Noel looked into Mr. Sawit's eyes steadily. "Do you want my frank opinion, Sir?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well, I think it's all a farce."

"That's what I've heard - what makes you think that?"

"Isn't it obvious? You announce a whole month ahead that you're visiting. We clean the

schoolhouse, tuck the trash in the drawers, bring out our best manners. As you said

before, we rehearse our classes. Then we roll out the red carpet - and you believe you

observe us in our everyday surrounding, in our everyday comportment?"

"Oh, we know that."

"That's what I mean - we know that you know. And you know that we know that you

know." Mr. Sawit gave out an embarrassed laugh. "Come now, isn't that putting it a trifle

strongly?"

"No," replied Miss Noel. "In fact, I overheard one of your own companions say just a

while ago that if

your lechon were crisper than that of the preceding school, if our pabaon were more

lavish, we would get a higher

efficiency rating."

"Of course he was merely joking. I see what Mr. Olbes meant about your being

stubborn."

"And what about one supervisor, an acquaintance of yours, I know, who used to come

just before the town fiesta and assign us the following items: 6 chickens, 150 eggs, 2

goats, 12 leche flans. I know the list by heart - I was assigned the checker."

"There are a few miserable exceptions..."

"What about the sweepstakes agent supervisor who makes a ticket of the teacher's

clearance for the withdrawal of his pay? How do you explain him?"

Mr. Sawit shook his head as if to clear it.

"Sir, during the five years that I've taught, I've done my best to live up to my ideals. Yet I

please nobody. It's the same old narrow conformism and favor-currying. What matters is

not how well one teaches but how well one has learned the art of pleasing the

powers-that-be and it's the same all the way up."

Mr. Sawit threw his cigar out of the window in an arc. "So you want to change the world.

I've been in the service a long time, Miss Noel. Seventeen years. This bald spot on my

head caused mostly by new teachers like you who want to set the world on fire. In my

younger days I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you for expulsion for your rash opinions.

But I've grown old and mellow - I recognize spunk and am willing to give it credit. But

spunk is only hard- headedness when not directed towards the proper channels. But
you're young enough and you'll learn, the hard way, singed here and there - but you'll

learn."

"How are you so sure?" asked Miss Noel narrowly.

"They all do. There are thousands of teachers. They're mostly disillusioned but they go

on teaching - it's the only place for a woman to go."

"There will be a reclassification next month," continued Mr. Sawit. "Mr. Olbes is out to

get you - he can, too, on grounds of insubordination, you know that. But I'm willing to

stick my neck out for you if you stop being such an idealistic fool and henceforth

express no more personal opinions. Let sleeping dogs lie, Miss Noel. I shall give you a

good rating after this visitation because you remind me of my younger sister, if for no

other reason. Then after a year, when I find that you learned to curb your tongue, I will

recommend you for a post in Manila where your talents will not be wasted. I am related

to Mr. Alava, you know."

Miss Noel bit her lip in stunned silence. Is this what she had been wasting her years on?

She had worked, she had slaved - with a sting of tears she remembered all the parties

missed ("Can't wake up early tomorrow, Clem"), alliances forgone ("Really, I haven't got

the time, maybe some other year?") the chances by-passed ("Why, she's become a

spinster!") - then to come face to face with what one has worked for - a boor like Mr.

Sawit! How did one explain him away? What syllogisms could one invent to rub him out

of the public school system? Below the window, Miss Noel heard a giggle as one of the

Pugad Lawin teachers was pursued by a mischievous supervisor in the playground.

"You see," the voice continued, "education is not so much a matter of brains as getting

along with one's fellowmen, else how could I have risen to my present position?" Mr.

Sawit laughed harshly. "All the fools I started out with are still head-teachers in

godforsaken barrios, and how can one be idealistic in a mudhole? Goodnight, my dear."

Mr. Sawit's hot trembling hand (the same mighty hand that fathered the 8-A's that made

or broke English teachers) found its way swiftly around her waist, and hot on her

forehead Miss Noel endured the supreme insult of a wet, fatherly kiss.

Give up your teaching, she heard her aunt say again for the hundredth time, and in a

couple of months you might be the head. We need someone educated because we plan

to export.

Oh, to be able to lie in a hammock on the top of the hill and not have to worry about the

next lesson plan! To have time to meet people, to party, to write.

She remembered Clem coming into the house (after the first troubled months of

teaching) and persuading her to come

to Manila because his boss was in need of a secretary. Typing! Filing! Shorthand! She

had spat the words contemptuously back at him. I was given a head so I could think!

Pride goeth... Miss Noel bowed her head in silence. Could anyone in the big, lighted

offices of the city possibly find use for a stubborn, cranky, BSE major?

As Miss Noel impaled the coffee cups upon the spokes of the drainboard, she heard the

door open and the student named Leon come in for the case of beer empties.
"Pandemonium over, Ma'am?" he asked. Miss Noel smile dimly. Dear perceptive Leon.

He wanted to become a lawyer. Pugad Lawin's first. What kind of a piker was she to

betray a dream like that? What would happen to him if she wasn't there to teach him his

p's and f's? Deep in the night and the silence outside flickered an occasional gaslight in

a hut on the mountain shaped like a sleeping woman. Was Porfirio deep in a Physics

book? (Oh, but he mustn't blow up any more pigshed.) What was Juanita composing

tonight? (An ode on starlight on the trunk of a banana tree?) Leon walked swiftly under

the window: in Miss Noel's eyes he had already won a case. Why do I have to be such a

darn missionary?

Unafraid, the boy Leon stepped into the night, the burden of bottles light on his back.

After breakfast the next morning, the supervisors packed their belongings and were

soon ready. Mr. Buenaflor fetched a camera and they all posed on the sunny steps for a

souvenir photo: the superintendent with Mr. and Mrs. Olbes on either side of him and

the minor gods in descending order on the Home Economics stairs. Miss Noel was late

- but she ran to take her place with pride and humility on the lowest rung of the school's

hierarchy.
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