11

21st Century
Literature from the
Philippines and the World
Quarter 2- Module 6:
Literary Traditions from
Across the Globe

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World– Grade 11
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 6: Literary Traditions from Across the Globe
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

Secretary: Leonor Magtolis Briones
Undersecretary: Diosdado M. San Antonio

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Ruby D. Yu
Editor: Albert Iann D. Mamac
Grammarian: Margaux Valerie B. Peñaflor
Reviewer: Matilde A. Duangon
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Subject Area Supervisor: Matilde A. Duangon
Management Team: Ronald G. Gutay, Allan B. Matin-aw, Mary Jane J. Powao,
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21st Century Literature from the
Philippines and the World
Quarter 2- Module 6:
Literary Traditions from
Across the Globe

iii
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the
World-Grade 11 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on Literary Traditions
from Across the Globe!

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by

educators both from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or
facilitator in helping the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum
while overcoming their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and
independent learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also
aims to help learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies
that will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them
to manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and
assist the learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

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For the learner:

Welcome to the 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the
World-Grade 11 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on Literary Traditions
from Across the Globe!

The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often
used to depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create
and accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a
learner is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant
competencies and skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in
your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being an
active learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in
the module.

What I Know This part includes an activity that aims to

check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.

What’s In This is a brief drill or review to help you link

the current lesson with the previous one.

What’s New In this portion, the new lesson will be

introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity or a situation.

What is It This section provides a brief discussion of

the lesson. This aims to help you discover
and understand new concepts and skills.

What’s More This comprises activities for independent

practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.

What I Have Learned This includes questions or blank

sentence/paragraph to be filled into process
what you learned from the lesson.

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 What I Can Do This section provides an activity which will
help you transfer your new knowledge or
skill into real life situations or concerns.

Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate your

level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.
Additional Activities
In this portion, another activity will be given
to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of
the lesson learned. This also tends retention
of learned concepts.
Answer Key
This contains answers to all activities in the
module.
At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in

developing this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of
the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning
and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Need to Know

Most Essential Learning Competency:

Compare and contrast the various 21st century literary traditions from across the globe.

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help
you master the different 21st century literary traditions from across the globe. The
scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning situations.
The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons
are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the order in which
you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you are now using.

This module also aims to engage you in appreciation and critical study of
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, encompassing their
various dimensions, genres, elements, structures, contexts, and traditions. This
module allows you to embark on a journey from Philippine regions to the different
parts of the world through various literary encounters.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. explain the significance of 21 st century literary traditions;
2. give the similarities and differences of the various 21 st century literary
traditions across the globe; and
3. appreciate the cultural and aesthetic literature diversity of the world.

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 What I Know
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.

1. It is a popular epic in India and highly revered in Hinduism.

a. Mahabharata
b. Ramayana
c. Nibelungenlied
d. The Iliad
2.Which of these literatures is written in the 21st century?
a. The Merchant of Venice
b. The Canterbury Tales
c. Silk
d. Hamlet

3. Which of the following story belongs to Asian 21 st century literature?

a. Everyday Use
b. Eva is Inside her Cat
c. The Boy Named Crow
d. The Taximan’s Story

4. What are the outcasts required to do before they may join the church?
(Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe)
a. Shave their heads
b. Get cam wood tattoos
c. Pierce their tongues
d. Change their names
5. It is a collection of works that have an underlying interconnectedness and
coherence that makes them more simply a group of works sharing geography
or group.
a. Literary genres
b. Literary elements
c. Literary traditions
d. Literary structures

6.Who is the author of “The Folded Earth”?

a. William Shakespeare
b. Anurhada Roy
c. Miguel de Cervantes
d. Alessandro Baricco

7.Which of the following Asian languages are vernacular languages of India?

a. Japanese
b. Chinese
c. Hindi
d. Sanskrit

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8. What story discusses the way of eating between modern and traditional
culture in Afghanistan?
a. Othello
b. A Thousand Splendid Suns
c. The Kite Runner
d. Canterbury Tales
9. What is a kolba?
a. A nipa hut
b. A hat
c. A piece of clothing
d. Traditional architectural house
10. The title Things Fall Apart is taken from the poem by?
a. Alfred Lord Tennyson
b. T.S. Elliot
c. Joseph Conrad
d. William Butler Yeats
11. Which of the following author belongs to the 21 st century literature?
a. Alessandro Baricco
b. Edgar Allan Poe
c. Emily Bronte
d. Nick Joaquin
12. The title of this novel is taken from a poem written by Saeb-e-Tabrizi, who
was a 17th century Persian poet.
a. The Nibelungenlied
b. Mahabharata
c. Hamlet
d. A Thousand Splendid Suns
13. In the story “Things Fall Apart,” what does Okonkwo fear most?
a. Joining the missionaries
b. Becoming like his father
c. Because they mean good weather and good crops
d. The overthrow of the village elders
14. What is the name of the dragon that the hero Siegfried slays in order to win
the Nibelung treasure?
a. Smaug
b. Fafnir
c. Zmey Gorynych
d. Draco
15. What marital aspect of the novel by Khaled Hosseini is common in
Afghanistan?
a. Arranged marriage
b. Same sex marriage
c. Secret marriage
d. Common-law marriage

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 Lesson
21st Century
1 Literary Traditions
Literary Tradition

Literary tradition is a collection of works that have an underlying

interconnectedness and coherence that makes them more than a simply group
of works sharing geography or group. Irish poetry and drama, for example,
extend over several countries, involving writers with a range of voices and
preoccupation; and yet it is often thought that they are distinctively “Irish”.
This means that you can have someone who doesn’t come from Ireland,
perhaps doesn’t have Irish ancestors but they can write with Irish Literary
Tradition because they will draw on the same references, structure,
mythology, focal points for cultural meaning and historical movements.

What’s In

This module will help you classify literary pieces you have read or will be
reading into the different regions around the world with regards to the 21st
literary traditions.

Notes to the Teacher

This self-learning learning module is all about the 21st century
literary traditions from across the globe. It provides students with
lectures and activities which focus on the traditions of the 21st
century literature around the world.

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 What’s New

Directions: Look for the conventional literary pieces in the puzzle

below. On a separate sheet of paper, answer the questions
that follow.
A Z H W Q Y D P B D R N S M I
T H I N G S F A L L A P A R T
B M N T A E M L S T P G Y A F
E A D R O L D K A I S U R I C
L C H O D H O H B S T O D Z K
H B O A M A H A B H A R A T A
E E U W Q F E O U O H E Y V Q
P T F T L M D R K I D R S A X
R H Z S O R I I Z H K W J L E
I X P U O E X G F E Q K H A
N I B E L U N G E N L I E D E

1. What are the literary pieces have you found in the puzzle?

2. What traditions can be found in each piece of literature?

Let’s recall some conventional world literature!

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart tells two overlapping,
intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a "strong man"
of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first story traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace
with the tribal world in which he lives. It provides us with a powerful fable
about the immemorial conflict between the individual society. The second
story, which is as modern as the first is ancient, concerns the clash of
cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo’s world through the arrival of
aggressive, proselytizing European missionaries.

These twin dramas are perfectly harmonized and they are modulated by an
awareness capable of encompassing the life of nature, history, and the
mysterious compulsions of the soul. Things Fall Apart is the most
illuminating and permanent monument we have to the modern African
experience as seen from within.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare - In the story, Macbeth is a Scottish general

under the rule of King Duncan. Three witches tell Macbeth that he will
become King of Scotland. Macbeth is spurred by his ambition and his wife,
murdering Duncan and acceding to the throne. His reign is bloody and
tyrannical and is ended by the combined forces of Scotland and England.
The story of Macbeth has been associated with a curse and a superstition
that will bring bad luck to the actors who will perform the play.

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Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa - Mahabharata is one of the earliest
and the most popular epics of India. It was written in Sanskrit by Vyasa
around the 3rd century BCE. It is an essential and foundational text
addressing Hindu morality (dharma) and history (itihasa).
The Mahabharata is comparable to another ancient Indian epic,
the Ramayana, although it is longer and focuses on a different storyline. The
plot of the Mahabharata revolves around a struggle for political power
between two groups of cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. It is made
up of about 100,000 couplets divided into 18 sections, making it the longest
epic poem in the world's history.

Nibelungenlied (Anonymous) - The poem is split into two parts: in the first
part, Siegfried comes to Worms to acquire the hand of
the Burgundian princess Kriemhild from her brother King Gunther. Gunther
agrees to let Siegfried marry Kriemhild if Siegfried helps Gunther acquire the
warrior-queen Brünhild as his wife. Siegfried does this and marries
Kriemhild; however Brünhild and Kriemhild become rivals, leading
eventually to Siegfried's murder by the Burgundian vassal Hagen with
Gunther's involvement. In the second part, the widow Kriemhild is married
to Etzel, king of the Huns. She later invites her brother and his court to visit
Etzel's kingdom intending to kill Hagen. Her revenge results in the death of
all the Burgundians who came to Etzel's court as well as the destruction of
Etzel's kingdom and the death of Kriemhild herself.

What Is It

You have rediscovered the conventional literary pieces from across the world
citing its traditions. This part of the module would let you learn modern literary
pieces written by 21st century writers.
One of the most fascinating and challenging aspects of literature is the
vastness of its historic and geographic range. This means that through literary
texts, twenty-first century readers like us can have access to the lives and thoughts
of those people hundreds of years before us or hundreds of kilometers away from
us, and may not even share a language with us. The literary works are what make
up the literary tradition. Thus, a literary tradition is the formation of literary
conventions, that is, stylistic or formal devices or elements of subject matter which
through being repeated in work after work, have become markers of different kinds
or genres of literature.
Literary tradition is the passing down of stories which give meaning to
human experiences according to literary articles. Every linguistic group has a
literary tradition, which is transmitted either orally or through writing.

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Literary Tradition Matters!
 Literary tradition matters because it helps us make connections
between writers as diverse as the ancient Greek poet Homer,
Romantic poet William Blake and 21st century writer Khalid
Hosseini
 It allows us to draw connections between writers who lived
throughout the centuries in places as widely separated
 It helps to show that it doesn’t matter when a piece was written
or where, there will be connections to other works
 Literary tradition also provides a basis for dominant theme and
form
Example: theme – life vs. death, the hero
form – oral tradition, poetry, short story, novel, play
archetype or character traits
21st Century Literary Traditions
21st century literary tradition encompasses new literary works created
within the last decade. 21st century literary tradition embraces an
imaginative writing and deals with current themes and reflects technological
culture. 21st century literary traditions around the world work at many
levels, not only the level of formal generic conventions.
Furthermore, 21st century literature depicts the traditions of the
different parts of the world. Its significance plays a crucial role in
understanding the text of a particular piece of literature. These traditions
help in making connection with the people around the world. Thus, making
the 21st century literature a challenging, enjoyable and rewarding one.

What’s More

After learning about 21st century literary traditions, you are now ready to
explore more about this concept by answering the activities that follow.

Activity 1.1
Directions: Analyze the content of the excerpt of the story below and answer
the questions that follow.

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 The Folded Earth by Anurhada Roy

Maya is a daughter of a rich owner of pickle factory and she fell in love with a man
named Michael. Their relationship was hindered by their families because of their
different religions, Maya is a Hindu while Michael is a Christian. However, the couple
defied their families and chose to be with each other.
Their marriage life started so well and happy. But Michael’s work and passion for
mountain trekking test their relationship. On the other hand, Maya tried to understand
everything but she didn’t able to keep quiet when Michael’s next mountaineering
expedition is on Himalayas, a very dangerous track for trekking. She tried to make
Michael’s mind change but she failed. And Michael still continued the trekking leaving a
promise to Maya that he will come back safe. But Michael’s promise was not made
because he died on the expedition. And Maya was left broken and alone.
In a remote town in the Himalaya, Maya tries to put behind her a time of great
sorrow. By day she teaches in a school and at night she types up drafts of a
magnum opus by her landlord, a relic of princely India known to all as Diwan
Sahib. Her bond with this eccentric, and her friendship with a peasant girl,
Charu, give her the sense that she might be able to forge a new existence away
from the devastation of her past. As Maya finds out, no place is remote enough or
small enough. The world she has come to love, where people are connected with
nature, is endangered by the town's new administration. The impending elections
are hijacked by powerful outsiders who divide people and threaten the future of
her school. Charu begins to behave strangely, and soon Maya understands that a
new boy in the neighbourhood may be responsible.

1. What did you feel after reading the excerpt?

2. How would you describe the relationship between Michael and Maya?

3. Why was it important to mention that they had defied their parents in order
to get married? What does it say about their relationship?

4. What cultural tradition is embedded in the story?

5. What literary tradition or related literature that may be the same with the
story that you have read?

Activity 1.2 HUGOT LINES!

Hugot line is one of the 21st century literary genre which is the product of
Filipinos’ tactfulness. It is emotionally concretized and is one of the Filipinos’
unique characteristics. Create a hugot line based on the 21st century
literature entitled “The Folded Earth” by an Indian novelist Anurhada Roy.

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Activity 1.3 ESSAY? EASY!!
Directions: Read the excerpt of the story “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (see
attachment) by Khaled Hosseini and answer the following
questions on your answer sheet.
1. In what ways is Laila like her mother, and in what ways is she like her
father?

2. How does the role of women in Afghan culture affect Mariam and
Laila?

3. What impact do war and violence have on the people who live through
it?

4. What is the theme of the story?

5. Khaled Hosseini, author of “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” uses true

historical events in his works of fiction. Why would an author include
accurate historical details in a fiction novel?

Activity 1.4

A. Many of the aspects of the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by

Khaled Hosseini come from the traditions of Afghanistan. Enumerate
the different traditions that exist in the story.

_______________________
_______________________
Afghan
Traditions _______________________
_______________________
_______________________

B. Compare and contrast the two 21st century literature from the world,
“The Folded Earth” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” citing their
traditions using a Venn Diagram.

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 What I Have Learned

You have tried your hands in discovering the literary traditions discussed in
this module. Reflect on what you have learned by answering the questions
that follow.
1. What are literary traditions?
2. What are some traditions in the conventional literatures from across
the globe?
3. What are the different traditions in the 21st century literature from the
world?
4. What are the characteristics of literary traditions of the conventional
literature?
5. What are the literary traditions of the various 21st century literature
from across the globe?

What I Can Do

You have learned the various 21st literary traditions from the world. As
a 21st century learner, show your appreciation of the cultural and aesthetic
literary diversity of the world by retelling the story of Romeo and Juliet with
a taste of modern tradition from the Philippines using any 21st century
genres.

Assessment

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. It is a collection of works that have an underlying interconnectedness and
coherence that makes them more a simply a group of works sharing
geography or group.
a. Literary genres
b. Literary elements
c. Literary traditions
d. Literary structures

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2. The literature that saw a steep increase in the acceptability of literature of all
types, inspired by the coming of age of millions of people who enjoyed the
work of writers with technological culture.
a. 21st century literature
b. 20th century literature
c. 19th century literature
d. 18th century literature
3. In the story of “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, what holy animal does
Okonkwo’s clan suspect the Christians have killed and eaten?
a. A locust
b. A monkey
c. A python
d. A tortoise
4. One of Mariam’s last thoughts before being executed in the novel “A
Thousand Splendid Suns” is that she?
a. Should have forgiven Jalil
b. Should have killed Rasheed years ago
c. Wished she could see Aziza grow up
d. Would soon be reunited with her mother
5. In what country does Things Fall Apart take place?
a. Kenya
b. Chad
c. Nigeria
d. South Africa
6. The title of this novel is taken from a poem written by Saeb-e-Tabrizi, who
was a 17th century Persian poet.
e. The Nibelungenlied
f. Mahabharata
g. Hamlet
h. A Thousand Splendid Suns
7. Great hero from Mahabharata who lived a life such a way today he is
another name for generosity and loyalty today –
a. Karna
b. Nakul
c. Bhisma
d. Amba
8. Which of these four is not Krimhield’s brother in The Nibelungenlied?
a. Giselher
b. Gernot
c. Gunther
d. Gustav
9. Which is not a one of the predictions made by the witches in the story of
Macbeth?
a. Macbeth would live happily ever after
b. Macbeth would be the Thane of Cawdor
c. Macbeth would be the Thane of Glamis
d. Macbeth would be the King of Scotland
10. Upon seizing power, which does the Taliban NOT do to change culture in
Afghanistan?
a. Destroys books and artifacts that do not adhere to Islam
b. Forces men to grow beards
c. Prohibits children from laughing in public or speaking to non-relatives
d. Prohibits women from going to school and travelling alone

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 11. What marital aspect of the novel by Khaled Hosseini is common in
Afghanistan?
e. Arranged marriage
f. Same sex marriage
g. Secret marriage
h. Common-law marriage
12. What do the inhabitants of Mbanta believe is responsible for the white man’s
miraculous survival after having built his church in the Evil Forest? (Things
Fall Apart story)
a. His bible
b. His eyeglasses
c. His borrowed machete
d. His attitude
13. What conflicting aspect of cultural tradition is depicted in “The Folded
Earth” by Anurhada Roy?
a. Political views
b. Superstitions
c. Religion
d. Socio-economic
14. A common traditional piece of clothing in Afghan culture which Mariam wore
everyday.
a. Sarong
b. Burqa
c. Headdress
d. Malong
15. In the novel “A Thousand Splendid Sun,” what does Mariam ceremoniously
bury in the yard after her first miscarriage?
a. A coat that Rasheed had bought for the baby
b. A silver baby spoon
c. An outfit she sewed for a doll when she was a child
d. Her own underwear

Additional Activities
Further test what you have learned by reading the two literary pieces below and
doing the following tasks: (see attachment)
1. Identify the literary traditions of each literary piece.
2. Compare and contrast the literary traditions.

Source: https://bit.ly/3oEioOa Source: https://bit.ly/3cse7uR

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Attachment
A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS
by Khaled Hosseini

Mariam had never before worn a burqa. Rasheed had to help her put it on.
The padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull, and it was strange seeing
the world through a mesh screen. She practiced walking around her room in it and
kept stepping on the hem and stumbling. The loss of peripheral vision was
unnerving, and she did not like the suffocating way the pleated cloth kept pressing
against her mouth.
"You'll get used to it," Rasheed said. "With time, I bet you'll even like it."
They took a bus to a place Rasheed called the Shar-e-Nau Park, where
children pushed each other on swings and slapped volleyballs over ragged nets tied
to tree trunks. They strolled together and watched boys fly kites, Mariam walking
beside Rasheed, tripping now and then on the burqa's hem. For lunch, Rasheed
took her to eat in a small kebab house near a mosque he called the Haji Yaghoub.
The floor was sticky and the air smoky. The walls smelled faintly of raw meat and
the music, which Rasheed described to her as logari, was loud. The cooks were thin
boys who fanned skewers with one hand and swatted gnats with the other. Mariam,
who had never been inside a restaurant, found it odd at first to sit in a crowded
room with so many strangers, to lift her burqa to put morsels of food into her
mouth. A hint of the same anxiety as the day at the tandoor stirred in her stomach,
but Rasheed's presence was of some comfort, and, after a while, she did not mind
so much the music, the smoke, even the people. And the burqa, she learned to her
surprise, was also comforting.
It was like a one-way window. Inside it, she was an observer, buffered from
the scrutinizing eyes of strangers. She no longer worried that people knew, with a
single glance, all the shameful secrets of her past.
On the streets, Rasheed named various buildings with authority; this is the
American Embassy, he said, that the Foreign Ministry. He pointed to cars, said
their names and where they were made: Soviet Volgas, American Chevrolets,
German Opels.
"Which is your favorite?" he asked.
Mariam hesitated, pointed to a Volga, and Rasheed laughed.
Kabul was far more crowded than the little that Mariam had seen of Herat.
There were fewer trees and fewer garis pulled by horses, but more cars, taller
buildings, more traffic lights and more paved roads.
And everywhere Mariam heard the city's peculiar dialect: "Dear"
was jan instead of jo, "sister" became hamshira instead of hamshireh, and so on.
From a street vendor, Rasheed bought her ice cream. It was the first time
she'd eaten ice cream and Mariam had never imagined that such tricks could be
played on a palate. She devoured the entire bowl, the crushed-pistachio topping,
the tiny rice noodles at the bottom.
She marveled at the bewitching texture, the lapping sweetness of it.
They walked on to a place called Kocheh-Morgha, Chicken Street.

13
 It was a narrow, crowded bazaar in a neighborhood that Rasheed said was
one of Kabul's wealthier ones.
"Around here is where foreign diplomats live, rich businessmen,
members of the royal family--that sort of people. Not like you and me." "I don't see
any chickens," Mariam said.
"That's the one thing you can't find on Chicken Street."
Rasheed laughed.
The street was lined with shops and little stalls that sold lambskin hats and
rainbow-colored chapans. Rasheed stopped to look at an engraved silver dagger in
one shop, and, in another, at an old rifle that the shopkeeper assured Rasheed was
a relic from the first war against the British.
"And I'm Moshe Dayan," Rasheed muttered. He half smiled, and it seemed to
Mariam that this was a smile meant only for her. A private, married smile.
They strolled past carpet shops, handicraft shops, pastry shops, flower shops, and
shops that sold suits for men and dresses for women, and, in them, behind lace
curtains, Mariam saw young girls sewing buttons and ironing collars. From time to
time, Rasheed greeted a shopkeeper he knew, sometimes in Farsi, other times in
Pashto. As they shook hands and kissed on the cheek, Mariam stood a few feet
away. Rasheed did not wave her over, did not introduce her.
He asked her to wait outside an embroidery shop. "I know the owner," he
said. "I'll just go in for a minute, say my salaam."
Mariam waited outside on the crowded sidewalk. She watched the cars
crawling up Chicken Street, threading through the horde of hawkers and
pedestrians, honking at children and donkeys who wouldn't move. She watched the
bored-looking merchants inside their tiny stalls, smoking, or spitting into brass
spittoons, their faces emerging from the shadows now and then to peddle textiles
and furcollared poostin coats to passersby.
But it was the women who drew Mariam's eyes the most.
The women in this part of Kabul were a different breed from the women in
the poorer neighborhoods--like the one where she and Rasheed lived, where so
many of the women covered fully. These women were--what was the word Rasheed
had used?--"modern."
Yes, modern Afghan women married to modern Afghan men who a thousand
splendid suns did not mind that their wives walked among strangers with makeup
on their faces and nothing on their heads. Mariam watched them cantering
uninhibited down the street, sometimes with a man, sometimes alone, sometimes
with rosy-cheeked children who wore shiny shoes and watches with leather bands,
who walked bicycles with highrise handlebars and gold-colored spokes--unlike the
children in Deh-Mazang, who bore sand-fly scars on their cheeks and rolled old
bicycle tires with sticks.
These women were all swinging handbags and rustling skirts.
Mariam even spotted one smoking behind the wheel of a car. Their nails
were long, polished pink or orange, their lips red as tulips. They walked in high
heels, and quickly, as if on perpetually urgent business.
They wore dark sunglasses, and, when they breezed by, Mariam caught a
whiff of their perfume. She imagined that they all had university degrees, that they
worked in office buildings, behind desks of their own, where they typed and

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smoked and made important telephone calls to important people. These women
mystified Mariam.
They made her aware of her own lowliness, her plain looks, her lack of
aspirations, her ignorance of so many things.
Then Rasheed was tapping her on the shoulder and handing her something.
"Here."
It was a dark maroon silk shawl with beaded fringes and edges embroidered with
gold thread."Do you like it?"Mariam looked up. Rasheed did a touching thing then.
He blinked and averted her gaze.
Mariam thought of Jalil, of the emphatic, jovial way in which he'd pushed
his jewelry at her, the overpowering cheerfulness that left room for no response but
meek gratitude. Nana had been right about Jalil's gifts. They had been halfhearted
tokens of penance, insincere, corrupt gestures meant more for his own
appeasement than hers. This shawl, Mariam saw, was a true gift.
"It's beautiful," she said.

SILK
by Alessandro Basicco

A rice-paper panel slid open, and Herve Joncour entered. Hara Kei was
sitting cross-legged, on the floor, in the farthest corner of the room. He had on a
dark tunic, and wore no jewels. The only visible sign of his power was a woman
lying beside him, unmoving, her head resting on his lap, eyes closed, arms hidden
under a loose red robe that spread around her, like a flame, on the ash-colored
mat. Slowly he ran one hand through her hair: He seemed to be caressing the coat
of a precious, sleeping animal.
Herve Joncour crossed the room, waited for a sign from his host, and sat
down opposite him. A servant arrived, imperceptibly, and placed before them two
cups of tea. Then he vanished. Hara Kei began to speak, in his own language, in a
singsong voice that melted into a sort of irritating artifi cial falsetto. Herve Joncour
listened. He kept his eyes fi xed on those of Hara Kei and only for an instant,
almost without realizing it, lowered them to the face of the woman.
It was the face of a girl. He raised them again. Hara Kei paused, picked up
one of the cups of tea, brought it to his lips, let some moments pass and said,
“Try to tell me who you are.” He said it in French, drawing out the vowels, in
a hoarse voice but true.
To the most invincible man in Japan, the master of all the world might take
away from that island, Herve Joncour tried to explain who he was. He did it in his
own language, speaking slowly, without knowing precisely if Hara Kei was able to
understand. Instinctively, he rejected prudence, reporting simply, without
inventions and without omissions, everything that was true. He set forth small
details and crucial events in the same tone, and with barely visible gestures,
imitating the hypnotic pace, melancholy and neutral, of a catalog of objects rescued
from a fi re. Hara Kei listened, and not a shadow of an expression discomposed the
features of his face. He kept his eyes fixed on Herve Joncour’s lips, as if they were
the last lines of a farewell letter. The room was so silent and still that what

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happened unexpectedly seemed a huge event and yet was nothing.
Suddenly, without moving at all, that girl opened her eyes.
Herve Joncour did not pause but instinctively lowered his gaze to her, and
what he saw, without pausing, was that those eyes did not have an Oriental shape,
and that they were fixed, with a disconcerting intensity, on him: as if from the
start, from under the eyelids, they had done nothing else. Herve Joncour turned his
gaze elsewhere, as naturally as he could, trying to continue his story with no
perceptible difference in his voice. He stopped only when his eyes fell on the cup of
tea, placed on the floor, in front of him. He took it in one hand, brought it to hips
lips, and drank slowly. He began to speak again as he set it down in front of him.
France, the ocean voyages, the scent of the mulberry trees in Lavilledieu, the
steam trains, Helene’s voice. Herve Joncour continued to tell the story, as he had
never in his life done. The girl continued to stare at him, with a violence that
wrenched from every word the obligation to be memorable. The room seemed to
have slipped into an irreversible stillness when suddenly, and in utter silence, she
stuck one hand outside her robe and slid it along the mat in front of her. Herve
Joncour saw that pale spot reach the end of his field of vision, saw it touch Hara
Kei’s cup of tea and then, absurdly, continue to slide until, without hesitation, it
grasped the other cup, which was inexorably the cup he had drunk from, raised it
lightly, and carried it away. Not for an instant had Hara Kei stopped staring
expressionlessly at Herve Joncour’s lips.
The girl lifted her head slightly. For the first time she took her eyes off Herve
Joncour and rested them on the cup.
Slowly, she rotated it until she had her lips at the exact point where he had
drunk.
Half-closing her eyes, she took a sip of tea. She removed the cup from her
lips.

She slid it back to where she had picked it up. Her hand vanished under her
robe. She rested her head again on Hara Kei’s lap. Eyes open, fixed on those of
Herve Joncour.
Herve Joncour spoke again at length. He stopped only when Hara Kei took
his eyes off him and nodded his head slightly.
Silence.
In French, drawing out the vowels, in a hoarse voice but true, Hara Kei said,
“If you are willing, I would like to see you return.”
For the first time he smiled.
“The eggs you have with you are fish eggs. Worth little more than nothing.”
Herve Joncour lowered his gaze. There was his cup of tea, in front of him. He
picked it up and began to revolve it, and to observe it, as if he were searching for
something on the painted line of the rim. When he found what he was looking for,
he placed his lips there and drank. Then he put the cup down in front of him and
said, “I know.”
Hara Kei laughed in amusement. “Is that why you paid in false gold? ”
“I paid for what I bought.” Hara Kei became serious again.
“When you leave here, you will have what you want.”
“When I leave this island, alive, you will receive the gold that is due you. You

16
have my word.”
Herve Joncour did not expect an answer. He rose, took a few steps
backward, and bowed.
The last thing he saw, before he left, was her eyes, staring into his, perfectly
mute.

CORALINE
by Neil Gaiman

It sounded like her mother. Coraline went into the kitchen, where the voice had
come from. A woman stood in the kitchen with her back to Coraline. She looked a
little like Coraline’s mother. Only…
Only her skin was white as paper.
Only she was taller and thinner.
Only her fingers were too long, and they never stopped moving, and her dark red
fingernails were curved and sharp.
“Coraline?” the woman said. “Is that you?”
And then she turned around. Her eyes were big black buttons.
“Lunchtime, Coraline,” said the woman.
“Who are you?” asked Coraline.
“I’m your other mother,” said the woman. “Go and tell your other father that lunch
is ready,” She opened the door of the oven. Suddenly Coraline realized how hungry
she was. It smelled wonderful. “Well, go on.”
Coraline went down the hall, to where her father’s study was. She opened the door.
There was a man in there, sitting at the keyboard, with his back to her. “Hello,”
said Coraline. “I – I mean, she said to say that lunch is ready.”
The man turned around.
His eyes were buttons, big and black and shiny.
“Hello Coraline,” he said. “I’m starving.”

He got up and went with her into the kitchen. They sat at the kitchen table, and
Coraline’s other mother brought them lunch. A huge, golden-brown roasted
chicken, fried potatoes, tiny green peas. Coraline shoveled the food into her mouth.
It tasted wonderful.
“We’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” said Coraline’s other father.
“For me?”
“Yes,” said the other mother. “It wasn’t the same here without you. But we knew
you’d arrive one day, and then we could be a proper family. Would you like some
more chicken?”
It was the best chicken that Coraline had ever eaten. Her mother sometimes made
chicken, but it was always out of packets or frozen, and was very dry, and it never
tasted of anything. When Coraline’s father cooked chicken he bought real chicken,
but he did strange things to it, like stewing it in wine, or stuffing it with prunes, or
baking it in pastry, and Coraline would always refuse to touch it on principle.
She took some more chicken.
“I didn’t know I had another mother,” said Coraline, cautiously.

17
“Of course you do. Everyone does,” said the other mother, her black button eyes
gleaming. “After lunch I thought you might like to play in your room with the rats.”
“The rats?”
“From upstairs.”
Coraline had never seen a rat, except on television. She was quite looking forward
to it. This was turning out to be a very interesting day after all.

Answer Key

What’s New
Nibelungenlied
Mahabharata
Macbeth
Things Fall Apart

Activity 2.2
Afghan Traditions
1. Idea on Marriage (Arranged or Underage Marriage)
2. Social Practice (Way of childbearing-portrayed when Nana bears Mariam
by herself, without any help from the doctor or midwife)
3. Fashion (Traditional outfit such as wearing a kolba and burqa
4. Causality (believe in the laws of karma)
5. Idea on Self-position (ascribed-someone’s position is determined by
birth or rank)
6. Gender Inequality (women and men have different tasks)

Compare and Contrast

A Thousand Splendid Suns Similarities Folded Earth

- Position is determined by - Religious belief (Islam) - Caste System
birth or rank (ascribed) - Gender inequality -Education is important
- Fashion (burqa and kolba) - Arranged Marriage - Political oppression
- Education is not important - Law of karma

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References

https://bit.ly/3cqsnEj

https://bit.ly/3teuLUU

https://bit.ly/3anHBXZ

https://bit.ly/2LbY612

https://bit.ly/2L5ck3A

https://bit.ly/39Apsr1

https://bit.ly/39zMgXE

https://nyti.ms/2YuXFSe

https://bit.ly/2YzzodQ

https://bit.ly/3oEioOa

https://bit.ly/3cse7uR

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Region VII – Central Visayas

Office Address: Department of Education – Carcar City Division
Learning Resources Management Section
P. Nellas St., Poblacion III, Carcar City, Cebu
Telefax: (032) 487- 8495
E-mail Address: carcarcitydivision@yahoo.com

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