FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH

by: Jose Garcia Villa

“Footnote to Youth” is a 1932 short story set in the Philippines and centered on Dodong,
a farmer's son who marries young. When seventeen-year-old Dodong decides to marry
his sweetheart, Teang, his father feels that Dodong is too young to marry but is unable to
stop him
Characters:
Dodong – The protagonist of the story. A young boy, son of a hard-working farmer. At
the age of seventeen, he wanted to marry Teang, his girlfriend. Years later he will soon
realize the consequence of his decision
.
Dodong’s father – A hard-working farmer and father of Dodong. Like his son, He
married his wife at a young age. This became one of the reasons that strengthened the
resolve of Dodong to ask his parents for their permission to marry Teang.

Dodong’s mother – Mother of Dodong. She married with Dodong’s father at a young age.

Teang – The girlfriend of Dodong and wife in the latter part of the story. She feels a bit of
regret for marrying Dodong in an early age because she realized the struggles and
hardships of being a mom, but she does not say this to Dodong because she loves him
even after that.

Blas – The first child of Dodong and Teang. At the age of eighteen, he followed the
footsteps of his dad and wanted to marry Tona, his girlfriend, at an early age.

Lucio – Another suitor of Teang, although he is older than nine years by Dodong.

Tona – The girlfriend of Blas. Tona is Blas’s sweetheart and future wife. Although she
never appears in “Footnote to Youth,” Blas’s mention of her marks the story’s
conclusion. Tona represents a future in which Blas lets “Youth and Love” triumph and
makes the same mistakes his father did.

Setting:
Geographic Location: Philippines
Setting 1:
Location: Dodong’s family farm
Setting 2:
Location: Dodong’s house

 Introduction – The beginning of the story established the mood and what the story is all
about – youth and marriage. Also, the introduction served as the foundation of the story
as it will later on progress and reveal the deeper issues that concern youth and marriage.

Exposition:
It was on a sunset and Dodong was feeding the carabao. As he was doing so, he was
thinking of whether he should finally tell to his father that he wants to marry Teang.

Rising Action:
As he finally got home. Their family had dinner. Once they finished, he waited for his
mom to leave for a moment, then he will ask his father’s permission.
When he finally asked his father. His father asked him “Must you marry, Dodong?” a
question that kind of angered him, as his father married his mother in an early age. But
soon after his dad was ok with it.
Months later and Teang is finally giving birth to Dodong’s first child. Dodong went out
of the house and was very worried of Teang because he is aware of the pain of giving
birth. His parents soon called him and they went back to the house. Teang has finally
gave birth to a boy. And they named him Blas.
That was not their only child. Teang would soon give birth to many more and because of
this Dodong got angry with himself sometimes. This successive childbirths and
household chores would soon take a toll on Teang’s body as she was shapeless and thin.
Although she loves Dodong, she feels a bit of regret marrying him in a young age and she
wonders what would have happened if she chose to marry Lucio, another suitor of hers
that is older than Dodong by nine years. Would they have as many children as they have
now? But yet she loved Dodong more even after all these years who got tired and
querulous.
Dodong then contemplated about life and youth. “Life did not fulfill all of Youth’s
dreams. Why must be so? Why one was forsaken… after love?” He cannot think of an
answer and maybe it should not be answered. And so, he returned home denied of the
answer he yearns for.

The rising action of the story was when Dodong was about to tell his father about his
decision of marrying Teang. The conflicts were Man vs. Himself (Dodong vs. himself)
when Dodong was confused about his choice as soon as his father asked him if he must
marry.  And the other conflict is Man vs. Man (Dodong vs. his father) when Dodong and
his father had a discussion about Dodong’s age and that Dodong is still too young to get
married.

Climax:
When Blas was finally eighteen, he came home nervous. Blas was restless on his mat and
Dodong heard it as he could not sleep. Then Blas finally asked his dad, if he can marry
Tona. Blas was very determined to marry Tona. Dodong asked his son to follow him
outside.

The climax was the Dodong’s effortless declaration of his plan, how his father tried to
accept it and his father’s answer on whether or not Dodong should marry. Though his
father was disappointed about Dodong’s decision, he approved it knowing it’s his son’s
wish. Then the story discloses the life that Dodong has ventured in to – the life of a
married young man with growing responsibilities of a husband and a father as the number
of his sons and daughters increased along with the anxiety of her wife, Teang for all the
things she had to do like cooking, laundering, the house and the children.

Falling Action:
Dodong was uncertain, he did not want his son to marry too early probably because he
doesn’t want his son to suffer like him. “Must you marry?” he asked. “I will mary Tona”
“You have objection, Itay?” Blas asked acridly. Dodong allowed his son to marry Tona
because he believes that what his son is experiencing is youth. Soon after he will have to
face life like him.

The story doesn’t have a falling action because the complications in Dodong’s life were
not resolved, in fact, they increased as the years go by.

Ending:
Dodong looked at his son with grief. He felt extremely sad and sorry for him as he
imagines that hardships that he will soon face with his decision.

Symbolisms:
Short colorless worm & small angled stone – This symbolizes as the hardships that
Dodong would soon face but him being on his youth does not even notice it as he was
blinded by his surging emotions to marry Teang.

Theme:
The story takes place in the Philippines and reflects the mindset of the Filipino youth.
The situation in our country nowadays is that the youth tend to make rash decisions
because they are overwhelmed by their emotions. This is why nowadays we see cases of
teenage pregnancy, early marriage, premarital sex, drug abuse, etc.

Lesson:                                                                  

Rashness is what defines youth. It is at this stage when we feel adventurous and find
excitement in things we haven’t explored yet. Therefore, it is impossible to remove the
rashness of a youth, because these are the times when they are developing mentally and
emotionally. And being emotionally overwhelmed is a common occurrence. In times like
these, the youth needs proper guidance, and that guidance may only come from adults,
especially from the youth’s guardian or parents. But when such guidance cannot be
found. Another alternative is through education. Through education, we can achieve
mental maturity and learn how to think logically and rationally. 

 Denouement – The final outcome of the story could be best described with the saying
“History repeats itself” wherein Dodong was confronted with the fact that his son, Blas is
undertaking the same journey he travelled on when he was his age. And the sad part is he
wasn’t able to do anything about it.

“Footnote to Youth” Themes

The main themes in “Footnote to Youth” are the ignorance of youth, the phases of life,
and fear and inaction.
-The ignorance of youth: The story portrays youth as a time of ignorance and inevitable
rash decisions, as well as romanticism and “dreamful sweetness.”
-The phases of life: Villa highlights the cyclical nature of life by emphasizing the
characters’ ages and drawing attention to the symbolism of the moon.
-Fear and inaction: Dodong and his father both demonstrate an inability to prevent their
own or others’ suffering, largely through fear and a sense of helplessness.
 -History repeats itself.
-Don’t go marching blindly into marriage.