Lesson

The Literature of Philippines

3

Flag of the Philippines Map of the Philippines including Sabah

What Will You Learn?

At the end of this module, students will be able to:

1. Learn the facts about the Philippines;

2. Understand the different types characters;
3. Explain how character’s characteristics are known in a story;
4. Discuss how culture affects marriage and way of life.

Facts about the Philippines

1. The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is

an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It is situated in
the western Pacific Ocean.
2. The Philippines consists of about 7,640 islands that are
broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions
from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
3. Due to the large volume of text messages sent throughout the country, the
Philippines has earned its nickname as the "text capital of the world."
4. The Philippines is the only Asian nation that is predominantly Christian. While
many of its Southeast Asian neighbors practice Buddhism, 86 percent of the
Filipino population is Roman Catholic.
5. Three of the 10 largest shopping malls in the world are located in the
Philippines.
An iconic symbol of the country is the jeepney, the colorfully painted buses
with roots dating to World War II and the U.S. military's jeeps. But with

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 growing pollution concerns, the classic jeepney may soon be replaced with
more efficient electric vehicles.
6. The Philippines is one of the world's largest producers of coconuts.
Mangosteens, papayas and bananas can also be found there.
7. The world's largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in the Palawan
Sea. The 75-pound pearl is valued at $100 million.
8. This Southeast Asian country is the 13th-most populous country in the world,
home to more than 108 million people.
9. The Philippines Basketball Association, founded in 1975, was Asia's first
basketball league. In addition to being huge basketball fans, many Filipinos
are also lovers of boxing.
10. The Philippines is the largest supplier of nurses worldwide. Partially due to the
limited job opportunities in the country, many citizens seek work abroad.

Let’s try this Activity 3.0

Look for the meaning of the italicised words. Choose your answers
from the options below. Write your answers on the space provided
before the number.
____________ 1. I was only three years old then, but I have vivid memories of
Peter and Linda's wedding.
A. clear
B. convincing
C. exciting
D. memorable
____________ 2. I liked going there because she pampered me, feeding me
fresh fruits as well as preserved Chinese fruits like dikiam,
champoy and kiamoy.
A. forgo
B. indulge
C. love
D. prohibit
____________ 3. At that age, the show of affection made me feel awkward and
I sidled up to Mother.
A. enjoy
B. happy
C. nervous
D. uncomfortable

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____________ 4. I did not budge.
A. validate
B. ask for
C. mention
D. give in
____________ 5. They laughed at their communal joke, but the laughter slowly
died down until there was absolute silence.
A. shared
B. personal
C. comic
D. interesting
____________ 6. They laughed very hard. I did not know what was funny, but
it must be because of the incongruous sight of the two of us.
A. scenic
B. unsuitable
C. inviting
D. wonderful
____________ 7. From a very gregarious man, he became withdrawn and no
longer socialized.
A. melancholic
B. lonely
C. sociable
D. exciting
____________ 8. Linda became a very jittery person.
A. calm
B. peaceful
C. shy
D. anxious
____________ 9. As if to lend credence to the rumor, the occasional night visits
he made at Nanking Store stopped.
A. belief
B. story
C. shame
D. common
____________ 10. At the burial, Linda stood stoically throughout the ceremony,
and when Peter was finally interred, she swooned.
A. nervous
B. faint
C. shout
D. run away

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 Let’s read

Read the story about a woman who marries a Chinese man.

Nanking Store
Macario D. Tiu

What I remember most was jumping and romping on their pristine matrimonial bed
after the wedding. I would learn later that it was to ensure that their first-born
would be a boy. I was chosen to do the honors because I was robust and fat.

I also remember that I got violently sick after drinking endless bottles of soft drinks.
I threw up everything that I had eaten, staining Linda's shimmering satin wedding
gown. Practically the entire Chinese community of the city was present. There was
so much food that some Bisayan children from the squatter's area were allowed to
enter the compound to eat in a shed near the kitchen.

During their first year of marriage, Linda often brought me to their house in Bajada.
She and Peter would pick me up after nursery school from our store in their car. She
would tell Mother it was her way of easing her loneliness, as all her relatives and
friends were in Cebu, her hometown. Sometimes I stayed overnight with them.

I liked going there because she pampered me, feeding me fresh fruits as well as
preserved Chinese fruits like dikiam, champoy and kiamoy. Peter was fun too,
making me ride piggyback. He was very strong and did not complain about my
weight.

Tua Poy, that's what she fondly called me. It meant Fatso. I called her Achi, and
Peter, Ahiya. They were a happy couple. I would see them chase each other among
the furniture and into the rooms. There was much laughter in the house. It was this
happy image that played in my mind about Peter and Linda for a long time.

I was six years old when I sensed that something had gone wrong with their
marriage. Linda left the Bajada house and moved into the upstairs portions of

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Nanking Store which was right across from Father's grocery store in Santa Ana. The
Bajada residence was the wedding gift of Peter's parents to the couple. It was
therefore strange that Linda would choose to live in Santa Ana while Peter would
stay in Bajada, a distance of some three kilometers.

In Santa Ana where the Chinese stores were concentrated, the buildings used to be
uniformly two storeys high. The first floor was the store; the second floor was the
residence. In time some Chinese grew prosperous and moved out to establish little
enclaves in different parts of the city and in the suburbs. We remained in Santa Ana.

One late afternoon, after school, I caught Linda at home talking with Mother.

"Hoa, Tua Poya. You've grown very tall!" Linda greeted me, ruffling my hair.

At that age, the show of affection made me feel awkward and I sidled up to Mother.
Linda gave me two Mandarin oranges. I stayed at the table in the same room, eating
an orange and pretending not to listen to their conversation.

I noticed that Linda's eyes were sad, not the eyes that I remembered. Her eyes used
to be full of light and laughter. Now her eyes were somber even when her voice
sounded casual and happy.

"I got bored in Bajada," Linda said. "I thought I'd help Peter at the store."

That was how she explained why she had moved to Santa Ana. I wanted to know if
she could not do that by going to the store in the morning and returning home to
Bajada at night like Peter did. I wished Mother would ask the question, but she did
not.

However, at the New Canton Barbershop I learned the real reason. One night
Mother told me to fetch Father because it was past eight o'clock and he hadn't had
his dinner. As a family we ate early. Like most Chinese, we would close the store by
five and go up to the second floor to eat supper.

The New Canton Barbershop served as the recreation center of our block. At night
the sidewalk was brightly lighted, serving as the extension of the barbershop's
waiting room. People congregated there to play Chinese chess, to read the Orient
News or just talk. It was a very informal place. Father and the other elderly males
would go there in shorts and sando shirts.

He was playing chess when I got there. He sat on a stool with one leg raised on the
stool.

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"Mama says you should go home and eat," I said.

Father looked at me and I immediately noticed that he had had a drink. The focus of
his eyes was not straight.

"I have eaten. Go home. Tell Mother I'll follow in a short while," he said.

I stayed on and watched the game although I did not understand a thing.

"I said go home," Father said, glowering at me.

I did not budge.

"This is how children behave now. You tell them to do something and they won't
obey," he complained to his opponent. Turning to me, he said, "Go home."

"Check," his opponent said.

"Hoakonga!" Father cried, "I turn around and you cheat me."

His opponent laughed aloud, showing toothless gums.

Father studied the chessboard. "Hoakonga! You've defeated me four times in a row!"

"Seven times."

"What? You're a big cheat and you know that. Certainly five times, no more!"

It elicited another round of laughter from the toothless man. Several people in the
adjoining tables joined in the laughter. Father reset the chess pieces to start another
game.

"You beat me in chess, but I have six children. All boys. Can you beat that?" he
announced.

Father's laughter was very loud. When he had had a drink he was very talkative.

"See this?" he hooked his arm around my waist and drew me to his side. "This is my
youngest. Can you beat this?"

The men laughed. They laughed very hard. I did not know what was funny, but it
must be because of the incongruous sight of the two of us. He was very thin and I
was very fat.

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"Well, I have I seven children!" the toothless man said.

"Ah, four daughters. Not counted," Father said.

"Ah Kong! Ah Kong!" somebody said.

The laughter was deafening. Ah Kong lived several blocks away. He had ten
children, all daughters, and his wife was pregnant again.

They laughed at their communal joke, but the laughter slowly died down until there
was absolute silence. It was a very curious thing. Father saw Peter coming around
the corner and he suddenly stopped laughing. The toothless man turned, saw Peter,
and he stopped laughing, too. Anybody who saw Peter became instantly quiet so
that by the time he was near the barbershop the group was absolutely silent.

It was Peter who broke the silence by greeting Father. He also greeted some people,
and suddenly they were alive again. The chess pieces made scraping noises on the
board, the newspapers rustled, and people began to talk.

"Hoa, Tua Poya, you've grown very tall!" he said, ruffling my hair.

I smiled shyly at him. He exchanged a few words with Father and then, ruffling my
hair once more, he went away. It struck me that he was not the Peter I knew,
vigorous and alert. This Peter looked tired, and his shoulders sagged.

I followed him with my eyes. Down the road I noted that his car was parked in front
of Nanking Store. But he did not get into his car; instead he went inside the store. It
was one of those nights when he would sleep in the store.

"A bad stock," the toothless man said, shaking his head. "Ah Kong has no bones. But
Peter is a bad stock. A pity. After four years, still no son. Not even a daughter."

"It's the woman, not Peter," said a man from a neighboring table. "I heard they tried
everything. She even had regular massage by a Bisayan medicine woman."

"It's sad. It's very sad," the toothless man said. "His parents want him to junk her,
but he loves her."

When Father and I got home, I went to my First Brother's room.

"Why do they say that Ah Kong has no bones?" I asked my brother.

"Where did you learn that?" my brother asked.

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"At the barbershop."

"Don't listen in on adult talk," he said. "It's bad manners."

"Well, what does it mean?"

"It means Ah Kong cannot produce a son."

"And what is a bad stock?"

My brother told me to go to sleep, but I persisted.

"It means you cannot produce any children. It's like a seed, see? It won't grow. Why
do you ask?" he said.

"They say Peter is a bad stock."

"Well, that's what's going to happen to him if he won't produce a child. But it's not
really Peter's problem. It is Linda's problem. She had an appendectomy when she
was still single. It could have affected her."

Somehow I felt responsible for their having no children. I worried that I could be the
cause. I hoped nobody remembered that I jumped on their matrimonial bed to give
them good luck. I failed to give them a son. I failed to give them even a daughter.
But nobody really blamed me for it. Everybody agreed it was Linda's problem.

That was why Linda had moved in to Santa Ana.

But the problem was more complicated than this. First Brother explained it all to me
patiently. Peter's father was the sole survivor of the Zhin family. He had a brother
but he died when still young. The family name was therefore in danger of dying out.
It was the worst thing that could happen to a Chinese family, for the bloodline to
vanish from the world. Who would pay respects to the ancestors? It was
unthinkable. Peter was the family's only hope to carry on the family name, and he
still remained childless.

But while everybody agreed that it was Linda's fault, some people also doubted
Peter's virility. At the New Canton Barbershop it was the subject of drunken
bantering. He was aware that people were talking behind his back. From a very
gregarious man, he became withdrawn and no longer socialized.

Instead he put his energies into Nanking Store. His father had retired and had given
him full authority. Under his management, Nanking Store expanded, eating up two

8
adjacent doors. It was rumored he had bought a large chunk of Santa Ana and was
diversifying into manufacturing and mining.

Once, I met him in the street and I smiled at him but he did not return my greeting.
He did not ruffle my hair. He had become a very different man. His mouth was set
very hard. He looked like he was angry at something.

The changes in Linda occurred over a period of time. At first, she seemed to be in
equal command with Peter in Nanking Store. She had her own desk and sometimes
acted as cashier. Later she began to serve customers directly as if she were one of
the salesgirls.

Then her personal maid was fired. Gossip blamed this on Peter's parents. She lived
pretty much like the three stay-in salesgirls and the young mestizo driver who
cooked their own meals and washed their own clothes.

Members of the community whose opinions mattered began to sympathize with her
because her in-laws were becoming hostile towards her openly. The mother-in-law
made it known to everybody she was unhappy with her. She began to scold Linda in
public. "That worthless, barren woman," she would spit out. Linda became a very
jittery person. One time, she served tea to her mother-in-law and the cup slid off the
saucer. It gave the mother-in-law a perfect excuse to slap Linda in the face in public.

Peter did not help her when it was a matter between his parents and herself. I think
at that time he still loved Linda, but he always deferred to the wishes of his parents.
When it was that he stopped loving her I would not know. But he had learned to go
to night spots and the talk began that he was dating a Bisayan bar girl. First Brother
saw this woman and had nothing but contempt for her.

"A bad woman," First brother told me one night about this woman. "All make-up. I
don't know what he sees in her."

It seemed that Peter did not even try to hide his affair because he would
occasionally bring the girl to a very expensive restaurant in Matina. Matina was
somewhat far from Santa Ana, but the rich and mobile young generation Chinese no
longer confined themselves to Santa Ana. Many of them saw Peter with the woman.
As if to lend credence to the rumor, the occasional night visits he made at Nanking
Store stopped. I would not see his car parked there at night again.

One day, Peter brought First Brother to a house in a subdivision in Mandug where he
proudly showed him a baby boy. It was now an open secret that he kept his woman
there and visited her frequently. First Brother told me about it after swearing me to
secrecy, the way Peter had sworn him to secrecy.

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"Well, that settles the question. Peter is no bad stock after all. It had been Linda all
along," First Brother said.

It turned out Peter showed his baby boy to several other people and made them
swear to keep it a secret. In no time at all everybody in the community knew he had
finally produced a son. People talked about the scandal in whispers. A son by a
Bisayan woman? And a bad woman at that? But they no longer joked about his
being a bad stock.

All in all people were happy for Peter. Once again his prestige rose. Peter basked in
this renewed respect. He regained his old self; he now walked with his shoulders
straight, and looked openly into people's eyes. He also began to socialize at New
Canton Barbershop. And whenever we met, he would ruffle my hair.

As for his parents, they acted as if nothing had happened. Perhaps they knew about
the scandal, but pretended not to know. They were caught in a dilemma. On one
hand, it should make them happy that Peter finally produced a son. On the other
hand, they did not relish the idea of having a half-breed for a grandson, the old
generation Chinese being conscious of racial purity. What was certain though was
that they remained unkind to Linda.

So there came a time when nobody was paying any attention anymore to Linda, not
even Peter. Our neighbors began to accept her fate. It was natural for her to get
scolded by her mother-in-law in public. It was natural that she should stay with the
salesgirls and the driver. She no longer visited with Mother. She rarely went out, and
when she did, she wore a scarf over her head, as if she were ashamed for people to
see her. Once in the street I greeted her--she looked at me with panic in her eyes,
mumbled something, drew her scarf down to cover her face, and hurriedly walked
away.

First Brother had told me once that Linda's degradation was rather a strange case.
She was an educated girl, and although her family was not rich, it was not poor
either. Why she allowed herself to be treated that way was something that baffled
people. She was not that submissive before. Once, I was witness to how she stood
her ground. Her mother-in-law had ordered her to remove a painting of an eagle
from a living room wall of their Bajada house, saying it was bad feng shui. With
great courtesy, Linda refused, saying it was beautiful. But the mother-in-law won in
the end. She nagged Peter about it, and he removed the painting.

When the Bisayan woman gave Peter a second son, it no longer created a stir in the
community. What created a minor stir was that late one night, when the New
Canton Barbershop was about to close and there were only a few people left, Peter

10
dropped by with his eldest son whom he carried piggyback. First Brother was there.
He said everybody pretended the boy did not exist.

Then Peter died in a car accident in the Buhangin Diversion Road. He was returning
from Mandug and a truck rammed his car, killing him instantly. I cried when I heard
about it, remembering how he had been good to me.

At the wake, Linda took her place two rows behind her mother-in-law who
completely ignored her. People passed by her and expressed their condolences very
quickly, as if they were afraid of being seen doing so by the mother-in-law. At the
burial, Linda stood stoically throughout the ceremony, and when Peter was finally
interred, she swooned.

A few weeks after Peter's burial, we learned that Linda's mother-in-law wanted her
out of Nanking Store. She offered Linda a tempting amount of money. People
thought it was a vicious thing to do, but none could help her. It was a purely family
affair. However, a month or two passed and Linda was still in Nanking Store. In fact,
Linda was now taking over Peter's work.

I was happy to see that she had begun to stir herself to life. It was ironic that she
would do so only after her husband's death. But at the same time, we feared for
her. Her mother-in-law's hostility was implacable. She blamed Linda for everything.
She knew about the scandal all along, and she never forgave Linda for making Peter
the laughing stock of the community, forcing him into the arms of a Bisayan girl of
an unsavory reputation and producing half-breed bastard sons.

We waited keenly for the showdown that was coming. A flurry of emissaries went to
Nanking Store but Linda stood pat on her decision to stay. Then one morning, her
mother-in-law herself came in her flashy Mercedes. We learned about what actually
happened through our domestic helper who got her story from the stay-in salesgirls.
That was how the entire community learned the details of the confrontation.

According to them, Linda ran upstairs to avoid talking to her mother-in-law. But the
older woman followed and started berating her and calling her names. Linda kept
her composure. She did not even retaliate when the older woman slapped her. But
when the mother-in-law grabbed Linda's hair, intending to drag her down the stairs,
Linda kicked her in the shin. The old woman went wild and flayed at Linda. Linda at
first fought back defensively, but as the older woman kept on, she finally slapped
her mother-in-law hard in the face. Stunned, the older woman retreated, shouting
threats at her. She never showed her face in Santa Ana again.

While some conservative parties in the community did not approve of Linda's
actions, many others cheered her secretly. They were sad, though, that the mother-

11
in-law, otherwise a good woman, would become a cruel woman out of desperation
to protect and perpetuate the family name.

Since the enmity had become violent, the break was now total and absolute. This
family quarrel provided an interesting diversion in the entire community; we followed
each and every twist of its development like a TV soap opera. When the in-laws
hired a lawyer, Linda also hired her own lawyer. It was going to be an ugly fight
over property.

Meanwhile, Linda's transformation fascinated the entire community. She had

removed her scarf and made herself visible in the community again. I was glad that
every time I saw her she was getting back to her old self. Indeed it was only then
that I noticed how beautiful she was. She had well-shaped lips that needed no
lipstick. Her eyes sparkled. Color had returned to her cheeks, accentuating her fine
complexion. Blooming, the women said, seeming to thrive on the fight to remain in
Nanking Store. The young men sat up whenever she passed by. But they would
shake their heads, and say "What a pity, she's barren."

Then without warning the in-laws suddenly moved to Manila, bringing with them the
two bastard sons. They made it known to everybody that it was to show their
contempt for Linda. It was said that the other woman received a handsome amount
so she would never disturb them again.

We all thought that was that. For several months an uneasy peace settled down in
Nanking Store as the struggle shifted to the courts. People pursued other interests.
Then to the utter horror of the community, they realized Linda was pregnant.

Like most people, I thought at first that she was just getting fat. But everyday it was
getting obvious that her body was growing. People had mixed reactions. When she
could not bear a child she was a disgrace. Now that she was pregnant, she was still
a disgrace. But she did not care about what people thought or said about her.
Wearing a pair of elastic pants that highlighted her swollen belly, she walked all over
Santa Ana. She dropped by every store on our block and chatted with the
storeowners, as if to make sure that everybody knew she was pregnant.

There was no other suspect for her condition but the driver. Nobody had ever paid
him any attention before, and now they watched him closely. He was a shy mestizo
about Peter's age. A very dependable fellow, yes. And good-looking, they now
grudgingly admitted.

"Naughty, naughty," the young men teased him, some of whom turned unfriendly.
Unused to attention, the driver went on leave to visit his parents in Iligan City.

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One night, I arrived home to find Linda talking with Mother.

"Hoa, Tua Poya! You're so tall!" she greeted me. "Here are some oranges. I know
you like them."

I said my thanks. How heavy with child she was!

"How old are you now?"

"Twelve," I said.

"Hmm, you're a man already. I should start calling you Napoleon, huh? Well,
Napoleon, I've come here to say goodbye to your mother, and to you, too."

She smiled; it was the smile I remembered when I was still very young, the smile of
my childhood.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to Iligan to fetch Oliver. Then we'll proceed to Cebu to visit
my parents. Would you like to go with me?"

I looked at Mother. She was teary eyed. Linda stood up and ruffled my hair.

"So tall," she said.

That was two years ago. We have not heard from Linda again. Nanking Store
remains closed. The store sign has streaked into pastel colors like a stale wedding
cake. First Brother says it is best for Linda to stay away. As for me, I am happy for
her but I keep wondering if she had given birth to a boy.

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 Answer this Answer 3.1

Answer the following questions based on the story you read

above.

1. How are the parents of Peter Zhen similar to Filipino parents? How are they
different?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

2. Why Peter and Linda cannot produce a child after 3 years of marriage? Was
Peter a bad stock? Was Linda barren? Support your answer.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

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 Let’s learn this

A character is a person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a

story. Writers use characters to perform the actions and speak
dialogue, moving the story along a plot line. A story can have only
one character and still be a complete story. Most stories have
multiple characters interacting.

Types of Character
There are many types of the characters which include:
1. Confidante. Someone in whom the main character confides. He reveals the
central character’s thoughts, intentions, and personality traits. However, a
confidante need not necessarily be a person. An animal can also be a
confidante.

2. Dynamic Character. A character who changes during the course of a novel or

a story. This change in character or his/her outlook is permanent. That is why
sometimes a dynamic character is also called a “developing character.”

3. Static Character. A character who remains the same throughout the whole
story. Even the events in a story or novel do not change character’s outlook,
perceptions, habits, personality, or motivations.

4. Antagonist. An antagonist is a bad guy, or an opponent of the protagonist or

the main character. The action in the story arises from a conflict between the
protagonist and the antagonist. The antagonist can be a person, an inanimate
object, an animal, or nature itself.

5. Protagonist. Every story has a protagonist, the main character, who creates
the action of the plot and engages readers, arousing their empathy and
interest. The protagonist is often a hero or heroine of the story, as the whole
plot moves around him or her.

6. Round Character. The round characters are well-developed and complex

figures in a story. They are more realistic, and demonstrate more depth in
their personalities. They can make surprising or puzzling decisions, and attract
readers’ attention. There are many factors that may affect them, and round
characters react to such factors realistically.

7. Flat Character. A character who does not change during a story. Also, he or
she usually only reveals one or two personality traits.

15
 8. Stock Character. A stock character is a flat character that is instantly
recognizable by readers. Like a flat character, the stock character does not
undergo any development throughout the story.

Function of Character
The main function of a character in a story is to extend or prolong the plot, make it
readable and interesting. Many stories use multiple characters, and every story has a
main character that affects the plot a great deal. The main character could be a
protagonist, an antagonist, a dynamic, a static, a flat, or a round character. Readers
feel that the characters given in the literary pieces exist, and they enjoy reading
their real and lifelike figures and actions.

Take this Quiz Activity 3.2

Read each statement carefully and write the letter of your

best answer on the space provided.
___________ 1. A character can best be defined as
A. A real person who acts in a play.
B. The people who talk in a book.
C. Any person, animal, creature, being, or thing in a
story.
D. Only the people in a story.
___________ 2. The two main characters in a story are the
A. Protagonist and antagonist
B. Protagonist and oppotagonist
C. Flat and stock
D. Round and dynamic
___________ 3. Some of the traits for characters include being
A. Strategy, round, and flat
B. Static, round, and flat
C. Static, dramatic, and flat
D. Static, dynamic, and even
___________ 4. Minor characters in a story
A. Affect the conflict with their actions.
B. Often help drive the plot forward by interacting with
the major characters.
C. Are not important but still help the story line.
D. Dictates the flow of the action of the story.
___________ 5. The character who causes the conflict the main character
must face
A. antagonist
B. protagonist
C. round character
D. static character

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___________ 6. A character who undergoes a change, usually in his or her
personality, as a result of events in the story
A. round character
B. dynamic character
C. flat character
D. protagonist
___________ 7. A character that is so detailed that he or she could be a
real person
A. static character
B. flat character
C. dynamic character
D. round character
___________ 8. A character who doesn’t change at all, despite all of the
events that occur in the story
A. static character
B. dynamic character
C. major character
D. antagonist
___________ 9. A character that the reader doesn’t know very much about
A. dynamic character
B. flat character
C. protagonist
D. antagonist
___________ 10. The character the reader most likely cheers for throughout
the story
A. major character
B. antagonist
C. dynamic character
D. protagonist
___________ 11. At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Smith is very upset that
she must teach kindergarten this year. She is worried that
she won’t know how to treat the young students. At the
end of the story, Mrs. Smith is sad that she won’t be
teaching kindergarten next year, because this was the
best school year she’s ever had. Mrs. Smith is
A. dynamic character
B. antagonist
C. static character
D. minor character
___________ 12. In this story, the bus driver’s name is Al. The reader
knows his name, and that he drives the bus every day. Al
doesn’t participate in the plot other than driving the bus. Al
is likely
A. major character
B. antagonist
C. static character
D. minor character

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___________ 13. In this story, Bryan is the main character’s brother. At the
beginning of the story, he makes fun of the main character
because of her hair cut. At the end of the story, he
continues to make fun of the character. Bryan is most
likely a
A. static character
B. dynamic character
C. protagonist
D. flat character
___________ 14. Keith must find a way to earn $100 before the end of the
month if he wants to go on an expensive field trip at
school. His brother, who is jealous of him, tries to thwart
his efforts to earn money. Keith is most likely the
A. protagonist
B. antagonist
C. static character
D. minor character
___________ 15. Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the
major characters in a story?
A. They play important roles in the plot of the story.
B. They are multi-faceted or complex characters.
C. They undergo some type of change during a story.
D. They do not play important roles in the plot of a story.

References
1. Literary devices (2021). Retrieved from https://literarydevices.net/character/
2. Masterclass (2020). Writing 101: All the Different Types of Characters in
Literature Written by MasterClass.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-all-the-types-of-characters-in-
literature#7-character-roles-in-stories

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