Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Sta.Mesa, Manila
College of Education

ANALYSIS in
English and American Literature

“Paper Boat”
By Genoveva Edroza-Matute

Gulleban, Angelene S. Dr. Ma. Junithesmer D. Rosales

BSED EN 3-1D ENGL 3393

Gulleban, Angelene S. BSED EN 3-1D

STORY: Paper Boat

AUTHOR: Genoveva Edroza-Matute

APPROACH: Readers-reponse, a school of literary theory that considers readers' reactions to

literature as vital to interpreting the meaning of the text.

The story “Paper Boat” begins with a scene of children having fun playing in the flood.
Those children had been waiting for the roads leading to the playground to be flooded since the
rainy days and now it’s been raining for five consecutive days. The story revolves around the life
of a small boy that’s one of them. One night he was awakened by a frightening sound. He
thought it was the same loud roar on New Years. He then asks his mother if his father had came
home but his mother would only tell him to sleep already so that he can afloat his paper boats the
next morning. He just remembered that there were nights that his father did not really come
home so he asked his mother where his father sleeps during those times but his mother didn’t
answer. Then, he went to sleep. The next morning, he woke up alone. Half-asleep he went to
check his mother and sister but to his surprise, their nipa hut was almost full of people. Suddenly
all his drowsiness vanished. He looked for his mother and saw them in one corner. He saw his
mother’s face paler than before but her unblinking eyes stared into space. He run to his mother
and asked what happened but he wasn’t able to get any response. He went to his neighbors and
he heard them saying “all in all, fifteen were dead...” but they stop when they saw him. All the
people he asked remained tight-lipped. He could not understand everything until they were asked
by the Captain to leave the town right away because ‘they’ will come back before sunset. In the
oft-repeated talks he learned few things. Of the fifteen killed, one is his father- outside the town,
in the encounter between soldiers and the people. Hesitant, he asked his mother why the soldiers
killed his father but his mother had the same question. Meanwhile, they moved father and father
from his town and childhood. He wasn’t even able to afloat his paper boats.

The story is about the tragic life of a small boy who came from a simple and poor family.
A boy loves to enjoy his childhood by play outside especially when there’s flood because he can
play the paper boats that he usually make. He has a younger sister, Miling, whom he loves to
play with. At a young age, I can already feel his care for his family because he worries about his
father whenever he’s not home. I believe they live in a rural area where people usually know and
interact with each other most of the times and there’s where the story happened. I feel pity for
what happened in the story. At that age, he surely can’t understand the situation yet and his too
innocent to weigh both sides. I believe that the paper boats represent the life of the boy in the
story which in the story was not able to afloat. These have something to do with of the death of
his father because of the war, they moved far away from their usual life and that means that they
have to make bigger adjustments and even harder since their mother would be the only one to
raise them. That night seems to be the last trace of his youth because the days that would soon
followed would be overrun by worries, fears and questions whose answers he still sought. I
believe that because of their life status, they didn’t have any chance of finding the truth and
justice for his father and for the rest that was killed. They don’t even have any strength to fight
against them to the point that they sacrificed their home and living not to make bigger chaos.

The story was written years ago, but the same scenario can actually be observed at this
time. For the past months, extrajudicial killings spread throughout the country where some
innocents got involved especially the poor ones. Drug related killings happened but only the poor
were targeted. There are different stories but one thing is for sure, their family will never be the
same as before. Children of them will no longer experience a complete family and worst, they
may get some trauma and they might start to doubt the government, the law and the authorities.
These kids are too innocent to understand the situation and to analyze the sad truth. Most
children from this kind of life are exposed to work to help their family that is why they weren’t
able to enjoy their youth. These are the same thing that happens to the soldiers who bravely
fights against the rebels in Mindanao. They sacrifice their life and the time that they should
spend with their family and the ones who’s suffering after are the family especially the children.
Some kids especially the younger ones don’t even know their father yet because of frequent
visits then next thing they will know is that they lost a father from a battle. They don’t have
someone who will protect them to strangers and who will guide them and play them during their
childhood. Hence, your childhood will never be complete if you don’t experience the love of a
father. That’s why I always pray for the safety of our soldiers who’s battling for our country.
 REFERENCES

Jimeno, C. (2013). Paper boat [slide presentation]. Retrieved from

https://prezi.com/opvtfb_t38s9/paper-boat/

Lumbera, V. & Lumbera, C. N. (2005). Literature under the republic. In The Philippine
literature: A history and anthology (pp. 226-228). Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Reader-response criticism. (n.d.). In Merriam Webster online. Retrieved from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reader-response