Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World

Topic Defining what a Literature is and Identifying its Types and Characteristics

Identify the geographic, linguistic and ethic dimension of the Philippine literary history
from pre-colonial to contemporary period. CS_ENLit-Ia-21

Objective:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1.Define what is a literature and identify the types and characteristics of each

Literature is a written work that is considered to have lasting importance. It may vary
from time to time.
PRE-COLONIAL TIMES
Pre-Colonial inhabitants of our Islands showcase a rich history through:
SPEECHES. The most seminal of folk speeches is the riddle. Tigmo in Cebuano,
Bugtong in Tagalog, Paktakon in Hiligaynon and Patototdon in Bicol.
SONGS. The people’s hopes, aspirations, expression of love and lifestyles are richly
ingrained in their folk lyrics. These are often repetitive, didactic and naïve. Common
examples are lullaby (ili-ili in Ilongo), love songs (balitao in Ilongo; harana in Cebuano),
ambahan (Mindoro, Mangyans social entertainment and tool for teaching the young),
work songs like kalusan (Ivatan, Batanes), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song), mambayu
(Kalinga rice-pounding song), lamentations like kanogon (Cebuano)
NARRATIVES. These narratives are considered ethno-epics because they are histories
of varied groups who consider themselves distinct from the other inhabitants of the
islands. Popular examples are: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud
(Ifugao); Lam-ang (Ilocano), Hinilawod (Sulod, Panay)
DANCES. Everyday life such as hunting, fishing, birth, baptism, courtship, weddings,
illness or death of pre-colonial period are expressed through ritual dances.
Examples are: Pangalay (Sulu’s mimetic movements of seabirds), Talip (Ifugao’s
courtship and mimetic movements of fowls), kadaliwas (T’boli’s comedic movements of
monkeys), tinikling (Tagalog’s mimetic movement of birds flitting away from the
clutches of bamboo traps)
SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD
Spanish people had contributed much in the shaping and recording of our literature.
Literature in this period may be classified as religious and secular.
Religious literature included in early catechism were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish
language. Fernando Bagonbanta’s “Salamat nang walang hanggan” (Luzon) published in
1605 is a fine example that is found in the “Guidelines for the Christian Life in the
Tagalog Language” (Memorial de la vida Cristiana en lengua tagala)
1
Dalit is a meditative religious lyric appended to novenas and catechism. It has no fixed
meter but have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter.
Pasyon is a well-entrenched religious literature of the Filipino’s commemoration of
Christ’s life, passion, death and resurrection. Gaspar Aquino de Belen’s “Ang mahal na
passion ni Jesu Cristong Panginoon natin na tola” is the country’s earliest known pasyon
put out in 1704.
Secular literature appeared alongside historical and economic changes. Filipino elite
could now read printed works that used to be the exclusive domain of the missionaries.
Most notable of the secular literature followed the conventions of a romantic tradition.
Common is the metrical romance awit and korido. These are chanted stories in a musical
form depicting the colorful tales of chivalry between Christian and Muslims. The most
famous of the country’s metrical romances is “Florante at Laura” of Francisco Balagtas.
(Luzon)
Awit is set in dodecasyllabic (twelve syllables) quatrains (four lines)
Korido is set in octosyllabic (eight syllables) quatrains
The winds of change began to blow in 19 th century Philippines. The Filipino intellectuals
began to write the downside of colonization. This led to the formation of the Propaganda
Movement that led to the production of different political essays and conscious-
awakening literary pieces, especially of Jose Rizal’s novel “Noli Me Tangere” and “El
Filibusterismo” which helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulting to the downfall
of the Spanish regime and at the same time planted the seeds of a national consciousness
among Filipinos.
AMERICAN PERIOD
National Artist for Literature (1973), Jose G. Villa used free verse and espoused the
dictum “Art for art’s sake”.
The Balagtas tradition persisted until the poet Alejandro G. Abadilla (1960) advocated
modernism in poetry.
Paz Marquez Benitez’s “Dead Stars” published in 1925 was the first successful short
story in English written by a Filipino.
The essay in English became the potent medium from the 1920’s to the present. Essayist
wrote informal, formal and humorous essays for the information and enjoyment of the
Filipinos. Salvador P. Lopez’s “Literature and Society” won the Commonwealth
Literary Award for the essay in 1940. This essay posited that art must have substance and
that adherence to “Art for art’s sake” is decadent.
THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD
The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continues especially with
the appearance of new publications after the Martial Law years and the resurgence of
committed literature in the 1960’s and ‘70s. Filipino writers continue to write poetry,
short stories, novellas, novels and essays.
The Filipino writer has become more conscious of his art work with the proliferation of
writer’s workshop here and abroad and the bulk of Literature available via the mass
media and the internet.
2
 Much has changed in how written material is read in the Contemporary period 2. The
traditional art of writing using paper, ink, marker and other materials have been
superseded by electronic processor which can be easily reproduced for a very minimal
cost. Narratives, short stories, novels and other literary pieces are not commonly found
on published materials anymore but largely on on-line sources such as Tagalog Online
Pocketbook, Pinoypub.ph, Wattpad and the like. The use of personal computers, laptop
and other mobile devices facilitated greater learning experience for this generation.
The various literary awards such as the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature, the Philippine Free Press, Philippine Graphic, Home Life and Panorama
literary awards are impetus for the Filipinos to continue showing their creative efforts.

Search Me Out
Direction: Identify in what period of Philippine literary history and its geographical location
the following literary forms occurs.
Literary form Period of Philippine literary history and geographical
location
1. Paktakon
2. Ambahan
3. Soliranin
4. Lam-ang
5. Pasyon
6. Noli Me Tangere
7. Literature and society
8. Florante at Laura
9. Dead Stars
10. Wattpad

Trace Me Up
Trace the development of Philippine literature from pre- historic times up to the
present period. How would you describe each development?

How would appreciate literature from the given time of development in your life in the
present society?

3
Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World
Topic Identifying Texts and Authors from each Region

Identify representative texts and authors from each region. EN12Lit-Ib-22

Objective:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1.Identify text and authors from each region.

The diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved with the country’s writers and
journalist to recognize the country’s wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating in schools and
mass media.
The sense of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970 helped a new breed of Filipinos concerned
about the “Filipino identity.”
Authors and works of Philippine Artists in Literature

Regions Literary Works Author/s Literary Genre

I The Molave and the Orchid F. Sionil Jose Prose fiction

II Moonlight on Manila Bay Fernando Maramag Poetry

Afternoon of a Sea Faun Edith Tiempo Poetry

III Ang Uod Amado Hernandez Poetry

Soledad Angela Gloria Poetry

IV-A To the Flowers of Heidelberg Jose Rizal Poetry

Taglish Hanggang Saan? Bienvenido Creative
Lumbera nonfiction

IV-B My Islands NVM Gonzales Poetry

NCR My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken Alejandro Roces Prose fiction

I Am a Filipino Carlos Romulo Creative
nonfiction

V Day on the Farm Luis Dato Poetry

VI Bahandi I: 16 ka pili nga mga Juanito Marcella Prose fiction

sugilanon sa Ilongo

VII Magnificence Estrella Alfon Prose fiction

The Last Days of Magic Ian Casocot Prose fiction

VIII Of Fish, Flies, Dogs and Women Timothy Montes Prose fiction
4
 State of the Nation Victorio Sugbo Creative
nonfiction

X Literary Forms in Philippine Cristina Ortega Creative

Literature nonfiction

XI I, Higaonon Telesforo Sungkit Poetry

Jr.

CAR Transparencies Luisa Igloria Poetry

(Ernesto Thaddeus M Solmerano, et. al., 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, second edition, 2017, pp. 25 - 31)
2
(Ethel Magalona, et. al., Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions, first edition, 2017, p. 106)
.

I Know It
Direction: Identify the author and the region in which the following literary texts originate
1. The Molave and the Orchid
2. Ang Uod
3. To the Flowers of Heidelberg
4. Bahandi I: 16 ka pili nga mga sugilanon sa Ilongo
5. Magnificence
6. “ Ang Matam-is Kong Pagkabata”
7. “ Mutya ng Saging”
8. “The Dog Eater”
9. “ Ang Tunog Sang Isa Ca Bulac”
10. Dead Star

Just Prove It
Direction: The students given a text entitled, “ Chimera” and they will answer the following
questions:
1. Why is the selection entitled “ Chimera”?
2. Describe the protagonist
3. What is the conflict in the story?
4. Do you have a similar experience with the character? If so, narrate your story briefly.

If you will be given a chance to write a text related to the lesson discussed, what it would
be and why?

Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World

Topic : Identifying the Contribution of the Canonical Filipino Writers.
5
 Appreciate the contributions of the canonical Filipino writers to the development of
national literature. EN12Lit-Ic-24

Objective:
At the end of the lesson the students would be able to:
1.Identify the contribution of the canonical Filipino writers to the development of
national literature.

Canonical means relating to the group of books, plays, poems that are traditionally
considered to be very important. Canonical Filipino writers are:
Lilia Quindoza-Santiago- Essay- National Capital Region
Fernando M. Maramag- “ Moonlight on Manila Bay”
Virginia R. Moreno- “Order for Masks
Magnificence- “ Estrella D. Alfon
 Other canonical Filipino writers attached at the back page.
 The reading selection of the following authors were given to the students during
discussion.

Identify the work/s of the following canonical Filipino writers. Choose your
answer from the box.
Like the Molave His Native Soil Literature and Society Chimera
Longer than Mourning How My Brother Leon Brought a Wife
Borderless World Merry Christmas Acrostic Sonnet
The Woman in the Box What I Love or Will Remember Most about High School

1. Salvador P. Lopez 6. Khatrina Bonagua

2. Patricia Evangelista 7. Manuel Arguilla
3. R. Zulueta de Costa 8. Juan C. Laya
4. Jesus T. Peralta 9. Jesus Z. Menoy
5. Jose Dalisay, Jr. 10. Vicente Garcia Groyon

The students will watch a movie entitled “ Flor Contemplacion” and they will write a
reflection.

Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World

Topic : Differentiating the Various Literary Genre Citing their Elements, Structure
6
 and Tradition

Differentiate/ Compare and contrast the various century literary genres and the ones from
the earlier genres/ periods citing their elements, structures and traditions. EN12Lit-Ic-25

Objective:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1.Differentiates the various literary genres citing their elements, structures and
traditions.

The genres of imaginative literature have much in common, but they have also distinguishing
characteristics.
Prose fiction is an imaginary story that uses a variety of techniques such as narrative but the
information is not factual.

Poetry is a literary art where the evocative and aesthetic qualities of language that
communicates economically, intensely, and intimately through figurative language and
sound effects devices.
Drama is a literary work which is designed to be acted out on a stage performed by an
actors /actresses before an audience.
Non-fiction Prose refers to any kind of prose writing that is based on facts, well- written
prose deals with real happening.
Fiction incorporated imagined dialogues to suggest the thoughts of historical figure.

Something I Know
Direction: Differentiate the following by knowing its genre. Write your answer on your
activity notebook.
1. Textula 6. Flash fiction
2. Microfiction 7. Graphic novel
3. Digi- fiction 8. Speculative fiction
4. Manga 9. Hypertext poetry
5. Doodle fiction 10. Six-word story

How important for you as a student to know the

Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World

7
Topic : Identifying the Figure of Speech and Literary Techniques and Devices in the
Text

Analyze the figures of speech and other literary techniques and devices in the text.
CS_ENLit-Ie-27

Objective:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1. Identify the figure of speech and literary techniques and devices in the text.

Figurative language varies from the norms of literal language, in which words mean
exactly what they say and known as “ornaments of language”, does not mean exactly
what it says but, instead forces the reader to make an imaginative leap in order to
comprehends the author’s point.
Figures of Thought are also called tropes, meaning a word has other than literal
meaning in comparison.
Simile a stated comparison between two fundamentally dissimilar or unlike things that
have certain qualities in common in common.
(usually formed with ” like”, “ than”, or “as”)
Metaphor an implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have
something in common
Irony a situation that may end up in quite a different way that what is generally
anticipated; difference between the appearance and the reality.
Personification is an inanimate object, an animal or an idea is endowed with human
qualities or abilities.

Figures of Speech are also called rhetorical figures or schemes, m depart not from the
literal meaning of the words, thus making a special effect.
Apostrophe means someone absent or non-existent person or thing is addressed as if
present and capable of understanding and replying.
Chiasmus, two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures
in order to make a larger point; display inverted parallelism
Antithesis the state of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses
Rhetorical Question is a question asked not to get an answer, but instead to emphasize a
point.
Figures of Sound includes the sound effect devices.
Alliteration the repetition of the initial consonant sounds of stressed syllables in
neighboring words or at short intervals within a line or passage.
Assonance the repetition of the initial vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within
phrases or sentences.
Consonance the cunning combination of consistently copied in a line or sentence,
creating a rhythmic effect.
Onomatopoeia the formation or use of words which imitates or suggests the source of
the sound that it describes.

8
Figure Me Out
Direction: Identify the figure of speech used in each paragraph by writing your answer on
your activity notebook.

1. I’m black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide
Leaving in the tide
Leaving behind nights behind nights of terror and fear I rise
2. Can I have one of your chips?
3.The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and
tyrants
4. Ravenous and savage from its long polar journey
the North Wind is searching for food-
5. I’d rather take baths with a man- eating shark,
or wrestle a lion alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines, than tackle the homework, my teacher assigns.
6. A flag wags like a fishhook there in the sky.
7. He drew a line as straight as an arrow.
8. The sun was beating down on me.
9. Can I see you for a second?
10. Knowledge is a kingdom and all who learn are kings and queens.

Write a short story using the different types of figurative language on your
notebook.

9
Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World
Topic : Identifying the Different Ways of Coining Words

Explain the literary, biographical, linguistic, and socio- cultural and discuss how they
enhance the text’s meaning and enrich the reader’s understanding. CS_ENLit-IIe-28
Objective:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1. Identify the different ways of coining words.

Coined words are something having two different and usually opposing sides used in the
phrase.
Example: the economy is improving, but the other side is that inflation is becoming
bigger problem.
Types of Coined Words:
 Compound words are words made up of whole words or morphemes
Examples: telepof a wordhone, doghouse, television
 Blended are words that are made by combining one part of the word with another part
of another word.
Example: brunch, slanguist
 Clipped words are created when the beginning or end of a word is cut, or “ clipped”.
Example: gymnasium, weblog
 Backformation means a new word is created when we remove a suffix.
Example: burgle- burglar pea- pease
 Acronyms means a word s made from the initial of words.
Example: NASA- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
 Transfer of Names words that come the name of a person or place.
Example: Scrooge from stingy Charles Dickens’ character

Konekticut
Direction: Identify the type of coining word/s being used by writing your answer on
your activity notebook.
1.askable parent 6. deskfast
2. eatertainment 7.falloween
3.yestertech 8.frienemy
4.blamestorming 9.informavore
5.frakenfood 10.mathlete

10
 How will you encourage Filipinos to resort to the ways of coined words. Why?
Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World
Topic : Identifying Representative Texts and Authors from Asia, North America,
Europe, Latin America and Africa.

Identify representative texts and authors from Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and
Africa. EN 12lit-IIa-22
Objective:

At the end of the lesson, the student would be able to identify:

1. Different literary texts and authors from around the world.

Authors and works of Literary artist from around the world

CONTINENT/ LITERARY TEXTS AUTHOR/S LITERARY

COUNTRY GENRE

ASIA

Sri Lanka Literature in the 21st Century Mithun Non-fiction

Selvaratnam

Japan Scheherazade Haruki Short story

Murakami

South Korea Their last visitor Kim Young-ha Sudden fiction

China The burning kite Ouyang Jianghe Poetry

NORTH AMERICA

USA Chickens Elaine Micro fiction

Magarrell

Canada We ate the children last Yann Martel Science fiction

EUROPE

France Hazaran Jean-Marie Short story

Gustave Le
Clezio

Bulgaria Blood of a Mole Zdravka Sudden fiction

Evtimova

Ireland Atlantis – a Lost Sonnet Evan Boland Poetry

LATIN AMERICA

Argentina Like Hercules Ana Maria Shua Microstory

Columbia Honey Antonio Utgar Flash fiction

Uruguay You didn’t know Idea Vilarino Poetry

11
 AFRICA

South Africa Poison Henrietta Rose- Science fiction

Innes

Zimbabwe Hyde Park Patina Gappah Creative non-

fiction

Somalia Tonight Ladan Osman Poetry

Ernesto Thaddeus M Solmerano, et. al., 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, second edition, 2017, pp. 211 - 342

FILL ME OUT
Direction: Complete the blank boxes in relation to the given idea

Country Literary texts Author Literary

genre

1. Sri Lanka Mithun Selvaratnam Non-fiction

2. Japan Scheherazade Short story

3. Canada We ate the children Science

last fiction

4. France Hazaran Jean-Marie Gustave Le

Clezio

5. Ireland Atlantis – a Lost Evan Boland

Sonnet

6. Like Hercules Ana Maria Shua Microstory

7. Columbia Antonio Utgar Flash fiction

8. Poison Henrietta Rose-Innes Science

fiction

9. Zimbabwe Patina Gappah Creative non-

fiction

10. Somalia Ladan Osman Poetry

What literary genre you like most? Why?

12
Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World
Topic : Knowing the Concept of Postmodernism and the Literary Techniques

Explain the texts in terms of literary elements, genres, and traditions. EN12lit-IIb-32
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1.Know the concept of postmodernism and the literary techniques used to explain literary
elements, genres and traditions.

By the 1950s, space exploration is what the theme of western government adheres to in
their program of governance. Space age thus come and remained as indisputable era for
this millennium. The prevailing cultural condition among advanced capitalist societies, in
relation to literature, redounds to the concept of postmodernism. The worldview of order
is challenged through the use of styles that do not adhere to any fixed ideas about form
and meaning of texts. Postmodernism in literature continues modernism’s alienated mood
and disorienting techniques and at the same time abandons its determined quest for
artistic coherence in a fragmented world.
Postmodern literary techniques may include the following: Fabulation, or the rejection
of reality; Magic realism or the use of imaginary, outlandish and fantastic dreamlike
quality characters; Pastiche, or the mixing of different literary works into a new literary
text; Black humor or the use of subjects that are generally considered taboo into a
comical style; and Intertextual or the use of complex interrelationship between a text
and other texts.
Reference: Solmerano, E.T., et. al., (2017). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, second edition,
Manila, Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc. pp. 210 - 216.

A Gentleman’s C
Direction: Read Padgett Powell’s “A Gentleman’s C” and answer the questions below in
your notebook.

A Gentleman’s C
(Microfiction)
By: Padgett Powell, United States

My father, trying to finally graduate from college at sixty-two, came, by curious

circumstance, to be enrolled in an English class I taught, and I was perhaps, a bit
tougher on him than I was on the others. Hadn’t he been tougher on me than on
other people’s kids growing up? I gave him a hard, honest, low C. About what I felt
he’d always given me. 13
 We had a death in the family, and my mother and I traveled to the funeral. My
father stayed put to complete his exams – it was his final term. On the way home,
we learned that he had received his grades, which were low enough in the aggregate
to prevent him from graduation and reading this news on the dowdy sofa inside the
front door, he leaned over as if to rest and had a heart attack and died.
For years, I had thought that the old man’s passing away would not affect me.
but it did.
Reference: Solmerano, E.T., et. al., (2017). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World,
second edition, Manila, Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc. p. 258.

Probing questions:

1.What is the story all about?

2.Who is telling the story?
3.Into what genre the work can be placed?
4.Who are the people in the work?
5.Does the literary piece include any imagery? If so, what is the impact of the words,
phrases or lines as they are used in the selection?

If you are going to write a literary piece based on your

experience, what literary genre you are going to use? Why?

14
Subject: 21st Literature from the Philippines and the World
Topic: Distinguishing the Different Literary Themes in the Context of the Region,
Nations and the World

Situate the texts in the context of the region, nation, and the world. EN12Lit-IIc-29

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1.Distinguish the different literary themes in the context of the region, nation and the
world.

Modern day and contemporary writers often consciously generate inspiration and
concepts from the authors who have been before them. The 21 st century literature around
the world clenches with the literature of the past to make sense of the present times. In
addition, advancement in technology led literary writers to put up hypothetical concepts
about the linkages of the past, present and the future, thus creating a sense of déjà vu
among the readers and students of literature.
With much increase in globalization, integration of cultures and liberal discussions of
conservative topics, the theme of the 21 st century literature found light in the following:
A.) Identity. People can easily draw multiple self-concept due to the easy and quick
access to the internet and other means of technology. One example is Ayaan Hirsi Ali
who became a feminist voice for the rights of abused Muslim women and religious
freedom in her 2008 book “Infidel”. B.) History and memory, are diversely depicted for
diverse audiences. Accordingly, “The March” by E. L. Doctorow fictionalizes yet depicts
the realities of General Sherman’s famous march during the U.S. Civil War, and how the
people of the South were slaughtered, giving a slightly different perspective of how the
North is usually depicted. C.) Technology, has been more integrated into people’s lives.
The idea how technology could make man’s life facile and the agita about the downfall of
mankind brought about by too much dependent on technology can be found in the 21 st
century literature. Take Max Barry’s “Machine Man” as depicting biotechnology helping
people with disabilities or Ernest Cline’s idea of escaping reality by entering a virtual
world in “Ready Player One”. D.) Intertextuality as 21st century literary theme,
recognizes past literary works as part of the modern puzzle in literature. Any literary
piece of the past can be a part of a new modern literature extending the venue of artistic
expressions, conversation, context and body of works. This is exemplified by Junot Diaz’
work “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” combining comics, movies and other
books to create and describe events.
Reference: Solmerano, E.T., et. al., (2017). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, second edition,
Manila, Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc. pp. 214 - 215.

15
We Ate the Children Last
Direction: Read the story “We Ate the Children Last” and answer the questions below
We Ate the Children Last
(Science Fiction)
By: Yann Martel, Canada
The first human trial was on patient D, a 56-year-old male, single and childless,
who was suffering from colon cancer. He was a skeletal man with white, bloodless skin
who could no longer ingest even clear fluids. He was aware that his case was terminal
and waived all rights to legal redress should the procedure go wrong. His recovery was
astounding. Two days after the operation, he ate six lunch meals in one sitting. He gained
24 kilos in two weeks. Clearly, his liver, pancreas, and gall bladder, the source of
greatest worry, had adapted to the transplant. The only side-effect noted at the time
concerned, his diet. Patient D rapidly came to dislike sweet dishes, then spicy ones, then
cooked food altogether. He began to eat bananas and oranges without peeling them. A
nurse reported that one morning she found him eating the flowers in his room.
The French medical team felt vindicated. Until then, the success rate of full-organ
xenografts was zero; all transplants of animal organs to humans - the hearts, livers and
bone marrow of baboons, the kidneys of chimpanzees – had failed. The only real
achievement in the field was the grafting of pigs’ heart valves to repair human hearts
and, to a lesser extent, of pigs’ skin on to burn victims. The team decided to examine the
species more closely. But the process of rendering pigs’ organs immunologically inert
prove difficult and few organs were compatible. The potential of the pig’s digestive
system despite its biological flexibility, stirred little interest in the scientific community,
especially among the Americans; it was assumed that the porcine organ would be too
voluminous and that its high caloric output would induce obesity in a human. The French
were certain that their simple solution to the double problem – using the digestive system
of a smaller pot-bellied species of pig - would become the stuff of scientific legend, like
Newton’s apple, “we have put into this man a source of energy both compact and
powerful – a Ferrari engine!” boasted the leader of the medical team.
Patient D was monitored closely. When asked about what he ate, he was evasive. A
visit to his apartment three months after the operation revealed that his kitchen was
barren; he had sold everything in it, including fridge and stove, and his cupboards were
empty. He finally confessed that he went out at night and picked at garbage. Nothing
pleased him more, he said, than to gorge himself on putrid sausages, rotten fruit, moldy
brie, baguettes gone green, skins and carcasses and other soured leftovers and kitchen
waste. He spent a good part of the night doing this, he admitted, since he no longer felt
the need for much sleep and was embarrassed about his diet. The medical team would
have been concerned except that his hemoglobin count was excellent, his blood pressure
was ideal, and further tests revealed what was plain to the eye: the man was bursting with
good health. He was stronger and fitter than he had been in all his life.
Regulatory approval came swiftly. The procedure replaced chemotherapy as the
standard treatment for all cancers of the digestive tract that did not respond to
radiotherapy.
Les Bons Samaritains, a lobby group for the poor, thought to apply this wondrous
medical solution to a social problem. They suggested that the operation be made
available to those receiving social assistance. The poor often had unwholesome diets, at a
16
 cost both to their health and to the state, which had to spend so much on medical care.
What better, more visionary remedy than a procedure that in reducing food budgets to
nothing created paragons of fitness? A cleverly orchestrated campaign of petitions and
protest – “Malnutrition: zero! Deficit: zero!” read the banners – easily overcame the
hesitations of the government.
The procedure caught on among the young and the bohemian, the chic and the radical,
among all those who wanted a change in their lives. The opprobrium attached to eating
garbage vanished completely. In short order, the restaurant became a retrograde
institution, and the eating of prepared food a sign of attachment to deplorable worldly
values. A revolution of the gut was sweeping through society. “Liberte! Liberte!” was the
cry of the operated. Th meaning of wealth was changing. It was all so heady. The telltale
mark of the procedure was a scar at the base of the throat; it was a badge we wore with
honor.
Little was made at the time of a report by the societe protectrice des animaux on the
surprising drop in the number of stray cats and dogs. Garbage became a sought – after
commodity. Unscrupulous racketeers began selling it. Dumps became dangerous places.
Garbage collectors were assaulted. The less fortunate resorted to eating grass.
Then old people began vanishing without a trace. Mothers who had rurned away
momentarily were finding their baby carriages empty. The government reacted swiftly.
In a matter of three days, the army descended upon every one of the operated, without
discrimination between the law-abiding and the criminal. The newspaper Le Cochon
Libre tried to put out a protest, but the police raided their offices and only a handful of
copies escaped destruction. There were terrible scenes during the round-up: neighbors
denouncing neighbors, children being separated from their families, men, women and
children being stripped in public to look for telling scars, summary executions of people
who tried to escape. Internment camps were set up, nearly always in small, remote
towns.
No provisions were made for food in any of the camps. The story was the same in all
of them: first the detainees ate their clothes and went naked. Then the weaker men and
women disappeared. Then the rest of the women. Then more of the men. Then we ate
those we loved most. The last known prisoner was an exceptional brute by the name of
Jean Proti. After 41 days without a morsel of food except his own toes and ears, and after
30 hours of incessant screaming, he died.
I escaped. I still have a good appetite, but there is a moral rot in this country that
even I can’t digest. Everyone knew what happened, and how and where. To this day
everyone knows. But no one talks about it and no one is guilty. I must live with that.

Reference: Solmerano, E.T., et. al., (2017). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, second edition,
Manila, Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc. pp. 263 – 264.

Probing questions:
1.What is the story all about?
2.Who is telling the story?
3.What is the theme of the story?
4.In what country the story is situated?
5.Cite literary imagery used in this work.
6.What is the impact of the imagery used in the selection?

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 If you are the character of the story and you are given the right to choose, would you like
to be operated? Why?

Subject Matter: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Topic: Appraising Literary Techniques and Elements Use in Literary

Appreciate the cultural and aesthetic diversity of literature of the world. EN12Lit-IIc-33
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to:
1. Appraise the literary techniques and elements used in literary texts.

Mysteries, intrigues, suspense, facts and a lot of imaginary treasures can be found in
literature. Anyone who reads literary pieces embarks on a treasure quest. Every reader
should develop tools needed to uncover any locked treasure chest that a literary piece
may offer. The ability to interpret is a tool that every reader must have in order to unlock
the many secrets of word-hoard the litterateur left along its path.
Interpretative skills involve learning to examine and analyze the literary elements and t
echniques that work together in a text. These literary elements and techniques include
meaning, form, voice, tone, characters, characterization and language.
Reference: Solmerano, E.T., et. al., (2017). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, second edition,
Manila, Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc. pp. 11 – 12.

Try a Smack
Direction: Read the story “KISS” and answer the questions below
KISS
(Blog Fiction)
By: Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Spain
I never told anybody, but getting that apartment was nothing short of a miracle. All I knew about
Laura was that she worked part-time at the offices of the landlord on the first floor, and that she
kissed like a tango. I met her on a July night when the skies blanketing Barcelona sizzled with
steam and desperation. I had been sleeping on a bench in a nearby square when I was awakened
by the brush of her lips.

Do you need a place to stay?

She led me to the lobby. The building was one of those vertical mausoleums that haunt the old
town, a labyrinth of gargoyles and patch-ups at the top of which you could still make out 1886
somewhere beneath the layer of soot.
I followed her upstairs, almost feeling my way in the darkness. The building creaked under my
feet like an old ship. Laura never asked for any references, personal or financial. Good thing,
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because in prison, you don’t get either. The attic was the size of my former cell, a spare room
perched over the endless roof world of the old city.
I’ll take it.
Truth be told, three years in the slammer had obliterated my sense of smell and the issue of voices
leaking through the wall wasn’t exactly a novelty for me. one man’s hell is another’s paradise
lost.
Laura would come to me every night. Her cold skin and her misty breath were the only things that
didn’t burn during the scorching summer. At dawn, she would silently vanish downstairs, leaving
me to doze off during the day.
The neighbors had that meek kindness granted by years of misery and oblivion. I counted six
families, all with children and old-timers reeking of dead flowers and damp soil. My favorite was
Don Florian, who lived right downstairs and painted dolls and tin toys for a living. I spent weeks
without venturing out of the building. Spiders were building arabesques at my threshold. But
Dona Luisa, on the third floor, always brought me something to eat. Don Florian lent me old
magazines and challenged me to endless domino matches. The kids in the building invited me to
play hide and seek.
It was a good life. For the first time ever, I felt welcomed. Even appreciated.
By midnight Laura would bring me her nineteen years wrapped in white silk and give herself to
me as if it were the last time. I’d make love to her until the break of dawn, savoring in her body
everything life had denied me. Afterward, I’d dream in black and white, like dogs and cursed
people. But even the lowest of the low sometimes get a taste of happiness in this world. That
summer was mine.
When the demolition people came by in late August I mistook them for cops. The chief engineer
told me he had nothing personal against squatters, but unfortunately, they had to dynamite the
place and raze it to the ground no matter what.

There must be a mistake.

Most chapters in my life begin with that line.
I ran downstairs to the landlord’s office on the first floor looking for Laura. All I found was a coat
hanger and two inches of dust. I went to Don Florian’s. Fifty eyeless dolls rotting in the shadow. I
went through the entire building looking for just one neighbor, one voice. Silent corridors lay
covered in debris.
This property has been closed down since 1938, young man, the chief engineer informed me. the
bomb damaged the structure beyond repair.
I believe we had some words. The wrong kind. My kind. I believed I pushed him. Down the
stairs. Hard.

This time the judge had a field day with me.

My old cellmates, it turned out, were still waiting.
After all, you always come back.
Hernan, the library guy, found a ten-year-old newspaper article about the bombardment during the
civil war. In the photograph the bodies are lined up in pine boxes, disfigured by shrapnel, but they
were still recognizable to me. a shroud of blood spreads over the cobblestones. Laura is dressed in
white, her hands crossed over her open chest.
It’s been almost two years now, but in prison you live or die by memories. The guards think
they’re smart, but she knows how to sneak in past any walls.

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 At midnight, I am awakened by the brush of her icy lips. She brings regards from Don Florian and
the others.
You’ll love me always, won’t you? She asks.
And I say yes.

Probing question:
1.Who is telling the story?
2.From what perspective is the story told?
3.In what country the story is situated?
4.Who are the people in the work?
5.How do dialogue and action reveal a character’s personality traits?
6.Does the work include any imagery?
7.What effect or impression does the work have on you?

How would you react if you know that the person you’ve been dealing with is already
dead a long time ago?

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