21st Century LIterature from the Philippines and the World - Quarter 2

A. Literary genres, traditions and forms from different national literature and cultures, namely, Asian, Anglo-American, European, Latin American, and African -EN12Lit-IIa-22

Literature - refers to any "written work" derived from 'litera' which means writing formed with letters. it is the mirror of the society which reflects societal norms, culture, tradition, experiences, perspectives, etc. Literature goes along with society.

World Literature - it is considered in global context. It suggests to the sum of total world's national literature and also the circulation of work into the wider world beyond country's origin.

A Country Boy Quits School

Lao Hsiang (1908-)

(Translated by Chi-Chen Wang)

(Chinese Literature)

Maybe it is the teacher's mama."

Arriving at school, the boy found that it was Sunday and that there would be no school. The boy told Mother the circumstances, which made her curse the institution of Sunday.

The teacher answered even more gently than before. "It is the mama of anyone who happens to read the book, do you understand now?"

           "No," the boy said.  "Baldy is also reading this, but his mama is not like this lady," the boy said. A few days later, the boy learned two new sentences: "The ox tends the fire; the horse eats noodles." Perhaps the book is talking about such horses and oxen."  The boy took his father's instructions to heart and set out for school the next day at dawn. The teacher is asleep and the classroom isn't unlocked. Grandfather was sweeping the yard when he suddenly caught sight of the boy.            When the boy went to school again after breakfast, the teacher was already on the platform and was holding forth on the subject of being late to school. Luckily his father happened to see the other boys also coming home from school and the teaching taking a stroll with his “dog stick," and concluded that his son was not playing truant. He kept wondering, however, about the strange ways of these foreign schools.

It couldn't be said that the boy was not diligent. He reviewed his lesson every day after school, reading over and over again "This is Mama," until dusk. Thinking that his mother was really eager to learn, the boy pointed to the accompanying picture and said, This is Mama- the lady with leather shoes, bobbed hair, and long dress." One glance at the picture and Mother burst out crying. “Where did the boy get that vampire-like mama?"

            Grandmother, however, did not agree with father's explanation. The following day, the boy asked his teacher "Is this ox that can tend the fire a foreign ox ?"

            The teacher laughed and said, "You are too literal! The explanation cleared up at one stroke many things in the book that had puzzled the boy. One day, the boy and his schoolmates decided that they would play tea party as they had read about it in their reading. Our boy knew, of course, that he would be only inviting a beating to ask money for buying sweetmeats. Grandfather asked. We want to hold a tea party," the boy said.

            "It means to get together and eat things and drink tea," the boy said. "It is in the book

No wonder the boys have become lazy and choosy about their food since they went to school" Grandmother said.

Grandfather said.

            "Remember, son, to bring back some orange peels for your grandfather's cough," said Mother.

            "Where did you get the money to buy oranges?" asked Father.

The boy's father aimed a kick at him, but fortunately, the table intervened. Everyday after school, he read without stopping until it was dark. “Don't be angry anymore!" the boy's father said. "We won't let him read this kind of book any longer.



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A Country Boy Quits School

By: Wang Hsiang Chen

(Chinese Literature)

Characters:

The Boy                                 Teacher

Father                                    Grandmother

Mother                                  Grandfather

Setting:

China             House

School

Plot:

          Introduction

                   The boy in the story is described as half capable as that of a grown-up. He could already do what most boys could not do at their age. Then, there was a law issued to their place that any boy aging at least 6 years old must be sent to school or else someone from the household will be sent to prison. Then the family of the boy divided to send him to school.

          Rising Action

                   The boy went home from his first day of school bringing with him eight books. His family was filled with awe and wonder at the books and its characters. But then they heared that the books cost a lot of their money.

          Climax

                   The mother could not take longer what she sees and heard from his son. She would hear him refer to the picture of a lady in the book as “This is Mama”. She grew with distress that she asked her son to ask his teacher whose mother the lady really is. The teacher has to really explain to them that the lady is just made up. This enlightenment only created more confusion to the boy because he now believed that everything in the book are real. One time, the boys in the school decided to have tea party as indicated in the book. They divided to ask money to buy the food that they need but then their families found at and all they got is a scolding.

          Falling Action

                   The grandmother heard her grandson read from the book that the family has a “mama, papa, brother and a sister”, She got mad that she has no longer needed in the family once she did not heard her grandson mention a “Grandmother”.

          Resolution

                   The father put an end to their distress and decided that the boy should quit school even though he will be sent to jail.

Conflict:

          The family and even the boy don’t understand the school system. Oftentimes, the boy would be mistaken for during something wrong in his studies. Once, he was accused of playing truant after he was seen coming home early but it only because he had come to school too early that he was told to go back home yet. They were often confused on what the boy reads and sees in the book that would cause his family distress.

Theme:

Cultural differences regarding education

Moral Lesson:

Country Boy Quits School shows the importance of education to our lives. It clearly demonstrates how poor education may result to chaos and confusion to someone's life, even family. Just as much as it issues how significant education is, this story also addresses how not just books and teachers define education. The story, on the other hand, shows the very irony of life during those times. No matter how hard one works, he is easily brought down by someone with a higher class, with no effort at all. We clearly see how large the gap between people of different classes really is.