Sorsogon State College

Sorsogon City
Sorsogon City Campus
Bachelor of Technical Teacher Education
Major in Automotive
A.Y. 2016-2017

Subject: Philippine Literature

Topic: Footnote to Youth By: Jose Garcia Villa
Instructor: Ms. Frances Grace J. Jetomo
Discussant: John Francis Perete Lopez

I.

II.

Authors background: Jose Garcia Villa was (August 5, 1908- February 7,

1997) was a Filipino poet, literacy critic, short story writer, and painter. He
was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973,
as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken.
He is known to have introduced the reserved consonance rhyme scheme in
writing poetry, as well as the extensive use of punctuation marks- especially
commas, which made him known as the Comma Poet. He used the penname
Doveglion (derived from Dove, Eagle, Lion), based on the characters he
derived from himself. Thse animals were also explored by another poet
cumming in Doveglion, Adventures in Value, a poem dedicated to Villa.
Villa was born on August 5, 1908, in Manilas Singalong district. His parents
were Simeon Villa ( a personal physician of Emilio Aguinaldo, the founding
Fisrt President of the Philippine Republic) and Guia Garcia (a wealthy
landowner). He graduated from the University of the Philippines Integrated
School and the University of The Philippines High School in 1925. Villa
enrolled on a Pre-Medical course in the University of the Philippines, but
then switched to Pre-Law course. However, he realized that his true passion
is arts. Villa first tried painting, but then tured into creative writing after
reading Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson.
Times and Milieu: Middle period (1930-1960)The learning time or the
Time of Apprenticeship.

III.

Summary: Dudong, 17, is impatiently waiting for his father to return home
so that he can tell him for his love for Teang and his desire to marry her. He
feels that at 17 he is a grown man and is ready for the next important step in
his life. When he tells to his father that he asked Teang to marry him and
wants his blessing, there is a long and cruel silence. His father asks if he
must marry her because Dodung is very young. Dodung resents his fathers
question, and finally his father gives his content.
Nine months later, Dudong is waiting outside while Teang gives birth to
their first son, Blas. He feels young and inexperienced, a contrast to how he
felt nine months ago. Dudong did not want any more children, but they came
anyway. For the next six years, Teang gave birth. Seven children in all.
Teang did not complain. However her body was now shapeless and thin
from bearing so many children and from the hardwork of caring for them
and the household. Even though she loved Dudong, she cried and whied that
she had not married so young. There had been another suitor, Lucio, who
was nine years older than Dudong. She choose Dudong because he was
much younger. Lucio had married after she married Dudong, however, he
was childless. She wonders of she had married Lucio, would she be a
childless? She feels that would have been a better lot in life. But she loves
Dudong, even though life has made him old and ugly.
One night Dudong goes outside and thinks about his life. He wants to have
the wisdom to know why life does not fulfil Youths dreams. Why did life
forsake you after love? He never finds the answer.

IV.

When Blast turns 18, he comes home and tells Dudong that he wants to
marry Tena. Dudong at this time is only 36 years old,
But he is portrayed as a much older man. Dudong does not want Blas to
marry so young. He asks the same question his father asked him. Does Blas
have to marry Tena? He does not want to make the same mistake he did.
Blas also reacts with resentment. Dudong realizes that he is dealing with
Youth and Love, and they will triumph over this situation. After that, comes
real life. He gives his consent, feeling sad and sorry for his son.
Analysis:

V.

A. Forms and Genre: Legal Fiction ( Love Story)

B. Setting: at Dudongs house
C. Characters: Dudong (Teangs husband)
Teang (Dudongs wife)
Blast (Teang and Dudongs son)
Tena (The girl who wants Blast to marry)
Lucio (Teangs suitor those nine years older than
Dudong)
Father (Dudongs father)
D. Plot: involves the struggles of a young man who named Dudong has
with family life, marriage and the adulthood. Dudong isnt sure about
how to talk to his father about his desire to marry Teang, the love of
his life. Dudong and Teang both have a hard time dealing with their
decisions and wonder if matters might have ended differently had
their choices not been the same.
E. Themes: telling the youth to pay attention to the lesson of this story.
Literary Merits
A. Artistry and Style: legal fiction and ordinary language.
B. Spiritual Value: it is really related in some youth especially in this
generation and also to God.
C. Intellectual Value: this story was related in some youth, my learning
was to marry a person was not a kind of joke or a kind of play it is
sacred, it is very holy and high valued and important we must think it
first before we do that and we must enjoy our being youth because
when we are married all the things that we do when we are youth we
cant never do that again because we have a family and a
responsibility that we need to do as a part of a family.
D. Emotional Value: