HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE: A Symbol Hunting Activity

Characters Issues/Problems Images/actions How is this image/action

symbolic?
Maria -Culture clash/ immigration issues “Will they like me?” This message symbolizes the fear
-Meeting the parents of being introduced to the parents
and fear for change
Leon/Noel -Culture clash Leon/Noel (Change of name) This change of name is symbolic
because this represents the culture
change. Leon representing the
barrio while Noel represents the
bayan
Baldo -Culture shock He was questioning why Maria This represents the awe and
called his brother Noel reverence of the taga-barrios to the
taga-bayans werein the taga-bayans
are seen to be superior to the baga-
barrios.
Father -Culture shock “Was she afraid of Labang” This message has a double
meaning which really is “Can
Maria survive here in the province”
and since the answer is yes, then it
means that Maria can and will
survive in the province.
Table 1

Table 2
Image/scene Symbolic? y/n If yes, cite textual evidence to prove your
point
Carretela Yes She stepped down from the carretela of Ca
-this symbolizes rural life or life in the barrio. Celin with a quick, delicate grace.

“ Labang” Yes I have yet to hear another bull call like Labang
-Labang represents people in the barrios who
are doing mostly blue collar jobs which are
mostly farming and agriculture.
Pebbly road/hay in the cart Yes The wind whistled against my cheeks and the
As a married person, I would say this is a rattling of the wheels on the pebbly road
symbol that proves that settling into a married echoed in my ears.
life is not always easy. They always say

Camonayan, Josephine | Dacumos, Darmax | Gajes, Ma. Julie Anne MAT - English
HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE: A Symbol Hunting Activity
Nagrebcan
Table 3
Specific points in the narrative
…Look at the stars. It is so many times bigger
and brighter than it was at Ermita beach. The
air is clean, free of dust and smoke. So it is,
Noel…
Mother stood in the doorway..
Father insisted they follow the waig instead of
choosing to pass through camino real
Table 4
Recurring image/action
She was lovely. She was tall. She was fragrant
like a morning when papayas are in bloom
Camonayan, Josephine | Dacumos, Darmax | Gajes, Ma. Julie Anne
marriage is not always a bed of roses. There
are rough times, and that is inevitable.
Yes
Action/image
Maria was beginning to appreciate the place
The act of waiting
Reality of the hard life in the barrio
Paragraph in which these images/actions
appear
First paragraph and last paragraph
Nagrebcan itself is a representation of rural life
because of its rustic surroundings and
somewhat lagging behind in terms of progress
Interpretation
Maria’s appreciating what she saw at
Nagrebcan is a manifestation that loving a
person means loving and appreciating
everything about him, not only his body but
also his way of life of life, his family and
everything.
Noel’s mother displayed an excitement in the
coming of his son’s wife. As a mother, it brings
joy when another member of the family is
coming
The father wanted Maria to see the reality that
she will be living in a different place and he
wanted to test whether or not she can survive
living in a humble place such as the province
Interpretation
First impression lasts… it is probably an
admiration of Baldo to Maria and that makes it
possible for him thinking about finding also a
wife like Maria…
This impression also represents the admiration
of the taga-barrios for the taga-bayans and
Maria smelling like papayas meant that Maria
can survive in the barrios.
MAT - English
HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE: A Symbol Hunting Activity

Table 6
Concrete image
…lighted the lantern that hung from the cart
..watched the smoke waver faintly upward
from the lighter end vanish slowly into the
night outside..
Becomes symbolic of…
Symbolic of hope that Maria could adapt
herself to rural life
Symbolic of the emerging of the problem of
acceptance of both Maria and the family and
then the way of life in the province and the
solution of the problem
Abstract concept/situation
The understanding that sparked from Leon
when he was questioning Baldo why do they
have to follow the waig and not camino real.
Fears of Maria in meeting the family of Leon
and at the same time the tension of the whole
family in having Maria, the city girl, as part of
the family.. all these fears and tensions faded
away like the smoke that vanished slowly into
the outside…

Camonayan, Josephine | Dacumos, Darmax | Gajes, Ma. Julie Anne MAT - English