21ST CENTURY LITERATURE – MODULE 3: ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY

LESSON 1: BASIC ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY

WHAT I KNOW
1. B 6. C 11. A
2. C 7. B 12. D
3. B 8. C 13. C
4. C 9. C 14. C
5. D 10. A 15. D
WHAT’S MORE
A.
1. SETTING : Liza's house (in their kitchen) where she, together with her
Tita Loleng prepares Sinigang for the family dinner.
2. CHARACTERS : Liza, Tita Loleng, Meg, Liza's Mother and Father, Sylvia, and
Lem (Sylvia's Son)
3. PLOT
a.) EXPOSITION : Liza are helping her aunt to cook Sinigang while her aunt,
Tita Loleng are asking her about the happenings in her half-
brother funeral.
b.) RISING ACTION : Liza met Sylvia, her father's mistress and Lem's mother, who
held her hand and pleaded for her understanding. Since Liza
want Sylvia to let go of her hand she pretended to understand
and Sylvia unexpectedly hugged her, she could not move even
though she wanted to run away from Sylvia.
c.) CLIMAX : She remembered when her father come out of the room, he
approached Liza and talked to her, saying he was glad that
Liza came and talked about about how Lem was an acolyte in
church and a good child. She however was regarded by her
father as a “Sinverguenza”, a shameless daughter which
makes her irritated and mashed hard.
d.) FALLING ACTION : Her Tita Loleng finally stopped asking her questions about
the funeral which makes her sighed in relief then she
continued to prepare the ingredients and cooked them. While
preparing Sinigang, she recalls her father grieving and
wonders if her father would be the same if she were the one
who died.
e.) RESOLUTION : Her father apologized, and she eventually completed making
the Sinigang that will be served at their supper. As she
imagines them being on good terms and happy previously, her
father would congratulate her on the manner she cooked the
food and she will grin at him.
4. CONFLICT : Liza got emotionally estranged from her father after learning about
her father's mistress and half-brother.
5. THEME : There is no perfect family and everyone commits mistake.
Forgiveness and acceptance is the key to save your relationship from
your loved ones.
: This narrative reflects Filipino cultures and customs such as the
Sinigang meal, honoring elders, etc.
: Everyone behaves erratically; learn to forgive and accept the past.
6. POINT OF VIEW : The story is told from the first person point of view (as signified by
the narrator’s use of the pronoun “I”) where the information the reader
receives is seen only through the eyes of the narrator. Our views are
basically built on the perceptions of the speaker thus, what we learn
from the narrator shapes our understanding of the other characters,
and plot development. Since the narrator’s knowledge is limited to her
own domain, it follows that ours is too, therefore, we can at times be
as surprised as the narrator when something unexpected takes place.
Moreover, this kind of POV used in the story allows us to sympathize
with Liza’s emotions, to experience, one way or another, her inner
conflicts, and to understand in a deeper sense her personality.
B.
1. A 6. D
2. A 7. C
3. B 8. B
4. C 9. A
5. C 10. E
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
1. What significant lesson have you learned from the story? How will you apply it
in your own life?
 Being altruistic, satisfied, and truthful are just a few of the principles will be
taken away from the story. The most valuable lesson was to be forgiving.
Forgiveness is frequently characterized as the act of letting go of resentment,
bitterness, wrath, and the desire for revenge and retribution toward someone
who has harmed us. This message was evident in the narrative when Liza's
father begged forgiveness. It is easier said than done to forgive someone.
What individuals did to us will always be in our hearts, but when we forgive,
we are also doing it for ourselves; we are liberating ourselves from the
situation that emotionally harmed and scarred us.
2. Why do you think some married men commit extramarital affair?
 Lack of committing to counselling. Despite being stereotypically seen as good
at fixing things, men are almost universally bad at repairing the damage done
by cheating. It makes sense that men severely underestimate how
devastating their behavior might be to their partner considering that
committing extramarital affair didn’t mean much to them and was simply
available. Generally, though, his choice to cheat is driven by one or more of
the following factors: immaturity, co-occurring Issues, insecurity, lack of male
social support, confusion about limerence versus commitment and others. A
 man always has choices that don’t involve degrading and potentially ruining
his integrity and the life he and his significant other have created. Still,
knowing why he cheated can be helpful in terms of not repeating the behavior
in the future.
3. React on this: It is ordinary in our Filipino Culture for husbands to commit
adultery and look for another woman who can satisfy their desires simple
because they are men and not saints.
 Definitely not. The aforementioned cheating causes do not compel one to
really cheat. When a woman or men is already devoted to someone, it is not
permissible for her or him to cheat. Possibly, I want to emphasize that women
are not a toy that you will use to satisfy your desires and then discard like
rubbish. Keep in mind that you males are nothing without us women, who are
the wellspring of your existence.
ASSESSMENT
1. A 6. A 11. D
2. B 7. C 12. C
3. B 8. C 13. A
4. C 9. A 14. A
5. D 10. A 15. C