ASEAN Literature (Litr 102)

Lesson 1: Philippines

Literatures
● Ang Kwento ni Mabuti - by Genoveva Edroza Matute
● Tata Selo - by Rogelio Sikat
● Morning in Nagrebcan - by Manuel E. Aguilla

Lecture Topics
● Narrative / Plot Conventions In Writing Fiction
o These are the techniques used by the author in making meaning in the fiction. These may be
particular to characters, development of plot, settings, point-of-view, or style.
▪ Backstory - a story that tells what led up to the main story or plot
▪ Chekhov's Gun - plot device wherein you introduce an item in the first part of your
novel that doesn’t seem important to the story at the time, but takes on greater
significance later on. It also makes the story a bit predictable, once the reader
realizes that every minor item is going to be crucial later on.
▪ In Media Res - narration that starts in the middle of the story
▪ Narrative Hook - tells a catchy story opening to hook the attention of the readers
▪ Hypodiegesis - (narratology: the character within the story is narrating another story)
pertaining to a secondary narrative embedded within the primary narrative (a story
within a story)
▪ Deus-Ex-Machina - tells a good character in a bad situation; ensures character wins
with an unexpected or implausible used to resolve the situation
▪ Plot Twist - tells a surprise ending
▪ Poetic Justice - tells a reward to the good character and punishes the bad
characters
▪ Cliff Hanger - tells and abrupt ending which places the main characters in a perilous
situation with no resolution
▪ Flash Back - tells the interjected scene of the story that takes it back in the time from
current point in the story and often used to tell the events that happened before
another important event
▪ Flash Forward - tells a scene that takes the narrative to a future time from the
current point of the story.
▪ Foreshadowing - indicates or hints something is coming in the latter part of the story
● e.g. broken picture frame

● Point of View
o First person POV
▪ uses the pronouns “I” and “we”
▪ e.g. I run through the woods, tearing through branches and tripping over roots.
o Second person POV
▪ uses the pronoun you
▪ commonly used in non-fiction stories/novels
o Third person POV
▪ uses the pronouns “he” “she” “it” “they”

● Style
o Figures of speech like hyperbole, metonymy, euphemism, oxymoron, and many more are
style techniques. Pathos or emotional appeal is another style technique used to inspire or
pity a character.
▪ Hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims
 ▪ Metonymy - figure of speech in which a thing is referred to by the name of
something closely associated with that thing or concept.
▪ Euphemism - is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be
found offensive or suggest something unpleasant
▪ Oxymoron - is a self-contradicting word or group of words

o Additional Styles
▪ Sensory details - forms mental images of scenes using descriptive words; these
details are also described using senses
● e.g. cold breeze in the sea shore
▪ Leitwortstil - repeats on purpose the words that usually expresses a motif or theme
important to the story
▪ Dramatic visualization - presents an object or character with much description or
gestures and dialogues making scenes vivid for the audience

● Theme
o The theme of the story is the underlying message or the central idea.
o It is about life that the author is conveying in the story which is universal in nature. It is about
human experience.
o Short stories often have one theme. The theme is entwined in the story which is reflected in
the character’s words and actions, events, and other elements

● Emotional Appeal
o It moves the emotion of the reader or the audience.
o It is a way or method used by the author to create emotional response among his reader or
audience
o Persuasive writing is used. The language should sway the emotion to convince the readers.
o The author fills more emotional content with descriptive details to make the readers feel the
same.
o The authors show emotional scenes rather than telling, making characters sympathetic,
using words which can greatly affect reader emotions, turning the story in an unexpected
direction, and using details to more readers in reality of the scene.

● Literary Approach
o Feminism
▪ Uplifts women goals by defining and establishing equality in the family, civil, social,
political, and economic arena.
▪ Feminist literature is often associated with literary pieces written by women that deal
with women in society.
▪ It also involves characters or ideas which chide the common gender norms
dominated with masculinity.
▪ This approach gives an impact to the voice of women.
o New Historicism
▪ Deals with the cultural context during the writing of the pieces of literature. This
approach interprets literature for its meaning or idea in a particular socio-historical
atmosphere.
▪ It needs an understanding of the author’s milieu and the cultural context during its
production.

● POV or Perspective
o Impersonal Narrator
▪ Narration whose narrator did not participate in the events of the story world and who
tells or shows the story from a vantage point outside that world
o Personal Narrator
 ▪ If the narrator/speaker of a text refers to himself/herself then the text is considered to
be personal
o Unreliable Narrator
▪ It involves the use of an untrustworthy narrator mode may be employed to give the
audience a deliberate sense of disbelief in the story or a level of suspicion or mystery
as to what information is meant to be true and what is meant to be false.
o Audience Surrogate
▪ a character who expresses the questions and confusion of the audience.

● Stream of Consciousness
o Refers to a style of writing that is organized around the interior flow of thoughts of the
narrator just as out thoughts flow unconnected and sometimes disorganized stream of
consciousness writing is often disjointed and often lacks traditional sentence structure and
punctuation.

● Symbolism
o Symbols in literature are anything that stands for something else. Authors use symbols to
give deeper and significant meaning to their contentor story. Symbolism makes the author
convey ideas to readers/audience in a poetic manner instead of its outright expression.
o Examples:
▪ Poseidon is a symbol for the sea
▪ Albert Einstein is the symbol of intelligence and scientific genius
▪ The dove is a symbol of peace
▪ A ladder may be a symbol for a connection between heaven and earth

Lesson 2: Vietnam

Literatures
● A School Boy’s Apology - by Le Thanh Huan
● Inside Submarines - by Phan Nhien Hao
● The Cherished Daughter - by Anonymous

Lecture Topics
● Vietnam
o Vietnam is an “S-shaped” country
o Most people from all over the world usually addressed Vietnam as an “S-shaped” nation due
to its figure ang location on the map. Vietnamese borders are winding from the north to the
south like the letter “S” in the alphabet.
o Vietnam is a nation of rivers. 392 is the number of rivers in Vietnam with 6734.6 km long in
total running across from the top and the bottom of the country therefore the water culture
has played an indispensable part in Vietnam civilization in the traditional value especially to
the local living in the two most significant deltas which are the red river delta and mekong
delta.
o Vietnam is considered as the world’s leading exporter of cashews and black pepper. While
other agricultural products have faced challenges and difficulties in pricing and finding
distributors, cashew nuts and black peppers continue to be popular on the international
shelves not only in the local market but also in the world market with the total retail turnover
of approximately $ 3,000,000 because of the high quality.
o Soccer football is the most popular sport in Vietnam. Soccer is one of the most loved sports
in the world, the Vietnamese are no exception. Vietnamese love this sport whenever there
are big national or international games, all of the coffee shops and restaurants are flooded
by patrons coming to enjoy the fantastic soccer matches and cheer for their favorite team.
o Motorbike madness. It might not come across one of the most surprising fun facts about
Vietnam that motorbikes are everywhere in Vietnam. No matter where you are, those
 motorbikes always occupy some parts of your views. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, are the 2
big cities in Vietnam and they are also where motorbikes are used the most. Ho Chi Minh
City now has 7.4 million in 2016, while Hanoi has over 5 million two-wheeled vehicles in
2017. According to the statistics in early 2017, there are more than 45 million motorbikes in
Vietnam.

● Types of Poetry
o Lyric Poetry
▪ highly musical verse that expresses the observations and feelings of a single
speaker. It creates a single unified impression.
▪ Short
▪ Usually in first person point of view
▪ Expresses emotion or describes a scene
▪ does not tell a story
▪ no rhyme scheme requirements
▪ Subcategories of Lyric Poetry
● Elegy
o form of poetry that typically reflects on death or loss
● Ode
o kind of poem usually praising something
o Addresses and often celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea
o Purpose is to memorialize and celebrate something of great value or
significance
o Moderate length
o Serious subject
● Sonnet
o Love poem which dealt with the lovers sufferings and hopes
o Became popular in England and Renaissance, when Thomas Wyatt
and the Earl of Surrey translated and imitated the sonnets written by
Petrarch (Petrarchan Sonnet)
o From the seventeenth century onwards the sonnet was also used for
other topics than love, for instance for religious experience, reflections
on art, or even the war experience.
o The sonnet uses a single stanza of (usually) fourteen lines and an
intricate rhyme pattern.
o Many poets wrote a sense of sonnets linked by the same theme, so
called sonnet cycles (for instance Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare,
Drayton, Barret-Browning, Meredith) which depict the various stages
of a love relationship.
o Narrative Poetry
▪ Primary goal: tell a story in verse where the poetry and story balance each other.
▪ Not simply a poem with a little bit of story or a story told in verse
▪ Like short stories, narrative poems usually follow the basic pattern of plot
development and use of characters.
▪ Subcategories of Narrative Poetry
● Epics
o long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds
o In literary usage it encompasses both oral and written compositions
● Mock epic
o are typically satires or parodies that mock common classical
stereotype of heroes and heroic literature
o These works either put a fool in the role of the hero exaggerate the
heroic qualities to such a point that they become absurd
o Classical works that use humor in order to make a new point
 ● Ballad
o Is a song or a poem narrating a story in short stanzas
o Passed on orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk
culture
o It recounts tragic, comic, or heroic stories with emphasis on a central
dramatic event
● Limericks
o Kind of humorous verse of five lines, in which the first, second and fifth
lines rhyme with each other and the third and fourth lines, which are
shorter, formed a rhyme couplet.
o Pure nonsense
o Descriptive Poetry
▪ or didactic poetry
▪ notable for its vividness
▪ Uses descriptions that appeal to the senses
▪ Engages the imagination
▪ Through memorable descriptions that appeal to our senses, engage our minds, our
hearts and our imaginations.
▪ Both lyric and narrative poetry can contain lengthy and detailed descriptions
(descriptive poetry) or scenes in direct speech (dramatic poetry)
▪ The purpose of a didactic poem is primarily to teach something.
▪ This can take the form of very specific instructions, such as how to catch a fish or
how to write a good poem. But it can also be meant as an instruction in a general
way.
▪ Until the twentieth century all literature was expected to have a didactic purpose in a
general sense, that is to impart moral, theoretical or even practical knowledge,
Horace famously demanded that poetry should combine (prodesse) (learning) and
delectare (pleasure) the twentieth century was more reluctant to proclaim literature
openly as a teaching tool.

● Sound Devices
o Alliteration
▪ Term for repeated letter sounds (usually consonants but now always) at the stressed
part of two or more words.
▪ Repeated first letter
▪ One example is “ glowing golden grains”
o Assonance
▪ Repetition of sounds in multiple words. Assonance describes repeated vowel sounds
in the middle of words with different consonant end sounds.
▪ Repeated middle vowel words
▪ Example: faded gray waves
o Consonance
▪ While alliteration occurs at the stressed syllable in each word, consonance can
happen anywhere, especially at the end of a word.
▪ When consonance happens at the end of the word along with assonance, it’s a
rhyme.
▪ Consonant at the end repeats
o Onomatopoeia
▪ Bang! Zip! Screech! Sound words that are written out are known as onomatopoeia.
Poetry uses onomatopoeia for both sensory language and short choppy lines.
▪ Words that shows sounds
o Rhyme
▪ Rhyming words have the same end sound repeated at the end of a line
▪ Free verse don’t use rhyme scheme
 ▪ Combination of assonance and consonance
o Rhythm
▪ Rhythm is its beat and pace. It marks the accented syllables as well as the
downbeats. You can track its rhythm by feet and meter.
▪ pattern of stressed and unstressed syllable in a line
▪ Metrical Rhythm/Patterns
● Iamb / Iambic (US, SS)
o Most common rhythm pattern
o Alternating unstressed (US) and stressed (SS)
o 2 syllable metric pattern
● Trochee / Trochaic (SS, US)
o Starts with a stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllable
o 2 syllable metric pattern
● Spondee / Spondaic (SS, SS)
o Made up of two or more consecutively stressed syllable
o give a poem a sense of urgency
o 2 syllable metric pattern
● Anapestic (US, US, SS)
o 3 syllable metric pattern
● Dactylic (SS, US, US)
o 3 syllable metric pattern
▪ Notes:
● Catalexis / Catalectic
o this is what is called if the foot is lacking
● Meter / Foot / Feet
o these words are all the same pertaining to the division of words
o the number of feet in a line
● Kinds of Metric Lines
o monometer - 1 foot in a line
o dimeter - 2 feet in a line
o trimeter - 3 feet in a line
o tetrameter - 4 feet in a line
o pentameter - 5 feet in a line
o hexameter - 6 feet in a line
o heptameter - 7 feet in a line
o octameter - 8 feet in a line
o Repetition
▪ repeated word/line in succeeding stanzas

● Figures of Speech
o Simile
▪ comparison with the use of the words like or as
o Metaphor
▪ Comparison without the use of the word like or as
o Personification
▪ is when an object which is not alive is given human qualities
o Irony
▪ Statement which conveys the exact opposite meaning of what is literally being said
▪ Example: fire station burns down
o Metonymy
▪ figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something
closely associated with that thing or concept
o Synecdoche
▪ figure of speech in which part is made to represent the whole or vice versa
 ▪ Example: new wheels – new car

Lesson 3: Brunei

Literatures
● The Oilfield Laborers - by Anonymous
● Travel Brunei Darussalam Poem - by John Tiong Chunghoo
● Borneo’s Green Heart - by Anonymous

Lecture Topics
● Brunei
o This is the third largest oil producer in Southeast Asia and the 4th largest producer of LNG in
the world.
o They are known for their products primarily oil, gas, and petroleum.
o National currency is known as the Bruneian Dollar. Brunei is a rich country and has been
one of the wealthiest countries for multiple decades due to its abundant oil and gas reserves
o Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muʿizzaddin Waddaulah is the head of the government of Brunei and
the 29 sultan of Brunei.
o Cured oil and natural gas export has made Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah one of the world’s
richest people. Forbes ranked Sultan Bolkiah as the world’s richest man in 1988, he’s been
near top on such lists ever since. Through his wealth, Bolkiah has commissioned many
impressive structures in Brunei including the National Mosque and Istana Nurul Iman, the
world’s largest residential place.
o Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital of Brunei. Bandar Seri Begawan and Belait District are
the oil capital of Brunei. Kampong Ayer is the world’s largest water village.
o The strongest Southeast Asian currency is the currency of Brunei and Singapore, because
the value of these currencies can be interchangeably used in those countries.
o Bahasa Melayu is the country’s official language, a variety of this is taught in school and
used in mass media. Brunei Malay, language of everyday communication. Literacy rate in
Brunei 97.2 and also polygami is legal in Brunei.
o The government of Brunei is an absolute monarchy. The monarch is the highest and most
powerful authority in the country.
o It’s official name is Brunei Darussalam that means abode of peace.
o The primary means of transportation in Brunei is local buses and taxis.
o In terms of religion, Islam is the official religion in Brunei. 79% are Muslims, 9% are
Christian, 8% are Bhudist, and others are 5%.

● Types of Characters
o Flat Character
▪ The personality of this type of character is:
● predictable
● do not change throughout the story
● one single idea
● we often know little to nothing about their past
▪ Characteristics of Flat Character include:
● one dimensional
● not integral to the plot
● never experiences internal conflict
● doesn’t surprise the reader
o Round Character
▪ The personality of this type of character is:
● complicated like a real human
● fully fleshed out and have backgrounds, goals, and personalities
● surprising and convincing
 ● “The test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a
convincing way. If it never surprises, it is flat.” - E.M. Forster
▪ Characteristics of Round Character include:
● it is important to the plot
● experiences conflict (internal or external)
● it is multi-dimensional
● it is capable of surprising the reader
o Static Character
▪ The movement (refers to characters’ growth) of this is:
● It stays the same from the beginning to the end of the story.
● Asking whether the character has changed or not is an easy way of working
out whether a character is static or dynamic.
▪ Characteristics of Static Character include:
● Supports a leading role, either providing assistance or conflict
● Remains the same from the beginning to the end of a story
● Rarely faces internal (mental) conflict
● Has only one aspect to their personality (e.g., they are only seen as very
happy or very sad).
o Dynamic Character
▪ The movement (refers to characters’ growth) of this is:
● Ability to change their outlook or personality throughout the story
● Dynamic characters can learn a lesson from their experiences that can
change them either good or bad.
▪ Characteristics of Dynamic Character include:
● Is a central character or plays the leading role
● Experiences internal change throughout the telling of a story
● Has more than one aspect to their personality (e.g. they appear outwardly
happy, but on the inside, they are terrified of everything)
● Surprises and delights the reader.

Lesson 4: Myanmar

Literatures
● Close Proximity - by Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay
● The Kindergarten Teacher - by Aung Thinn
● The Wedding Reception - by Nyi Pu Lay

Lecture Topics
● Myanmar
o It was called “Burma” before. Burma was a British country during their reign that lasted from
1824-1948. Myanmar, in 1989, became officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and
Rangoon became Yangon.
o Water festival is also known as Thingyan, the biggest festival in the country.
o Longyi is the traditional piece of clothing that both men and women wear throughout
Myanmar. 2 meter cloth will be wrapped around the bottom half of the body. Then the pattern
of the knot of the longyi symbolizes something. Men's tie is hanging in the front. And if it is
women’s, tuck it inside.
o Myanmar still uses the imperial system. In the imperial system, they measure weight in
pounds, and distances in inches rather than in more common kilograms and centimeters.
o The preferred method of carrying things is on the head.
o The Kingdom of Pagan, birthplace of dominance of the Burmese culture and language in
modern day Myanmar.
o The new capital city that appeared overnight, in October 2005, Yangon was the bustling
capital of Myanmar. A few weeks later, it was no longer the capital and the government staff
 suddenly found that they had to relocate almost 400km up the road to Naypyidaw. The
government built the new city in secret and announced that it was the new administrative
center.
o How to get the waiter’s attention? By making a kissing sound two or three times in the
direction of the person you’re calling.

Lesson 5: Thailand

Literatures
● Boatman’s Love Song - by Anonymous
● Summary Collection of Thai Century Literatures
● Three Line Poem - by Uten Mahamid

Lecture Topics
● Thailand
o It was known as Siam until 1939 and again from 1945-1949. Siam, as Thailand, was officially
called until 1939. Was never brought under European colonial domination, independent
Siam was ruled by an absolute monarchy until the revolution there in 1932.
o Siamese cats are native to Thailand. They believe that cats are holy creatures but it is
proven false that they are worshipping cats.
o Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rice. Rice uses over half the arable land and labor
force in Thailand. One of Thailand’s 8 million farm households in 2020, 4 million cultivate
rice. It is one of the main foods and sources of nutrition for most Thai citizens. Yearly per
capita consumption in 2013 was 114.57 kilo.
o Thailand is a constitutional monarchy much like England. The difference between
constitutional monarchy and absolute monarchy is that in constitutional monarchy it shares
power with the parliament or another legislative body unlike in absolute monarchy that the
monarch has the highest and most powerful authority in the country.
o Around 90% of Thai people are buddhist.
o Muay thai boxing is their national sport and is known as the art of 8 limbs.
o Thailand means land of the free. Thailand being known as the land of the free is a huge
source of pride for the Thai people. Thailand managed to retain its independence whilst the
western powers were carving up and stealing lands in Southeast Asia and all over the world.
And its reference on the country’s national anthem.

● Film Review
o a critical judgment of a motion picture. It focuses on the art of the film maker and evaluates
the techniques employed by the director.

● Elements of Film Review

o Genre
▪ is the kind or type of film. Is it a comedy? Tragedy? Musical? Action? Thriller?
Horror? Sci-Fi? Romance? Historical? Melodrama? Animation?
o Synopsis
▪ is the gist or summary of the film. What is the film all about? What are the objectives
of the film? How were the elements of the story interrelated with one another?
o Characterization
▪ is the development or portrayal of the characters. How will you describe the
characters in the film? What are their deprivations and motivations? Are their acting
skills convincing and powerful for the viewers?
o Sound
▪ is the essential aspect of the film and it consists of SPEECH as the voice of the
actors, the MUSIC as the soundtrack or song laid in the film, and the SOUND
EFFECT or embedded sound in the film.
 o Cinematography
▪ is the manipulation of the filmstrip and photographic image by the camera. How was
the coordination of one shot with the succeeding shot? Does the speed, motion, and
transformation of each photographic image help in the quality of the film?
o Production Design
▪ refers to the costumes and make-ups matched to the characters’ role? Do the props
stimulate the ambiance for the scene? Does the production design depict the setting
of the story?

● Paraphrasing
o is a restatement of an original text or passage.