PLIANT LIKE THE

BAMBOO
by I. V. MALLARI
 Learning Objectives
 Appreciate the contributions of
canonical Filipino writers to the
development of national literature
 Compare and contrast literary
creations reacting to the legendary
account of the origin of the Filipino
 Write an essay expressing one’s own
views about the choice of national
symbolic representations of the
Filipino
 Unlocking of difficulties
1. Yield – to produce or provide
2. Benevolence – an act of kindness
3. Forbearance – the quality of
someone who is patient and able to
deal with a difficult person or
situation without becoming angry
4. Sturdy – strong and healthy
5. Peculiar – not usual or normal
 Unlocking of difficulties
6. Plague – a large number of harmful
annoying things
7. Wiry – very thin but strong and
muscular
8. Unperturbed – unambitious; unskilled
9. Dream – a series of thoughts, visions
or feelings that happen during sleep
10. Pliant - able to bend without
breaking
 I.V. MALLARI
An educator and noted literary
author during the early post-
colonial era, wrote and published
different texts including tales,
essays, and an auto psychograph.
 I.V. MALLARI
Among his published works are three
books: Tales from the Mountain
Province, The Birth of Discontent,
and The Vanishing Dawn, from
which the following essay was taken
under the title “The Filipino
Philosophy.” the essay highlights the
Filipino’s resiliency during periods of
alien domination and times of crisis.
Examining and Responding to the Text
Answer the following questions. Share
your responses with the class.
1.What fable does I.V. Mallari choose
as takeoff for his essay? Is it
appropriate? Why?
2. What examples does he cite? To
prove his contention that “the Filipino
is like the bamboo?”
Examining and Responding to the Text
3. According to the essay, what is the
Filipino’s philosophical outlook about
life which accounts for his response to
foreign domination and crisis?
4. What justification that the author
give for this view about life? Pick out
the quotable lines which give reasons
for such an outlook.
Examining and Responding to the Text
5. How valid are the contentions and
justifications mentioned to prove that
the Filipino is indeed “pliant like the
bamboo?”
6. Is being pliant like the bamboo tree
totally positive trait of the Filipino?
Why?
7. Is being pliant like the bamboo tree is
still evident among Filipinos today? If
not, how do you think the Filipinos have
changed?
 Noting and Appreciating Literary
Craftsmanship
Pick out lines in the essay that make use
of these literary figures of speech.
1. Simile – a comparison which shows the
similarity of two different thing using
“like” or “as”
2. Metaphor – a figure of speech which
compares two unrelated things that
share some attributes
3. Personification – a human behaviour is
given to non-human items
 Let’s do this…
The following are pairs of words taken
from the essay. How are they related
in meaning? Write S if they are
synonyms, A if they are antonyms, and
I if they differ in intensity of shades
in meaning.
____ 1. stood fast – withstand
____ 2. yield – tumbled down
____ 3. benevolence - magnanimity
 Let’s do this…
____ 4. patience – forbearance
____ 5. cut off – shoot forth
____ 6. dream – vision
____ 7. sturdy – robust
____ 8. come back – driven away
____ 9. chance – circumstance
____ 10. peculiar – inexplicable
____ 11. plague - pestilence
 Let’s do this…
____ 12. wiry – nimble
____ 13. unperturbed – serene
____ 14. gave way – tumbled down
THANK YOU!!!

Prepared by:
KAREN N. TAÑALES