1.

Summary and Background of the text

"The Mats," written by Francisco Arcellana, is a short story about a father who returned home

after working in a neighboring province. Before returning home, he wrote his family a letter

about a real weaver artist who creates impressive mats and decided to bring home some of this to

his whole family. The family became excited about the news. They will not receive an ordinary

mat but a customized mat with their names and color based on their birthstone. But, mats are not

something new to them. Nana Emilia, who is Mrs. Angeles' mother, had given the couple a

beautiful mat on their marriage. It had been with them since then. The beautiful mat was only

used on their wedding night and special occasions after that. When Mr. Angeles finally arrived,

the kids were delighted to get their customized sleeping mats. Mr. Angeles handed out the mats

to his wife and his children while pointing out the names on the mat. They were all finished;

however, three mats remained. Those mats were for their children who passed away.

2. Reading and Interpretation

Thesis Statement: The Mats depicts a typical Filipino family culture and presents the

physical and different ideal aspects of it, precisely symbolism and imagery.

Major Points:

Cultural Criticism- Francisco Arcellana is one of the writers who depict a Filipino

tradition and value in their literary work. The Mats discusses a typical Filipino family

culture which describes the relationship between the family and household members who

have passed away. We should consider that The Mats was written by Francisco Arcellana
in the 1950s. The readers can tell that in the 19th century, it is one of the cultural

traditions to give mats as presents during weddings, birthdays, and other special

occasions by families. For Mr. and Mrs. Angeles, the mat was a gift for their wedding. It

also became a ritual to the family to let the children sleep on the mat if they were ill. In

the text, the family also portrays a typical large Filipino household considering the

number of children, eleven in all. It also depicts a Filipino lifestyle where the father is the

family's breadwinner and the mother, a housewife. We can see how close the family is

and show how important it is for Filipinos to eat together at the dining table in the line 'In

the evening when all the children were home from school she asked her oldest son, José,

to read the letter at the dinner table.' We can also say how sentimental Filipinos can be in

the line, "No matter how painful it is, we should not forget the people who passed away

because they had been a part of our lives, and we should respect them by

commemorating them." The line also shows the theme of the story which we can tell that

Filipinos often link their memories with an object, and for the Angeles family, they

associate it with mats.

Psychoanalytic Criticism - We can see the presentation of the physical aspect and

different ideal aspects of Filipino culture such as family values, respect, emotions,

affection, and more by applying psychoanalytic criticism to some of this short story's

elements, precisely symbolism and imagery. These are abundantly included in the story's

lines as well as the characters' dialogues. Even the story's title is a piece of symbolic
imagery. Even the same object was assigned different symbols and different meanings

depending on how it was portrayed in the imagery.

Here, we examine the characters and elements and what they show about our

culture:

First is Mr. Jaime Angeles, the caring husband and responsible father represent

the pillar and head authority of a Filipino family. He is the breadwinner and is

responsible for his family's needs, demonstrating his commitment and affection. This is

shown at the start of the story as it was mentioned, "For my family, Papa's homecoming

from his many inspection trips around the Philippines was always an occasion to

remember." We can say that this character is competent and appreciated by his family

because they constantly look forward to and honor his return. He also provides gifts and

presents to his family as stated, "I have just met a marvelous mat weaver – a real artist –

and I shall have a surprise for you. I asked him to weave a sleeping mat for every one of

the family. I can hardly wait to show them to you." Furthermore, when "He had brought

home a lot of fruit from the fruit-growing provinces he had passed in his travels." This

symbolizes being responsible and thoughtful.

Now the most symbolic element, the special mat itself, is described in different

imagery elements, its appearance, the designs it has, the folds, the feeling of comfort

when lying on it. The mat is the family's diary. It shows how sentimental the Filipino

culture is. Then the personalized mat of Jaime Angeles. "His mat was simple, and the

only colors on it were purple and cold." The simplicity symbolizes our cultural modesty.

Then, the personalized mat of Emilia Angeles, as stated, "It was a beautiful mat. There

was a name in the very center of it: Emilia. Interwoven into the large, green letters were
 flowers—cadena de amor." This shows our cultural view towards the mother as the

symbol of love and unity within the Filipino family. Moreover, the personalized mats of

the living Angeles children, the mats are symbols of agreement, a form of obligatory

contract to be completed by the children. "You are not to use the mats until you go to the

university," although the mat was given, it still needs to be earned to enjoy its comfort. In

our culture, the sweetest, most precious things are earned, not received freely, and

success is an achievement, and comfort is the reward. Lastly, the dead Angeles children's

personalized mats reflect our cultural characteristics of sentimentality, respect, love, and

acknowledgment of the dead. They have a unique place in our hearts even though they no

longer exist.

Reader response

As we started reading, we did not have any interest in the story, and we thought it was

dull and boring. It did not have anything special to capture our interests; however, as we got

deeper into the story, we found ourselves becoming more intrigued by the story and its meaning.

While it might be boring at the start, we still thought it was a well-written story. Although we do

not have any experiences that can be advantageous in empathizing with the characters, we too

have a close-knitted family that allows us to somewhat picture the characters' situation and feel
their emotions. This story allowed us to feel and see for ourselves the essence of Filipino culture

and values. It is a story that reminds us of the importance of culture in the Filipino people's lives.

First and foremost, The Mats by Francisco Arcellana allowed us to see and feel one of the

most important Filipino values - a deep sense of having a close-knitted family. Based on

observation, we believe that we Filipinos are widely known for having strong and close family

ties. We prioritize our family above all else. Filipinos have such high regard towards their

families to the point that they keep them intact throughout the years. In the story, they depicted a

very traditional Filipino family setup. The father, Mr. Angeles, is the breadwinner who provides

for the family, while the mother, Mrs. Angeles, is a housewife who is left to run the house and

tend to the needs of their respectful and loving children. Moreover, this story shows that even

death cannot separate Filipinos from their deceased family members; just like the lines of Mr.

Angeles in the story, “We must not ever forget them,” “They may be dead but they are never

really gone. They are here, among us, always in our hearts.” This is a testament to how much

Filipinos value and love their family. Death may separate us physically, but our strong bond as a

family can never be broken.

In the story, we realize that Filipinos are very generous and thoughtful. We thought of

our parents and family members while reading the story because some of them are working

abroad. They always think and show concerns to their family members left at home, and they

even neglect their own personal concerns and happiness for us because they simply want what is

best for us and to let us live in a flourishing life. We have thought of one example that every

Filipinos do to make their family the happiest, sending balikbayan boxes. It has become a
common phenomenon that reflects the Philippines' distinct culture, which goes beyond humility

and hospitality. Just like Mr. Angeles, where he bought a mat for gifts to his children. It was not

just an ordinary mat but a beautiful, unique, and memorable hand-weaved mat with a symbol that

meant something special to his children. They felt delighted when they received the gifts from

their father. Like us, we also felt the happiness when our parents give us pasalubongs after their

work, and even if that pasalubong is not that worth a thousand pesos, we know that it was

something special and memorable. They always continuously consider what to bring at home,

which they know that their children would be the happiest as what Mr. Angeles did in the story.

We believe that Filipino family cultures permanently bind us with each other in sickness

and health. This story allowed us to feel and see for ourselves the essence of Filipino culture and

values. It is a story that reminds us of the importance of culture in the Filipino people's lives. We

believe that we are known for our strong and close family ties. No matter what happens, love

remains the guiding bond we have as a family. Despite their physical absence, they will remain

alive and forever in our hearts.

Script:

Do all of you love reading short story literature? If you do, this podcast episode today is

perfect for you!

Good day everyone! I'm Brigette Temprosa, and this is Literature Pod! I'm back at it

again with another podcast! For today's episode, we will talk about a short story entitled

"The Mats" written by Francisco Arcellana. And guess what?? I invited four (4) guests

today to share their thoughts and insight about that story. Isn't it exciting?
Brigette: Before we start, I will introduce our lovely guests. First of all, let us welcome a known

short story writer and journalist, Ms. J.Kylene Lumusad! Second, a poet and also an English

teacher, Mr. Jack Silva! Third on the list is a literature teacher that will share some deep insights

today, Ms. Ericka Sienes! And last but not the least, a critic and a blogger who loves reading

literature, Ms. Belle Kate Cual!!

To start our podcast, I will share with you all a summary of the short story.

Let's begin!

(start basa sa summary)

Brigette: That's it for that short story. Guys, Isn't it interesting? What could be the deep meaning

of that "Mat"? Are you all still confused and curious? Even me, I'm still wondering what it could

be. To discover and answer our confused state of mind, let us now proceed and listen to the

reading and interpretation of our short story by our guests. Let us call on Ms. J.Kylene Lumusad

to start the interpretation.

JK: Thank you for inviting me to your podcast, Brigette. It is an honor to be here and share my

argument on what the text is all about and what the text reveals. For me, The Mats depicts a

typical Filipino family culture and presents the physical and different ideal aspects of it,

precisely symbolism and imagery. I think all of us can agree with this, right? I have observed

that there are cultural points found in the text.

*Ako part*

Brigette: Thank you for sharing your ideas, J. Kylene. I agree with all of what you said. Would

you like to add some arguments you have in mind, Jack Silva?
 Mr. Jack Silva

(second interpretative strategy)

Ericka: First of all, in behalf of Ms. Belle, I would like to extend my gratitude to you Bridgette

for giving us this amazing opportunity to share our insights and feelings with regards to the text.

Reader's Response

Ms. Ericka Sienes

(intro)

(body)

Ms. Belle Kate Cual

(body)

(conclusion)

Wow! I did not fail in choosing my guests for today's podcast! They were all fantastic, do

you all agree with me? Because honestly, you should! Thank you so much, my lovely

guests, for sharing your thoughts and having your precious time with all of us today. And,

also to all my podcast followers out there, thank you for tuning in to today's episode. And

I hope you enjoyed and learned something today. Again, this is Literature Pod! 'till my

next episode! Bye!

-end-