Reflection

Papers
In
Contemporary, popular and
emergent literature
Cn:5417
Submitted by: MANSUETO, NICOLE E. BSED-
ENGLISH2
Submitted to: MS. MARY FHEB O. RULETE

MARRIAGE IS A PRIVATE AFFAIR

Marriage is already considered a very important part of everyone’s life. It is

sacred and it is a very beautiful event for every couple. The truth is, when two people
love each other for a very long time, getting married shall be considered, unless, you
don’t want to. Some couples have a very strict parents wherein every decisions will
depend on what their parents told them to do. This terrible thing had happened in the
story of “Marriage is a Private Affair” where love and conflict occurred at the same time.
One of the central characters named Nnaemeka is head over heels in love with a
girl from another part of the world whom he met while studying in Lagos named Nene.
He fell deeply in love to Nene despite of their differences. They both come from different
ethnicity, however, this conflict arises later on when they already decided to get married.
Nnaemeka became hesitant upon telling his father about the wedding. This had caused
conflict because his father was against their relationship. They fought for what they
thought is right. They still get married and lived happily. Upon reading the story, I have
realized that parents can really be irrational sometimes since they thought of things that
they expect was best for their children without even knowing that it is already against to
their children’s rights to choose whom to marry. It is normal to look for someone who
has the same ethnicity or religion but parents shall consider the choices that their
children will make as long as it does not affect people in general.
For me, I will never tolerate this manipulation as this will never give me
happiness. I am born to obey my parents but not to the extent that they will control my
whole being. It may be hard for Nnaemeka and Nene to live with a long-term conflict but
for me, it is not the problem. The problem is living with agony and sadness due to the
fact that you are being manipulated by your own parent.

LOVE IN THE CORNHUSK

 The story contains realistic events that usually happens in real life situations. The
story actually includes choices and decisions. It starts with Tinang, the main character,
starting her day by visiting her Senora with an optimistic vibe that has recently changed
to a different one. The author portrays Tinang's life as a battle between two men.
Amado, the Bagobo, and her husband. Two men were different from each other
because Tinang’s husband prefers to live a simple life in a farm. He takes good care of
Tinang and their son. On the other hand, Amado prefers to wear formal clothes.
Tinang’s husband is a loving and caring husband who dreams to give them a better
future.
In life, choices are devoted to us and yet what we do to do is to discern and
stand in the decision we make. Marriage is a thing that must be sacred and must be
protected. As to Tinang, she has made the right thing----to always choose family after
finding out the truth that Amado is still in love with her and she feels the same way too.
Tinang's desire for Amado has reawakened, and reading the letter is a morsel. She
begins by crying, during which she attempts to reminisce her first encounters with him.
Upon that moment, a snake appeared and went near her child. If it was not because of
that snake, she would have chosen to be with Amado again and leave her marriage life
at risk. However, she neglected that idea and emotions stir up.
Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Life is full of unpredictable twists
and turns, and tender-hearted beings must realize that choices taken in the moment
must be carefully considered and the consequences embraced. Tinang has decided to
leave all those memories in the cornhusks and composed herself to face the reality that
she already has a family to protect. People tend to face situations like this which is a
matter of choice. You may take the one that will make you happy or the one that will ruin
everything that you have built for a very long time. However, this must be a thing that
must be taken seriously. We should always live our lives choosing the best thing to do.

CHILDREN OF THE CITY

 The story focuses on a kid named Victor who has to face famine because of
oppression. The story contains realistic events that happened especially in a dark
perilous area in Manila. It actually depicts the cruelty of the world where the less
privileged people live in famine whereas others live in luxury. Politicians' children attend
universities and are therefore spoiled. Orphans, on the other hand, are shunned and left
to scavenge the streets and crawl under the shoes of those privileged ones. The story
explains how life unfolds and how our defiance and actions influence who we become.
Also, the story explained how Victor was being influenced and was addicted to vices.
Imagine living in a happy family in the beginning and later on, life gave you the
cruelest thing that ever happened. Living your life with uncertainty of living is a very
dangerous thing a child would face. Being beaten up is a horrible and terrifying thing
that happened to Victor but he was defiant. He endured the difficulty of selling
newspapers and he even saw his friend died because of a vehicular accident. These
thing shall never happen to a child at such a young age. In most cases, children are
being abused by people because children are determined by nature. For me, it is unfair
to be living with uncertainty where danger is everywhere.
Living under a safe custody is every children’s birthright. It must be provided to
them despite of being an orphan. Life outside your comfort zone is already risky and
you cannot trust people who seem so good to you because they will take advantage of
you and when things get out of control, they will abandon you. Never let life be unfair to
you, instead, continue doing good things in your life instead of wasting it for no reason.
Children like Victor should never lose hope to provide themselves a better future. Be
your own kind of hope and not misfortune.

THE JAY
 Kawabata's short story delves into the story of the mother bird who searched for
her baby and to Yoshiko who was left by her mother. It tells the story of Yoshiko and the
conflict she is going through as she prepares to marry. The blind grandmother sees
through the bird that even in nature, parents want to protect and provide for their
children as best they can even if they get through a tough challenge in life. Yoshiko,
though she is unaware of it, is like the orphaned baby jay, waiting for her father to return
home and assist in providing for her future well-being. She has been waiting for so long
for her father to get back and be happy again.
In the story, the purpose of her marriage is intended to provide for the entire
family, rather than just Yoshiko. She became practical and thought of things that will
give her family a provision. It can also be asserted that Yoshiko and her brother's birth
mother abandoned them in order to protect them, and that she left them behind so that
they could have a better life. Regardless of what happened, they tried their best to
survive. For me, what’s best in living is that you will be able to find success and survival
in your own desired way regardless of what will happen. While Yoshiko's brother
continued seeking out their mother and wishes to meet with her, Yoshiko is skeptical
that his intentions will be fruitful. The grandmother realizes that, like the mother jaybird,
Yoshiko's mother will return to look for her children, and while the reunion will not be
immediate, it will occur eventually.
For me, mothers are the best being that have ever lived. They only want what’s
best for their children. Regardless of being a bird, or a human, mothers are made to be
protective to their children. No matter how hard it is for them to seek for provision to
their family, they still end up providing us the best things in life.

HEART OF SUMMER
 The story delves into the passionate love and obsession of a boy towards his
friend who cannot love him back. His friend only sees him as a friend and cannot
reciprocate the feelings that he has for her. He fell madly in love with his friend and
upon knowing that he was friend-zoned, he became more obsessed. He sees her image
in things which is very unusual to a normal being. This thing is very weird and creepy at
the same time as this may also cause trouble to everyone that he is with.
For me, when you truly love someone, you will never force that love to someone
who can’t return the love that you have for him or her. It is just a matter of risk at some
point and may also ruin your well-being. Once you love, you become unstable because
you will start to overthink. It is necessary to spare yourself some respect and self-love.
Never let love consume you and never pour so much love to someone if you know the
feeling is not mutual. As to the story, the boy ended up harassing another girl whom he
thought was the same girl that he loved for a very long time. The girl was frightened by
his creepy actions and even defended herself from a possible harm. The boy ended up
going to the waves and killed himself.
In the story, the man could not accept the fact that he was unable to achieve his
desire to let the woman love him back, he became persistent which made him meet his
fate of dying so early. In life, when you force something that was never meant to be in
the first place, you will be facing consequences and will only cause trouble to the people
around you. Learn to wait for fate to go under your nose and be patient because love is
not about the love you give to someone, it is how you love yourself first before anyone
else and if it meant for him, it will be given to him.