MODULE 6

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Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and evaluated by the Development
and Quality Assurance Teams of SDO TAPAT to assist you in helping the learners meet
the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming their personal, social,
and economic constraints in schooling.
As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module. You
also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage their
own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks in this module.
For the learner:
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.
The following are some reminders in using this module:
1. Use the module with care.
2. Don’t forget to answer Let’s Try before moving on to the other activities in this
module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate
to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 Let’s Learn

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is to help you master
the literary, biological, socio-cultural, and linguistic context of the 21st century
Philippine literature. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different
learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of
students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But
the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you
are now using.
At the end of answering this module, as a learner you will be able to discuss how
different contexts enhance the text’s meaning and enrich the reader’s understanding
and to explain the literary contexts through exploring the biographical, linguistic, and
sociocultural contexts.

Let’s Try

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. In the Filipino culture, which situation depicts bad omen?

a. when someone bit his or her tongue
b. when a person encountered a black cat
c. when a person ate chicken on New Year’s Eve
d. when somebody dropped a utensil when dining

2. What context of a reading material can be checked to enable the reader to

understand the text better as to its inspiration or connection with the author?
a. political context
b. linguistic context
c. biographical context
d. socio-cultural context

3. Which representation depicts the symbol of gloomy words and acts which are
not sincere?
a. pig head
b. lion’s den
c. crocodile tears
d. monkey business

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4. What is the context being examined when analyzing the events in the past
which has greatly contributed to the plot of the story?
a. political context
b. historical context
c. biographical context
d. socio-cultural context

5. What element of fiction contains the sequence of events in a story which

emphasizes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution?
a. plot
b. theme
c. conflict
d. point of view

6. Who is the Filipino National Artist who authored the poem, A Eulogy of the
Roaches?
a. N.V.M. Gonzales
b. Alejandro Roces
c. Jose Garcia Villa
d. Bienvenido Lumbera

7. When the reader of a text examines the traditions and cultural practices of a
social class or certain ethnicity, what is the context s/he is examining?
a. political context
b. linguistic context
c. biographical context
d. socio-cultural context

8. What is the literary device used by Severino Reyes in his Ang Mga Kwento ni
Lola Basyang which consists of localized stories narrated within a story?
a. flashback
b. local color
c. frame story
d. foreshadow

9. When a reader digests the message of the story through the analysis of the
sentence structure and usage of figurative languages and idiomatic
expressions, what the context of the story s/he is looking into?
a. political context
b. linguistic context
c. biographical context
d. socio-cultural context

10. What is the context of a story analyzed by examining the exercise and crafting
of the law, election, or democracy?
a. political context
b. linguistic context
c. historical context
d. socio-cultural context

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11. Analysis of the movie Heneral Luna was given as an additional task to a
student. What should he do to enrich his historical understanding of the
movie?
a. look into the accounts of how the director Jerold Tarog read several
articles while rewriting a previously written script
b. enumerate the social implications of the involved Spoliarium to the
message of the movie
c. examine the Philippines’ history during the American colonization
d. check the figurative narrations of General Luna

12. What exhibits the theme of Filipino diaspora on works of contemporary

fiction?
a. narrative accounts of the struggles of a transgender
b. a coming-of-age story of a girl trying to understand herself
c. recounts of exploitation and poverty after moving to an urban city
d. a story of an overseas Filipino worker’s difficulties after bringing an
entire family to a foreign land

13. The reader of a speculative fiction explored the superstitious beliefs

embedding within the text. What literary context was being explored?
a. socio-cultural context
b. biographical context
c. historical context
d. linguistic context

Read the excerpt from the poem Eulogy of the Roaches by Bienvenido Lumbera
and answer the questions that follow.

Blessed are the cockroaches.

In this country they are
the citizens who last.
They need no police
to promulgate their peace
because they tolerate
each other's smell or greed.
-Bienvenido Lumbera
Eulogy of the Roaches (Excerpt)

14. What context is being explored when the reader investigated how the
cockroaches were blessed, in relation to them as citizens who tolerate each
other’s smell or greed?
a. socio-cultural context
b. biographical context
c. historical context
d. linguistic context

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 15. From the poem Eulogy of the Roaches, what interpretation is exploring the
linguistic context?
a. the use of verbal irony of praising the roaches of society for being
parasites or pests like a cockroach
b. the use of the word “blessed” to imply praise
c. the use of simile in comparing their living to the state of peace
d. the use of greed to describe the cockroaches

You may answer the questions in an online platform by accessing this link
→ https://www.bookwidgets.com/play/HBDK3HM and type in the password
module6. Get the screen shot of your quiz, download the pdf showing your
quiz results, or share it with your teacher via email.

Lesson

1 Literary Contextual Lenses

This module contains activities and texts to be explored to discuss how different
contexts enhance the text’s meaning and enrich the reader’s understanding as well as
to explain the literary contexts through biographical, socio-cultural, and linguistic
context of any 21st century Philippine literary works. The contexts will provide you
enriching opportunities to understand, process, and value any literary work in greater
depth.

Let’s Recall

The figures of speech allow us to interpret or express meaning beyond its literal
form. It can decorate the words we utter or the speech we prepare where listeners or
readers would be enthralled. Can you recall these figures of speech based on the
examples given? Use the boxes as clues which represents the letters of each figure of
speech.

1. My dad preferred to use his dinosaur

technology whenever he crafts a text
message.

2. The vibrating phone buzzed in my ears,

causing me to be wide awake.

3. We have saved million revised copies of

our thesis proposal.

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 4. As an excuse for being late, Jhon tells us
a fairy tale.

5. The Instagram picture she saw revealed

the dark shades of light.

Let’s Explore

Activity 1 Symbols and Its Meaning

Since figurative language helps us to express meanings beyond words, symbols
also do the same. Whenever there are symbolic words, our minds process its equivalent
meaning. In this activity identify the meaning of the symbols depicted in each picture.

1. 2. Meaning:
Meaning:

This image was marked with This image was marked with a
a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license. CC BY-ND 2.0 license.

3. Meaning: 4. This
image was
marked
with a CC
BY-NC-ND
2.0
license.

Meaning:

This image was marked with a

CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

What are the symbols you have derived from the given images?
Have you considered checking the characteristics of the things
reflected on each image when you derive its meaning? Why?

Let’s Elaborate

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 With the considerations you had in your mind while identifying the meaning of
the symbolic images, a similar process is needed when determining the context of any
literary text.

For a reader to understand the meaning embedded in a text or its message, he or

she should have a knowledge of its context. A context is the background, environment,
setting, framework, or surroundings of events or occurrences. Simply, it means
circumstances forming a background of an event, idea or statement, in such a way as
to enable readers to understand the narrative or a literary piece. It also illuminates the
meaning and relevance of the text, and may be something cultural, historical, social, or
political.

Every author lives in a historical moment, surrounded by events and ideas that
help shape his or her writing. When a reader is familiar with these events and ideas,
which form the text's historical context, he or she will better understand the message
and details of a piece of writing.

Writers also tend to put a great deal of themselves into their texts. Even if they
try to avoid it, their beliefs, education, culture, and experiences usually shine through
their words. Knowing something about an author's life and perspective, namely, a work's
biographical context, can help readers better understand and interpret a text.

In communication and composition, context refers to the words and sentences

that surround any part of a discourse and that helps to determine its meaning.
Sometimes called linguistic context.

In a broader sense, context may refer to any aspects of an occasion in which a

speech-act takes place, including the social setting and the status of both the speaker
and the person who's addressed. Sometimes called social context.

Culture refers to a particular ‘way of life’, involving religion, race and nationality,
as well as things like food, dress code and manners. Furthermore, culture can relate to
art, music, writing and literature itself. Cultural context, which is similarly linked with
social, historical and ideological context, is especially important to note if the author is
attempting to make a comment on an aspect of culture, or the clash of two cultures.

For more details about context in literature, access the link →

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKQ29R1QrsQ .

"Our choice of words is constrained by the context in which we use the language.
Our personal thoughts are shaped by those of others," says author Claire Kramsch.

Let’s Dig In

Activity 2 Literary Context

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 To provide a clearer understanding of the literary context, one approach is to craft
the content summary or the plot of a story by briefly describing the prominent
characters and events in a work of fiction. To do that, analyze the text as to its plot and
fill out the story train on a separate sheet of paper.

Curse

"Why the hell did you come back?" The raging voice boomed inside the four
corners of the old house that I felt the hairs on my back rose in fear.
I stayed still from where I was but when the lady glared at me again, I
unconsciously took a step back. I was shivering; from the cold or because of her stare,
that I couldn't tell. I tried hard to get in as inconspicuous as I could, but she saw me.
For the nth time.
I don't understand why they sometimes give me weird looks. Like I am
disgusting to look at. Like I am scary. I did not do anything wrong.
I only wanted a place to spend the night. It's so dark outside not to mention that
it's raining hard. I know that they wanted me out of their sight. Or lives for that matter.
But they can't just throw me out just because they wanted to. I deserve to be
comfortable in this house, too. I deserve to eat to fill my stomach. I deserve something
to shelter me from anything that could harm me. I deserve all of that and more.
"Oh. Gag it! She's here again. She's going to ruin our lives again. Mom! We need
to get rid of her!" the little girl said with disgust. I saw how her mother nodded in
agreement and saw the determination in her eyes.
But I will still come back. I will always...always find a way to come back. I've
been here before them. This is my home, too.
"Get out! Get out, you filthy creature!" The little girl kicked the side of my body
and I only whimpered in pain. I am so tired from all the running and I don't have any
energy left to defend myself.
With a broken heart, I walked outside and just when I was about to turn around,
the girl slammed the door shut. I bowed my head and felt how the hot tears trickled
down my face. I only wanted to have a good night sleep. I am cold and hungry and in
pain. I won't survive outside.
But I guess this is the fate with the likes of me. They won't accept me. Ever. No
matter how hard I try to fit in, I will always be out of the picture. They will still treat
me like I am some kind of an... abomination. A misfit. A living curse. That I should be
sorry for being me. Or for simply existing.
"That is just right for her, Mom. She brings bad luck." I heard the girl said inside
despite the sound from the pouring rain.
Did they throw me out because I am dirty? Or because---
And before I could even finish my thoughts, flashes of light blinded me a little.
Tires screeching. A couple panicking. And my whole body twitching in pain.

"I have to get out. I think I hit something!" a man's voice said.
"I told you to drive carefully!" a woman's voice replied.
"Oh. It's a cat."
"Good heavens. It's bad luck. Let's just go! Come on!"
I heard the man's footsteps slowly fading and then he revved the engine. I
gasped for air and slowly let the coldness of the night embraced me.
Maybe, this is where I belong. In the dark.
Just like the color of my fur.
from https://www.facebook.com/SobrangShortStoriesPH/posts/3735346686536319
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Activity 3 Socio-Cultural and Biographical Context Analysis
Another way to unlock the context of any literary work is by determining its
social and cultural settings along with the author’s life and perspective while writing
the text. Read the Eulogy of Roaches from
→http://whirlsofambiguity.blogspot.com/2004/12/eulogy-of-roaches.html and
infer the socio-cultural and biographical contexts by answering the questions.

1. What is the current condition of the society where the roaches live in terms of
security, charity, taxes, employment, and death?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the characteristics of the roaches described in the poem?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

3. To whom did Bienvenido Lumbera compared the roaches? Why? Cite a reference.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

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 Let’s Remember

In interpreting a contemporary work of literature, different contexts such as

socio-cultural, biographical, historical, or linguistic background can be explored.
How do contexts enrich the text’s meaning?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s Apply

Activity 4 Text Analysis Linguistic Context

By examining the text’s linguistic structure, a text can be interpreted. Read the
excerpt from Turban Legend of R Zamora Linmark and write the interpretation of the
meaning of balikbayan box. Write your answer on the box provided.

Filipinos will even throw themselves into these boxes, as was the case of the
overseas contract worker in Dubai. The man, an engineer was so homesick that,
unable to afford the ticket-most of his earnings went to cover his living expenses
and the rest to his wife and children-he talked his roommate, who was homebound
for the holidays, into checking him in. He paid for the excess baggage fee, which
still came out cheaper than a round-trip airfare. En route to Manila, he died from
hypothermia.

Vince, who had heard the story from his older sister Jing, didn’t buy it.
There were too many loopholes, too many unanswered questions, like wouldn’t an
x-ray machine in the Middle East detect a Filipino man curled up inside a box? He
simply dismissed it as a “turban legend.”

“You’re missing the point brother,” Jing said. “It’s not the mechanics that
matter. It’s about drama. The extremes a Filipino will go to just to be back home
for Christmas with his family.”
Turban Legend by R Zamora Linmark (Excerpt)

Fill out the diagram with the meaning of the terms inside each box in relation to
the linguistic context of the excerpted story.

Turban Legend

Balikbayan Box

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 Homesickness

Overseas Contract Workers

Let’s Evaluate

Multiple Choice. From the given film, identify the kind of context provided in each item.
Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

A. socio-cultural context C. political context

B. biographical context D. linguistic context

1. Crying Ladies (2003): The movie is about the portrayal of women who cry fake
tears for money. This opportunity sprouted from the Chinese tradition of hiring
criers during funeral wakes.

2. Thy Womb (2012): The womb of a woman in medical term is the uterus which is
a muscular organ of the female mammal for containing and usually for
nourishing the young during development prior to birth, but ironically the movie
depicts a midwife with a barren womb.

3. Buy Bust (2018): The film, involving a team to conduct drug bust was trapped by
settlers in Manila slum after a poor execution of the mission, has been viewed as
a social commentary on the controversial Philippine Drug War initiated by the
Duterte government.

4. Seven Sundays (2017): A widowed father announced his wish, for the remaining
seven weeks of his life after being diagnosed with cancer, to be spent with his
children who were occupied with their own lives’ troubles. It reflects similar
struggles of Filipino family.

5. Four Sisters and a Wedding (2013): The movie ended with the adherence to
Filipino’s cultural superstition on weddings, when the youngest son’s wedding
did not push through due to a death of a relative.

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6. Patay na si Hesus (2016): The movie captured the usual blood is thicker than
dysfunction where a mother, who learned the death of her estranged husband,
forces her apathetic children to join her in a road trip to attend the funeral.

7. That Thing called Tadhana (2014): Fate or destiny, on the title Tadhana, defined
as the will or principle by which things in general are believed to come to be as
they are, is the base force of the story of strangers who decided to go on a trip
together in the process of mending their own struggles.

8. Kita Kita (2017): The title of the movie is a composition of two Filipino words “ki’-
ta” as a verb which denotes the act of seeing or viewing, and “ki-ta’” as a second
person pronoun which pertains to you. It tackles the situational irony of the male
character claiming that the girl he befriended only saw him when she became
visually impaired.

9. The Woman who Left (2016): The movie’s writer, director, and cinematographer
Lav Diaz based the story on Tolstoy’s “God Sees the Truth, But Waits” revolving
on lessons about suffering, simple goodness, and the wisdom of leaving the
vengeance unto the Lord.

10. Never not Love You (2017): The movie emphasized the issues that are all too real
and relatable for Pinoys to mull over—sustaining long-distance relationships in
the face of the Filipino diaspora, sacrificing one’s dream in favor of a loved one’s
ambition, and the downbeat realities of migration.

11. Die Beautiful (2016): The memorized answer of a transgender woman in a gay
pageant "..if I'll die and be blessed to live again, I would choose to be nobody,
nobody but me.", is an ironic situation, when she died due to aneurysm during
the pageant and had undergone make up transformation of famous celebrities
each day of her wake.

12. Gusto Kita with all my Hypothalamus (2018): From the functions of the
hypothalamus, or the small region of the brain, such as releasing hormones,
regulating body temperature, and managing sexual behaviors, the film used the
term hypothalamus instead of the most common heart to evoke the conditions
loving and being loved.

13. Badil (2013): The story revolves around vivid realism on exposing the main
character to the seedy underbelly of local grassroots politics, where money does
all the talking.

14. Metro Manila (2013): The film has reflected the themes of rural exodus and
impoverishment, exploitation, and poverty in the overcrowded urban city.

15. Kid Kulafu (2015): The movie dramatized the life of the boxing superstar Manny
Pacquiao during his childhood, where he himself assisted during the script
writing and interviews.

You may answer the questions in an online platform by accessing this link
→ https://www.bookwidgets.com/play/MBDJ9M8 and type in the password
module6. Get the screen shot of your quiz, download the pdf showing your
quiz results, or share it with your teacher via email.

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 Let’s Extend

Watch any contemporary Filipino movie of your choice and identify the contexts
of the film’s message as to its socio-cultural context, political context, and linguistic
contexts. You may refer to this link → https://letterboxd.com/paolo_the_tps/list/top-
20-contemporary-filipino-movies/ for some contemporary Filipino movies. Then
accomplish the diagram.

Socio-Cultural Context Title of the movie

PASTE
MOVIE
POSTER
HERE
Political Context Linguistic Context

References
Alfar, P. (n.d.) Top 20 contemporary Filipino movies. Letterboxd. Retrieved September
3, 2020, from https://letterboxd.com/paolo_the_tps/list/top-20-contemporary-
filipino-movies/.

Danigrose (2012). Contexts of literary works. SlideShare. June 6, 2012. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/danigrose/contexts-of-literary-works.

Land, K. (2017). What is Context. Youtube. May 10, 2017. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKQ29R1QrsQ.

LiteraryDevices Editors. (n.d.). Context. Retrieved September 2, 2020, from

https://literarydevices.net/context/.

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Nordquist, R. (2020). Context in Language. Thought Co. February 5, 2020. Retrieved
from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-context-language-1689920.

Sobrang Short Stories (2020). Curse. Sobrang Short Stories Facebook Page. April 29,
2020. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/SobrangShortStoriesPH/.

Twoney, E. (2016). The importance of context in literature. VCE Study Guides. June 2,
2016. Retrieved from https://www.vcestudyguides.com/blog/the-importance-of-
context-in-literature.

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 Development Team of the Module

Writer: MS. LOVELYN M. INTAL

Editor: ANGELIQUE P. TAGUBA
Illustrator: MR. ROBERTSON N. BAYLON
Layout Artist: MR. LEO U. PANTI
Management Team: DR. MARGARITO B. MATERUM, SDS
DR. GEORGE P. TIZON, SGOD Chief
DR. ELLERY G. QUINTIA, CID Chief
MR. NOEL T. BALUBAL, EPS-English
MR. QUINN NORMAN Q. ARREZA, SHS Focal Person
DR. DAISY L. MATAAC, EPS – LRMS/ALS

For inquiries, please write or call:

Schools Division of Taguig City and Pateros Upper Bicutan Taguig City

Telefax: 8384251

Email Address: sdo.tapat@deped.gov.ph

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