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STUDENT’S EDUCATIONAL PACKET

21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Grade12
nd
2 Quarter - Week Fourteen & Fifth teen
Rethinking the Tower of Babel

OBJECTIVES: This lesson explore the themes of homecoming and identity within the Filipino-American
context.
1. Identify representative texts and authors from Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America, and
Africa.
2. Articulate a more nuanced understanding of a multicultural, globalized world.
3. Respond critically to the short story and consequently articulate the responses through a preparation
of a “recipe” for an ideal multicultural setting.

INTRODUCTION: Trackback
The category “world literature” is a rather flimsy and difficult one to define and build on. For one, the range
and reach of the term “world” is as huge as the geographic entity itself. We are talking about an umbrella term
for hundreds of countries, a dozen or so major religions, and thousands of different languages. In the case of
“world literature,” this vagueness can be seen in the task of selecting representative material for a discussion
on the subject.
It is quite difficult to come up with a coherent picture of world literature because the literary traditions of the
world vary in many ways. This is so because the run parallel to the world’s history and the shifting of social and
political landscapes.
Classical Greek literature, for instance, places keen emphasis on the relationship between the arts and the
state. For philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, good art has social and religious functions. As part of their
festivities in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and the arts, the Greeks would flock to open amphitheaters to
watch comedies, tragedies, and satires. Of these three, the one considered the most important was tragedy,
and for Aristotle, the best example of a tragic story was Oedipus Rex. In Aristotle’s view, the story of the fall f
King Oedipus was not just a perfect example of the way a story ought to be structured; the violent scenes in
the play enabled a particular kind of “purgation” (what he calls “catharsis”) that would cleanse the audience
members of negative feelings that, if channeled elsewhere, could become harmful for the state.

Task 1: FOOD AND FUNCTION

This lesson will look at taste and food as cultural objects and markers for identity. To prepare our critical lenses
for this kind of analysis, we will do the following activity. list at least five for uniquely Filipino or Asian dishes
and their social functions, i, e., what personal or social circumstances are in place when they are served. Be
guided by the example below:
DISH SOCIAL/CULTURAL FUNCTION
Lechon Baboy This is a permanent fixture in many Filipino parties. A celebration of a milestone—a
birthday, wedding, or graduation—is rarely without lechon. Lechon is not consumed
alone and is always shared with family and friends. This tells us how much Filipinos
value the companionship and camaraderie of family and friends.
 “AN EARNEST PARABLE”
by Merlinda Bobis

Presentation:
1. Have you tasted any of the mentioned dishes? In what occasion do you often see that dish?
2. Why do you think these dishes are often present in almost all occasions?
DISCUSSION: The Essay Analysis
As it was his turn that day to lose his tongue, he had for breakfast, the creamiest latik, a dish of sticky rice in
coconut milk, served with a large, ripe mango. Then he sang two serenades about love and volcanoes in the
Philippines. He was making the most of his chance for taste and speech, because, an hour later, his Sri Lankan
neighbor would be at the door, awaiting her turn. Already, she would be dreaming of pappadums and hot
curries, not quite as spicy as her dialect, which would melt on the much-awaited tongue. Their communal
tongue.
Bessel street’s most prestigious possession. Last week, it lodged with the Italian butcher who earlier had
picked it up from the Australian couple. The butcher was not one to waste time. Immediately, he laid this soft,
pink flesh moist with the previous owner’s steak and peppercorns, inside his mouth. Then he ran to the mirror
with his wife and three daughters and began savoring his first words after weeks of silence: “bellisima, bellisima!
The whole family marveled at how, like a pink animal, the tongue rolled its tip to the roof of the mouth in an
intimate curl – “belllllll-isima…” Then they passed the tongue around taking turns to relish old, native sounds,
after which they dined on home-made pasta in a piquant marinara sauce.
The residents of Bessel Street were kin in tongue. The pink flesh toured up and down that street, went into
homes, into mouths of different origins. There was the baker from Turkey, the Filipino cook, the Australian
couple with the fish shop, the Italian butcher, and the Sri Lankan tailor.
One tongue for five home. Not really an inconvenient arrangement, mind you. Of course, when the tongue
was accomplished elsewhere, one could not eat with the usual joys of the palate. But the pleasure of the ear
was enough compensation. Every tongue-owner’s sounding, especially those that were heard noises, seemed
to orchestrate in everyone else’s middle ear into something intimate and comforting. This was inevitable for
muted at different times, they learned how to listen intently to whoever had the chance for speech or song-and
how they spoke and sang and even told stories, usually with brief words of beauty and kindness. The moment
of speech was too dear to be wasted on loose, heart-less talk. It was a shame not to do justice to the little, pink
animal in the mouth.
Thus, everyone spoke, ate, listened with care and passion, and shared various languages and delicacies.
Last week, for instance, the word “bella” found its way into a Turkish ditty whose refrain would later inspire the
new name of the Australian fish shop, which supplied the mussels for the butcher’s marinara that sneaked into
the Filipino chef’s kitchen, where it was blessed- Dios mabalos!- as an afterthought, with a dollop of coconut
cream and some red chilies, well, to give it teeth, the Sri Lankan reckoned before the dish was resurrected
among the pides of the Turkish baker.
Indeed, on their respective days of owning the tongue, each of the neighbors could not help but echo the
mouth of the previous owner. The Italian family eventually developed a taste for the occasional cardamon tea,
the Filipino adventurously spread some Vegemite on his pan de sal and, at one time, the Australian couple
stirred fish heads into their sour soup. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan began hosting summer feats by the Barbie,
and the Turkish baker even serenaded his wife with songs about love and volcanoes as he prepared a tray
almond biscotti for the oven.
You see, the tongue had an excellent memory. Even when if had moved to a new mouth, it still evoked the
breath of spices, sweets and syllables of the former host. It was never known to forget anything, least of all the
fact that it was once the soft pink flesh of a South Coast mollusc; it yielded itself to a higher good one winter
night when the ocean was formidably wild. The six households understood this origin in their mouths. The
tongue was the gift of the landscape. The pides and gulab jamuns, the daily bonjournos and even the highly
spiced takable tang of Australian surf and grit-and truly, like surf after this home truth was dramatized on TV’s
latest culinary show, the heart of one viewing nation swelled and swelled with pride.

Markers:
Liminality – is a metaphysical state of being neither here nor there.
Plot – is the manner in which the story is arranged.
Conflict – is central to the ploting.
The turning point indicates the resolution of the conflict.
Western canon – is a list of literary texts deemed by scholars and writers as “classical” because of their theme,
contribution to literary tradition, or both.
Worldview – is a way of comprehending reality. It encompasses principles, values and philosophies that shape
the way we interpret the things around us.

The Author: Laurel Fantauzzo

Merlinda Bobis is a contemporary Philippine-Australian writer and academic. Born in Legazpi City, in the
Philippines province of Albay, Merlinda Bobis attended Bicol University High School then completed her B.A.
at Aquinas University in Legazpi City. Wikipedia
Born: 25 November 1959 (age 60 years), Legazpi
Awards: Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Poetry, Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Poetry in Filipino
Education: Aquinas University, MORE
Nationality: Australian, Philippine
Books

Fish-Hair Woman,2012
White Turtle1999
The Solemn Lantern...2008
Locust Girl: A Lovesong2015
Summer was a fast train with...1998

LET’S PRACTICE
Task 2: Directions: Respond critically to the following questions and worksheets to process the selection.
1. The tongue is said to be the most “prized possession” of Bessel Street. List down three characters mentioned
in the story and how they value the tongue.
CHARACTER HOW HE/SHE VALUES THE TONGUE

2. Why is the tongue referred to as a piece of “pink flesh” or an “animal?” What is being implied by describing
the tongue that way?
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3. List down three things the tongue has done to the community as a whole.
a._____________________________________________________________________________________
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b._____________________________________________________________________________________
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c._____________________________________________________________________________________
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4. In what sense the tongue “a gift of the landscape?” Why characterize the tongue that way?
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k
5. What made the television viewers “[swell] with pride” when they learned about the people on Bessel Street?
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EVALUATION: Constellate
In groups of four or five, come up with a recipe for what it means to live a multicultural setting. What are the
important values that should be inculcated? How do they blend with other values? Pair your recipe with pictures
that illustrate these values best. Present this to the class.
Grading Rubric

ITEMS EXCELLENT GOOD MAY STILL IMPROVE

1. DISCUSSION
Clarity of Ideas
Organization
 2. PRESENTATIO
3. OVERALL ENGAGEMENT

SYNTHESIZE
Directions: Complete the following sentence
1. World literature is often associated with or equated to _____________________________
2. Taste is not only biological but also ___________________________________
3. Taste is a marker of similarities and _____________________________________
4. A ___________________________________ is a short story usually in prose that is often didactic or
allegorical
5. Merlinda Bobis is a Bicolano writer now based in _______________

ASSIGNMENT
In a three to five paragraph essay, answer this question: “How should a Filipino student read and
appreciate Western literature or literary texts produced by foreign writers?

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REFERENCE
Read more on Brainly.ph - https://brainly.ph/question/765680#readmore