21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Learning Objectives:
 Appreciate the contributions of canonical Filipino Writers to the development of
national literature.
 Infer literary meaning from literal language based on usage.
 Explain the literary, biographical, linguistic, sociocultural contexts and discuss
how they enhance the text’s meaning and enrich my understanding.
 Produce a creative representation of a literary text by applying multimedia skills.
The Landscape of Philippine Fiction
Fiction
 These are the stories that is entirely made up and is not true.
 They are product of creative minds, and mostly fantasy and unreal in
nature.
 Fiction is everywhere; you read, and watch. It is essential to have the
concept of fiction in your life because it enhances your imagination and
creativity which you may apply in other aspects of your life.

Some Filipino Writers who contributed in Philippine Fiction

 Francisco Sionil Jose - He is a fictionist, essayist. and noveling. He is currently

considered one of the most widely read Filipino authors, having been translate
into many languages worldwide. His usual themes are social struggle and strife
in philippines society.

His Famous works are The God Stealer, Puppy Love and Thirteen Short
Stories and etc.

 Merlinda Bobis – She is a dancer, visual artist, and writer. She was born in
Legaspi City, Albay. She writes in English and Filipino (Tagalog and Bikolano).
She tackles themes of diaspora, immigrant cultures, and magic realism in her
fiction. She was won numerous awards for her literary works.

Her Famous works are “The Sadness Collector”, “Banana Heart Summer”,
and etc.

 Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin (more popularly known as Nick Joaquin)

 Was a Filipino fictionist, historian, and journalist who has written some of the
best short stories and novels in English. He considered to be one of the most
important Filipino writers in English up until now, and was awarded the title
National Artist for Literature in 1976.
His Famous works are the “Summer Solstice”, “May Day Eve”, “The Ballad
of the Five Battles”, and etc.
Elements of Fiction

1. Character
 The character of the story is the one you relate with converse with, or listen
to the thoughts of.
 Sometimes, CHARACTERS also serve as symbols of a story. It may
symbolize a community or an event in history.
 Symbols – The fiction writer can use a character, object, or event to
signify
something else from its original meaning. As the reader, you need to examine
these symbols and come up with your own interpretations.

2. Setting
 The time and place in which the action occurs. Look for clues in the
opening paragraphs of the story.

3. Point of View
 The perspective or vantage point from which an author presents a story.
a. First person point of view – the story is told by one of the characters
in the story. The character uses the pronouns I and we.
b. Third person point of view – the story is told by the narrator who
stands outside of the story and observes the events as they unfold.
The narrator uses the pronouns she, he and they.

4. Theme
- It is the central idea or ideas explored in the story.

Irony
 Part of fiction, especially in short stories is the challenge to the main
characters: what do they want, what do they do to get it, and what is the
intention of the character? Short stories also express a lot of irony in life
situations. There are three kinds of irony that you will encounter in short
stories.

Three kinds of Irony

1. Verbal irony- It is when what is said by the character is not what he or she
originally meant.
2. Situational irony- It is when the actual outcome of a situation is different
from the expected outcome. This is also known as the twists and turn in a
story.
3. Dramatic irony- Which is when the readers know more than the characters
in the story.
The World Created by the Writer

 This world, as imagined by the writer, may be fictional or real depending

on the choice of setting.
 In fiction, more often than not, these world and those in them have
meanings or symbolisms. For examples a place may not just be a place-it
was chosen by the writer because it fits perfectly the situationthe
characters are going or will be going through.
 If the whole story is a symbolism for something, then the story maybe an
allegory.
 Allegory- The writer creates a story in which the characters and events
form a system of symbolic meaning.

The Plot Structure of Fiction

Aristotle once declared that for a story to be considered a story, it must have a
beginning, a middle and an end. Plato agreed to this, and adhered to the idea of an
organic unity in fiction the interdependent parts of a story are all needed to create a
whole. If one part is lost, the story cannot stand on its own.

In the 19th century, a German novelist by the name of Gustav Freytag realized that
plots of stories and even novels have common patterns which can summarized in a
diagram.

Freytag Pyramid

Climax

Rising Falling
Action Action

Exposition Denouement

Exposition- It is the beginning of the story, where in the writer sets the scene by
introducing the characters, describing the setting, and sometimes will give a brief
background of the story.
Before the next part of the Freytag pyramid, that something happens to begin the
action. This called the inciting incident- small events and tell tales sign that tell you
that the conflict is about to begin. It is also sometimes known as the complication of the
story
Rising Action – It is when the complication begins to show itself on the characters,
setting, and events in the story. This is when the story starts to become more exciting.
Climax – It is the event with the greatest tension in the story.
Falling Action- is the result of the climax, and it is the part when things start falling into
place for the characters. The story reaches a premature resolution of the conflicts,
problems, and issues that were raised in the story.

Denouement - is a French term that means the “ending”. This is where the story
reaches its final conclusion and the writer starts to get ready to tell the ending by way of
explain finally, flashback, a peace treaty, or anything to make the story complete.

Genres of Fiction
 Mystery- is a popular genre, boasting a huge established audience. It focus
on a crime, usually murder.
 Romance- is a huge category aimed at diverting and entertaining women. In
a romance novels, you have elements of fantasy, love, adventure, and always
the heroic lover overcoming impossible odds to be with his true love.
 Suspense/thriller- are tense, exciting, often sensational works with ingenious
plotting, swift action, and continuous suspense.

 Horror- filled with gut-wrenching fear, this popular genre keeps readers
turning the blood- filled pages.
- Includes fears of supernatural forces, alien visitations, madness, death,
dismemberment, and other terrifying notions.
 Young Adult- this genre includes any type of novel with a protagonist in the
12 to 16 age range that speaks to the concerns of teenagers.
 Fantasy - It is a genre of fiction that uses magic or other supernatural
elements as main plot element, theme, or setting.
 Inspirational Fiction - Is a fictional works with faith-based themes. It may be
targeted at a specific demographic, such as Christians.

Submitted by: Group 1 - Grade 12

1. Akirayuki, Guardiano
2. Albino, Angelica
3. Bermudo, Alexa
4. Basalo, Christine Gayle
5. Burac, Nicole
6. Concepcion, Dean
7. Dinoy, Christian Josh
 8. Ganiron, Leslie

Submitted to: Ma’am Leonesa Ruga