Mendoza, Samantha Claire C.

GELITPH Y04

Ano ang sinasabi ng apat na stories about the main character? Paano nyo sila kikilalanin?

Although the four stories are fictitious in nature, they present to us realities that a

person may or may not encounter in the course of their lives. Author’s often express

their personal experiences and real life stories that hold a special meaning in their lives

and we see that in the four stories that we have read.

The first story that was tackled, Jun Cruz Reyes’ “Utos ng Hari”, tells the story of

Jojo, who was considered a naughty student, and his experiences with unfair treatment

and favoritism in school. Due to his bad behavior, he was often called out by his

teachers, and one day he was given a failing mark due to his bad behavior. Aside from

him, another character in the story, Minyoung, was also given a failing mark since it was

believed that he did not meet the social standards of the school in terms of his cultural

race. The unfair treatment and favoritism is further proved when two other students,

who have failing grades as well, were given passing marks by the teachers since they

were the teacher’s favorites. As a result of this, we’ve come to see that the main

character in this story is someone who wanted to fight against this unfair treatment in

school. Due to his experiences in school, the main character is someone who wants to

fight for change in the system and fight against the discrimination, favoritism and unfair

treatment that occurs in his school.

As for the second story, Eugene Soyosa’s “Gina”, tells a story of a woman,

named Gina, who willingly fights for what she believes is right and fights for the

conservation of the environment. In this story, we come to learn that she has personally
seen and experienced how the mining in her community has negatively affected not just

their environment, but as well as the health of those living in her community. As a result

of what she has experienced first-hand, we come to know her as someone who actively

fights for what she believes is right and advocates for the preservation of the

environment.

As for the third story, Angelo Lacuesta’s “Life Before X” tells a story of a father

who has become obsessed with finding the identity of X after coming across this on his

son’s computer. In this story, I have come to know the main character as not only

someone who has become obsessed over X, but as well as someone who seems to

continuously attempt to pry into his son’s personal life considering how obsessed he

was with finding out who X is.

Now, as for the last story, Charlson Ong’s “Trouble in Beijing”, tells a story of how

traditional culture can affect a family. In this story, it tells us of the unfair treatment Siao

Mei has received as the daughter of a Chinese family. Despite how she was being

treated, we come to know her as someone who is very strong and persevering for

having gone through what she had gone through.

Ano ang sinasabi ng kanilang kwento sa kwento natin bilang mga Pilipino?

Like what I have previously said, although the four stories are fictitious in nature,

they present to us realities that a person may or may not encounter in the course of their

lives. More often than not, these stories are realities for a lot of Filipinos. Taking for

example Jun Cruz Reyes’ “Utos ng Hari”, favoritism is still very prevalent in schools and I

have also experienced this first hand. Those who are considered the favorites of teachers
often have it easier in comparison to those who aren’t. As Filipinos, I have realized how

often it is for us to always lend a helping hand to the people we often favor over others. It

is just unfortunate that this attitude is often carried over in institutions such as schools

where each student deserves equal opportunities. As for the second story, Eugene

Soyosa’s “Gina”, it is a very common story to hear about people taking advantage of our

environment for personal gain without taking into consideration the negative effects this

may have on our environment. In our country, we see developments here and there and

we often look at these buildings and architecture in amazement as they look like the

ones we see on television. But what we do not see, however, are the trees and land that

have to be destroyed in order to put these up. These days, people are often greedy and

would do anything for their personal gain without thinking about our environment in the

long run. As for the next story, Angelo Lacuesta’s “Life Before X”, made me realize how

common it is for us to be so obsessed with the smallest things that we forget about what

really matters. In this story, it reminded me of how often it is for parents to become so

easily obsessed with their child’s personal lives. Although I do understand that often it

comes from a place of concern and care, I do think that there is still a fine line between

looking after your child and being obsessed with their personal matters. Now, as for the

last story, Charlson Ong’s “Trouble in Beijing” is one that was easy for me to

understand. As someone who comes from a Chinese family, it was easy for me to relate

to the theme of this story. Oftentimes, people can be obsessed with upholding traditions

that more often than not, they do not realize that they are losing what truly matters most

in this life and that is our family.

Ano ang sinasabi ng kwento sa iyo bilang indibidwal?

As an individual, Jun Cruz Reyes’ “Utos ng Hari” has reminded me of how favoritism

is a real concern in schools. As someone who was often the favorite in class, although I do

not relate to Jojo’s experiences and could only sympathize with him, it has made me

realize how truly wrong this is and how it is important for teachers to treat all their

students with equal respect. In addition, Eugene Soyosa’s “Gina” has reminded me of why I

continue to fight and advocate for what I believe is right. In all honesty, when I was reading

the story, I deeply resonated with Gina’s character as I am very vocal about the things I

believe in. Angelo Lacuesta’s “Life Before X”, on the other hand, also reminded me of how I

often obsess over the littlest of things and eventually lose sight of what truly matters.

Growing up, I had an unhealthy obsession with always getting the highest grades in class

that I often would forget to also cherish the time with the people around me especially

knowing that people don’t always stay in your life forever. As for the last story, it’s what

really struck me the most as the eldest and only daughter in a Filipino-Chinese family. This

story reminded me of the expectations my family had of me and the expectations I had to

meet. However, much like the main character, no matter how hard it was, we continue to

remain strong and persevere throughout the pressure.