LITERATURE OF THE WORLD

1. LITERATURE OF THE WORLD

Learning Outcomes: 

 Understand and appreciate literary texts in various genres across rational

literature 

 Demonstrate understanding and appreciation of 21st Century literature of

the world through: 1. A written close analysis and critical interpretation of a
literary text in terms of forms and theme, with a description of its context
derived from research. 2. A critical paper that analyzes literary text in
relation to the contexts of the reader and the writer or a critical paper that
interprets literary text using any of the critical approaches. 3. An adaptation
of a text into other creative forms.

2. LITERATURE OF THE WORLD

There is a lot to be said about the diversity and universality of world

literature. The distinct language and inventiveness of certain literature
coming from different continents showcase the lives and emotions of their
people, while offering the world a view of what happens in their society. 

    A good example is the common themes of diaspora in Asian and African

literature, magic realism in Latin American literature, and societal issues in
the classical literature of Europe and North America. Some of the
contemporary writers nowadays are quite adept at portraying their cultures
through fiction.
             Some of these are Charlson  Ong's epic novel Banyaga, which
narrates the plight of Chinese-Filipino boys and their hardships in the
country; Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns is set in Afghanistan
and tells the story of two women who are placed in a situation that leaves
them no choice but to depend on each other; Haruki Murakami's The Wind-
Up Bird Chronicle tells the story of a man searching for something and his
tales of another world; and Chinua Achebe's classic Things Fall Apart is all
about a tribe in Africa that chronicles its societal issues and battles against
outside colonizing forces.
              Have you heard of these following books? A good way for you to
familiarize yourself with these literary works is through the next activity.
Choose your group mates and collaborate on a 10-minute audiovisual
presentation (AVP) that represents a nation and its literary works.
 THE FILIPINO-CHINESE IN WORLD LITERATURE

           Ethnic Chinese and Native Filipinos have interacted with each other
since the 9th century, when the Chinese sailed toward the Philippines to
barter and trade items. Some of them stayed in the islands and
intermarried with the daughters of prominent tribes. Thus, the history of the
Chinese and Filipinos is very much intertwined not only in local history, but
in world history as well. The blend of these two cultures is still prominent in
our society today. As you can see, almost 20-30% of our culture has
Chinese ancestry.
             Filipino-Chinese (or also commonly known as chinoy) literature is
an important part of Philippine literature for it is a melting pot of two cultures
and the unique experiences that being a part of this melting pot brings. It is
important to recognize Filipino-Chinese literature in world literature, for it
may impart the experiences of being a product of two different (and
oftentimes contrasting) cultures, which is a common experience in the
global context.
          Here is an excerpt from one of the best novels written about Filipino-
Chinese life here in the country.

Charlson Ong is a Filipino-Chinese writer who has penned award-winning

works in Philippine literature. He is also a well- known fictionist who has
published collections of his short stories. He is best known, however, for his
novels Embarrassment of Riches (2002), Banyaga: A Song of War (2006),
and Blue Angel, White Shadow (2010). He currently teaches at the
University of the Philippines-Diliman.