1. How would you describe the persona and the persona's father?

How would you describe

their relationship?

The persona is a boy, innocent, scared, yet, is curious.

      The persona's father is strong, strict, obedient (to his commander).
      As we look through the monologue of the child, we can feel that his relationship with his
father is distant. It is surrounded by fear of being snapped at or scolded upon. We can also
sense in line 17 that the father does not show much loving affection to his son, but just a
disturbance to his office.

The persona is a child that is curious about the picture of Apo on the wall. His father is
strict and works for the government (he's a soldier). Their relationship is like a boss and
employee because the persona needs to follow what his father wants in order for his father to
become happy.

2. Who is Apo in the poem? Cite evidence to support your answer.

     Apo is Ferdinand E. Marcos. Apo in Ilocano language means, "sir" or "master". It is also an
endearment term for the elderly.
     Marcos was born in Ilocos Norte. Ilocanos take pride in calling Ferdinand Marcos "Apo". He
is a superhero, an Ilocano pride.
    In the poem, we can claim that the "Apo" that was mentioned is Ferdinand Marcos. A line
states "so Apo could, you know, hang around the wall".  It has been an SOP that in government
offices the portrait of the President shall be hanged on the wall.
    In addition, this poem portrays a situation during Martial Law.

3. Why is Apo compared to "scary" Jesus in the hallway? What do they seem to have in
common?
     In Christian Religion, Jesus has been described as omnipresent. He knows just about
everything and anything whether it is an overt or covert action.
    The child sees Apo as a figure like Jesus that whatever he does, it will be seen by Apo. This
can be seen in the line "Apo  on the wall was already looking at me while I moved around". 
      Yet, unlike Jesus, the child adds the adjective "scary", to show his fear with Apo.

4. In the poem Apo on the wall, what does the last line "I know, I know what you're doing"
mean? How does the last line "I know, I know what you're doing" control the persona's
behavior?
 
   This intensifies the portrayal of fear of the child to Apo, that even in a photo, he feels the
presence of Apo, and anything he does may become something for him to be sent in trouble.
5. How does this poem provide the reader with what martial law was like?
    Martial law is depicted as something horrific that even in the innocent eyes of a child, fears
strike his every move. That even a lifeless picture can send chills down a child's spine.
    How much more to those who knows exactly what's happening outside the premises of their
homes.

In lines 12-13 in the poem, there is the use of the words “snappy” and “snapped”, respectively.
What do these words mean? How do they add to the poem in terms of sound? How do they
add to your understanding of the relationship between the father and the son?

           Snappy means to be able to move quickly while being marked by vigor. On the other
hand, snapped means to utter sharp biting words. These other words add to the poems sound
by providing words that seem to be sounding similar. They aid to understand that the father
was difficult with his son by being particular about following the rules.

4) How would you describe the relationship between the persona’s father and Apo? What does
this tells us about the father’s perspective about martial law?

The relationship between the persona’s father and Apo is that of a loyal servant and a king. This
tells us that whatever Apo decided to do, the persona’s father will surely follow.

5) What kind of values does the persona’s father want to teach to his child, specifically, about
what it means to be a man? Do you agree with this values? Why or why not?

The values that the father wants to teach his child are discipline and respect for the elders and
those who are much higher than you, even if they are not around. 

Yes, I will agree with these value because if we respect others, they will also respect us back. We
need to follow the people who have authorities to avoid being reprimanded.

Read the last line of the poem. What does it mean? How does this regulate the persona’s
behavior?
          This connotes the feeling of the Filipinos who were afraid over the power and authority
Marcos’s dictatorship. Their fear is self-imposed prison that kept them from having their human
rights, freedom of speech and voice of justice.
Do you think the persona’s perspective about martial law is the same as his father’s? Why or why
not?
            
          No, the narrator was clearly juvenile and shallow. His curiosity was all in. His father once
told him: that was no place for a boy, only men. The narrator thought, it means so he doesn’t
roam around and touch his father’s things that may injure him. But by analyzing that statement,
it probably means more than that, isn’t it? At his young age, he can’t fully understand what his
father was really trying to mean, he can only interpret them literally.

No, the narrator was clearly just a curious child. When his father told him not to roam around
in his office, the boy thought that touching his father’s things might injure him.

How does this poem provide the reader a glimpse of what martial law was like? How did the poem
make you feel?
        It is a reflection of the scenario of what and how Filipinos experienced the tragic and traumatic
events throughout the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. Apo on the wall
shows the real situation concerning the different perspectives between millennials and those
who lived through Martial Law.

How did this poem

How does this poem provide the reader a glimpse of what martial law was like? How did the poem
make you feel.
        It is a reflection of the scenario of what and how the Filipinos experienced the tragic and
traumatic event throughout the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. Apo on the
wall shows the real situation concerning with the different perspective between millennial and
those who lived through Martial Law.