ASEAN LITERATURE ASYNCHRONOUS ACTIVITY 3

INDONESIA LITERATURE

GROUP 1
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY

ELET 3101
BAUTISTA IRISH B.

SUBMITTED TO: MRS CHRISTINE A. INTAC

NOVEMBER 29, 2020
FICTION #1: “Mrs. Geni in December” by: Arswendo Atmowiloto

A. Give the meaning of the following words.

1. Bronzing- style of make-up that infuse cigarette smoke on to the face. Applying
a bronze not gold, hue to the skin.

2. Gorge- a narrow valley between hills or mountains, typically with steep rocky
walls and a stream running through it. A road near the cliff.

3. Infusion- delivery of liquid medicine or treatment through a vein.

4. Mantra- chant

B. Give the different mood or emotions expressed in the following statement.

1. “This child is already pregnant. Why are you hiding it? Why are you embarrassed?”
ashamed
2. “Can’t be like this. You have to be happy first.” – cheerful
3. “You all stress about working out an auspicious date, what sort of matching clothes to
have, and it all has no connection with the marriage itself.” devastated
4.“Because something strange is thought of as normal, the people who do not marry,
who are widows or widowers, are even thought of as strange.” execrate
5. “I’ve never thought about getting divorced. Have I thought about killing him? Often.”
sarcastic

C. Answer the following questions

1. What belief does Mrs. Geni hold about marriage? How does this belief influence her
work as a makeup artist for bride-to-be? Mrs. Geni believes that marriage is joy and
happiness that is why she makes all her customer the most beautiful bride that
other make-up artists cannot do.

2. Mrs. Geni considers marriage as “not a success,” how does this idea relate to her
own marriage and her reason for marrying her husband? -The marriage of Mrs. Geni
is not success because she and Mr Geni didn't end up being together. She only
married Mr. Geni at the time because it was time to get married because of her
age like everyone else.

3. How does Mrs. Geni react on the upcoming marriage of his husband to his second
bride? What does she mean when she says that she will personally do the makeup for
her husband’s second bride?
She is still happy despite of what happened and she keep in pursuing in doing
the make-up of the bride of her ex-husband because she wanted her to feel joy
once in her life and she do believe that marriage is one of most unforgettable
and happiest moment that a bride could ever feel.
4. Whenever Mrs. Geni does the makeup for the brides who are second and third wives,
she makes them feel the joy of wedding ceremony. What does this action reveal about
her attitude toward marriage? Mrs Geni is one of the kindest woman. She made
sure that the bride is the most beautiful woman on her wedding. Even though you
are a second or third wife, she still wants to experience joy she experienced
when she got married.

5. What is the significance of this concluding statement from Mrs. Geni, “Let the
buffaloes experience happiness, just as we have believed all this time that marriage is
happiness”?

Marriage is one the unforgettable event in a woman’s life. She wanted the bride to
be happy and feel the love where she will be creating a great memories that she
will cherish and will last till the end.

FICTION #2: Only in Poetry by Ajip Rosidi

Answer the following questions.

1. The first stanza suggests that a poem is created out of a challenging experience
as the speaker relates this creative process of poem-making to a long and lonely
day of a typical farmer on a rice-field. What can a reader benefit from this craft
created from a challenging experience? What kind of connection can he or she
make to benefit and better appreciate poetry?
The writer/author of poem wants to convey the readers to be diligent and
hardworking to be able to achieve their dreams so that they can live well.
She/he used deep words so that the readers will be curious and think very
well what the poem is really all about.

2. The speaker describes the unveiling of hidden meaning of a poem as a continuously

slow movement from heaven and earth? What do heaven and earth symbolize in this
stanza? How do these symbols relate to the process of interpreting a poem? How is the
allusion of Adam searching for Eve recounted this process of interpretation? In life we
encountered a lot of hardships and trials. Sometimes in our lives it is inevitable to be
sad. There will always be a time when we stumble but all of these also serves] as
a weapon to keep on fighting and believing. Challenges become our motivation to
work hard to be able to attain our goals in life..

3. The third stanza narrates a poet’s struggle in conveying his or her message to the
readers. Characterize this struggle. How should a poet approach this struggle to
overcome it? How does the image in the fourth stanza communicate the outcome of
overcoming this struggle?

Some readers may not understand it well because of those deep words that the
writer used. But specifically the author stills pursue to write the poem and put
deep words to be able to convey the message into the readers.
4. To which do the “iron fingers of Time” in the fifth stanza pertain? What effects can it
bring to the lives of the readers? 5. What does the concluding stanza suggest on the
nature of poetry?
The “iron fingers of time” refers to your dream. It has a meaningful message that
says we need more time in chasing our dreams.

FICTION #3: “The birth of a poem” by: Subagio Sastrowardojo

Answer the following questions.

1. What human characteristics are endowed to the subject of this literary work? As we
grow older we experience and felt a lot of emotions and hardships that molds us
and serves as a guide to become a better version of ourselves every day. In this,
we became much stronger and cautious in choosing and deciding the right path
for us.

2. What effect does this endowment of human characteristics bring to the subject of the
poem and to the reader? Our selves are the one who is responsible in every action
and decision we make. How we grow as a person really depends on what we want
in life. Trials and success will depend on us own because we have free will to
decide and choose. And we obligated to the possible consequences of the
decisions we make.
3. How does the use of personification help in conveying the central idea of this
metapoem?
It helps the reader to understand more the message of the poet.

4. Who owns the experience brought by poetry – the author, the persona, or the reader?
Make an argument on this issue
Based on my own opinion it is the persona because it’s the voice chosen by the
author in artistic purposes. The poet is all about on how the persona will be
attached in the poem. Maybe the author experienced it but still the persona owns
the experience and makes it more meaningful.