21st Century Literature from the

Philippines and the World

Quarter 1 – Module 4
Texts and Context
 What I Know
TASK 1
Direction: Read the following statements. Identify the word that is being described in each
statement. 

1. It introduces the characters, the setting, and the circumstances of the story. 
2. It refers to the perspective from which we are being told the story. 
3. It is also known as the I–narrator. 
4. It refers to the perspective that is all – knowing and able to get in the minds of all the
characters. 
5. It refers to the point where the conflict or tension explodes or heightens. 
6. A literary approach to interpretation which considers the author’s creative intent. 
7. Those parts of the text that pertain to the “biographical, social, cultural, historical
circumstances in which the text is made.”
• Key What I Know
• Pre-assessment
• 1. Exposition
• 2. Point of View
• 3. First person

• Point of view
• 4. Third person

• Point of view
• 5. Climax
• 6. Expressive

Literary approach
• 7. Context
 What`s In
TASK 2
Direction: In your notebook, write briefly your initial discussion about the
following: 
1. The connection between text and context in a short story. 
2. Local color focuses on the characters, dialect, customs, topography, and
other features particular to a specific region. How important is the use of local
color in a story? 
3. Characters have internal and external qualities. What does each quality
mean?
TASK 3
Recall your most unforgettable public transport experience and draw
insights by answering the following questions:

1. How do you describe public transportation experience? 

2. Which among the public transportations do you consider the best?

Why? 

3. Which of them do you consider the least practical/economical? Why?

Who is Temistokles Adlawan?

Temistokles Adlawan,a bisdak ( bisayang dako, or “big bisaya” born

and raised , true blue bisaya ), hails from Pangdan, Naga, Cebu, and
is a prolific poet and fictionist. “Writing mostly in his vernacular
Cebuano,” writes scholar Sam Nervez, “his works are well – rooted
into his multifaceted experiences as a bisdak. His writings, especially
his fiction, overflow with local color, creating a vivid palette of the local
cultural landscape.” This local color not only particularizes the locale
of Adlawan’s setting, but also the personalities of his stories, whom
may be said to be composites of his own life and struggles as a
tricycle driver. Adlawan has two other stories that deal with life on the
road. For Nervez, Adlawan “represent a breed of Cebuano writers
consciously shaping and reshaping Cebuano identity by
conceptualizing, negotiating, and remapping local spaces made by
the Cebuano and for the Cebuano.” The story, “One Day on the
Road,” provides readers with an image of a man struggling “to keep
pace with the rapid evolution of a world both with him and outside of
him.
 Context
• In its earliest uses (documented in the 15th century), context meant
"the weaving together of words in language.(to form something from
several different things or to combine several different things, in a complicated or
skilled way)" This sense, now obsolete, developed logically from the
word's source in Latin, contexere "to weave or join
together." Context now most commonly refers to the environment or
setting in which something (whether words or events) exists. When
we say that something is contextualized, we mean that it is placed in
an appropriate setting, one in which it may be properly considered
(Curriculum contextualization is the process of matching the curriculum
content and instructional strategies relevant to learners. Student diversity
requires that teachers always consider individual differences in lesson planning
and implementation.)
 Context is the setting within which a work of writing is situated.

 Context provides meaning and clarity to the intended message. 

 Context clues in a literary work create a relationship between the

writer and reader, giving a deeper understanding of the intent and
direction of the writing. 

 Literary context is background information or circumstances you

provide to inform why something is taking place; context can also
be the backstory of a character, provided to inform their behavior
and personality.
Example: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens​
​
Dickens begins his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, in 1770, by describing
the release of Doctor Manette from Bastille, before taking the story to
1793 and early 1794. In this time span, the narrative covers a broad
story. In a larger view, this novel begins in 1757, while its final scene
looks forward to the situation in post-revolutionary Paris.​

This story has a historical context, which Dickens has organized

around various events that occurred during the French Revolution. He
has drawn historical features from major events, including the fall of
Bastille, the September Massacres, and the Reign of Terror. This
backdrop is the story’s context.​
​
 Literary Text
• The word text comes from the • Therefore a text is a human
Latin term texere, meaning ‘to product whose form is
weave’.(paghabi) Many critics achieved by its author’s design
regard text as a linguistic and its meanings by the
structure woven out of words or author’s intentional uses of the
signs. (Literary context ) verbal medium. 
• Therefore, a text
(Source: https://www.eng-literature.com/2017/12/define-discuss-literary-term-
contains meaning which is
text.html)
open to interpretation.
• In literary theory, a text is any
object that can be "read",
whether this object is a work
of literature, a street sign, an
arrangement of buildings on a
city block, or styles of
clothing. It is a coherent set
of signs that transmits some
kind of informative message.
(Source: Wikipedia)
• Example: 
For instance, fairy stories,
mysteries, science fiction,
romances, horror stories,
adventure stories, fables, myths
and legends, historical
narratives, ballads, slice of
life(an example of what ordinary life is
like : something (such as a story or movie)
that shows what ordinary life is like. The
story is/shows/presents a slice of life in a
small Midwestern town.),
personal
experience are this type.
 Familiarize the following Terms:
External qualities involve the physical attributes, get – up, or mannerisms of a character, as described by the narrator. 

Internal qualities are manifested through dialogue (a long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program.), motivation, and
action. 

Local color means that specific details are placed because they enhance the reality crafted by the story. (Local color is defined as the characteristics and traits
that make a location unique. The foods, shops and attitudes of the people in a town are an example of the local color.)
Local Color reflects the characteristic appearance, mannerisms, speech, and dress of a place or a period

Point of view is the perspective from which the story is being told. 
             First person –the “I” narrator; necessarily limited and subjective (The most popular form of first-person POV is “I, the Protagonist.” Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars is
both the narrator and the protagonist(leading character).)
             Second person - a perspective not often used, where the viewpoint character (and in effect, the reader) is referred to as “you”; may also be the
narrator, addressing herself/himself. (Second person point of view uses the pronoun “you” to address the reader. This narrative voice implies that the reader is either the
protagonist or a character in the story and the events are happening to them.)
             Third person – a comparatively objective point of view, if omniscient, is all – knowing and able to get into the minds of all the characters; may
also come in the form of an objective or reportorial narrator (as in news articles). (ex: Third person point of view is narrative style in which the narrator refers to all
characters using the pronouns he, she, or they. An example of a sentence written in third person would be: She sat in the café waiting for her food to arrive. “What is taking so
long?” she thought.)
 Plot is basically the movement of a
narrative. 
(ex:the king died and then the queen
Contexts are the parts of a text
died, for instance, is not a plot, as
preceding and following a passage
E.M. Forster notes. But the king died
giving it fuller meaning that it it was
and then the queen died out of grief is
read by itself.
one because it reveals a
causality(cause and effect relationship
in the sequence of scenes.)
 Task 4 
Direction: Respond critically to the following questions
Did you to process the selection.

understand 1. What are the basic street life scenes Miguel reveals as he
goes about his day? Summarize the scenes in three to five
the selection? sentences.
Now, are you 2. What do these scenes imply about the setting of the story?
ready to 3. How well does Miguel know his “vocation” of driving a
explain the tricycle? Point out three important details from the text
showing the depth of his knowledge on this road trade.
relationship of
4. In the last sentence, Miguel says that he “also lost the Ray
context with – Ban which had barred my eyes from seeing.” How does
the text’s this reference to seeing change, read alongside the
meaning?  character’s transformation?
5. How is the story being told? Support your answer by
citing lines in the text.
 What I Have Learned
TASK 5 
Directions: Write your reflection in your notebook by completing the
unfinished statements below. 

I have learned that ______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________ 
I have realized that _____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________ 
I will apply _____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
 What I Can Do
Task 6

The values/ principles of tricycle drivers, as well as other public

transportation drivers, are always compromised on the roads. Make a
slogan for the drivers and for the passengers on how to observe
responsible driving. Use ¼ size white cartolina for your slogan.
By this time, you will have had a good grasp of the lesson on Texts and Contexts as you worked on
the different learning activities. Let us test your ability in this topic. 

A. Direction: Matching Items. Match Column A with Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer
in your notebook.
                                 A                                                                                B 
1. It refers to the perspective that is                                                     A. local color all 
     – knowing and able to get into the               
           minds of all the characters. 
2. It refers to the point where the conflict                                            B. Third person point of view 
       or tension explodes or heightens 
3. It means that specific details are placed because 
       they enhance the reality crafted by the story                                C. Climax
4. Qualities of character involve the physical                                      D. Contexts 
      attributes, get up, or mannerisms of a character, 
        as described by the narrator 
5. are the parts of a text preceding and following                               E. Internal qualities 
     a passage giving it fuller meaning than 
       if it were read by itself.                                                                     F. External qualities
ASSESSMENT
A.
1. B
2. C
3. A
4. F
5. D
B. Complete the following statements to check the depth of your learning. 

1. Context enriches a text’s meaning by_______________ 

2. When I related the story with that of the writer’s biography, I was able to
see ___________________________________________________ 

3. I saw that public transport and street life

are________________________________________________________
______
responsible driving.

II.
Complete the following statements to check the depth of your learning 100 words each.

1. Context enriches a text’s meaning by_______________ 

2. When I related the story with that of the writer’s biography, I was able to see
___________________________________________________ 

3. I saw that public transport and street life

are______________________________________________________________

III.

1.It refers to the perspective that isvknowing and able to get into the minds of all the characters. 
2.It refers to the point where the conflict or tension explodes or heightens 
3.It means that specific details are placed because they enhance the reality crafted by the story 
4.Qualities of character involve the physical attributes, get up, or mannerisms of a character, as described
by the narrator 
5.Are the parts of a text preceding and following meaning than if it were read by itself.