21 Century Literature

st

from the Philippines

and the world
PHILIPPINE REALITIES
 PHILIPPINE REALITIES

What realities does the Philippines

face today?
 PHILIPPINE REALITIES

It is only fitting that this section

shows the different kinds of
inequalities found in the Philippines
and makes us think about why they
exist in our society.
 PHILIPPINE REALITIES

There can be no change in society if

we do not change our hearts and
minds and address these problem
head on.
 PHILIPPINE REALITIES

The truth is inequality is pervasive

in our country and there is no way
for our country and there is no way
for our nation to progress unless we
address it.
PRE-READING

 DOUBLE STANDARD IN THE LAW

 Research about adultery and concubinage in the Philippine law.
 What do they have in common?
 What are their differences?
 Write their definitions (1 paragraph) write how you feel about there differences.
 GENDER INEQUALITIES

 MOIVATION
 1. Why does it seem acceptable in the Philippine society for husband to have
affairs with other women?
 2. Is it acceptable for women? Why or why not? What do you think or feel about
this?
 3. Should this attitude be changed? Why and why not?
ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY –
PRELUDES
 Characters:
 (Write a short description of each character)
 Nenita-the story's major character; the widow of the deceased husband
 Nenita’s husband-good singer; died because of his sickness; had relationships
with several women
 Judge-hated by everyone; his 9th death anniversary is celebrated at the hall
 Judge’s widow-the mistress of Nenita's late husband
 Herbalist friend-the one who gave the medicationto Nenita
 Grandson-heartbroken; also likes music; sent off to the cit
 Setting:
(Describe the location and the time
 The narrative took place at 3 p.m. in the Municipal Hall,
where the sun was high and dry, and the heat crept into the
bones of the people.
 Italso happened in Nenita's home, particularly in the sala
and kitchen, where she was cooking and watching TV.
 Conflict
(Lift a line from the story to support your answer)

 The narrative focused on several conflicts, particularly within married

couples.
 Adultery, concubinage, andgender discrimination are examples of these conflicts.
 "Nenita took her husband back again when, with the money her in-laws sent for
his medication, he went away to be with one of his women. People say her
husband went to Manila with the judge's widow.
 Nenita never confirmed this."
Point of View (Lift a line from the story to
support your answer
 4.)Third Point of View (Narrator's Perspective)-"A man died singing.
 He had sung a total of three songs before he heaved his last breath and collapsed
on a chair."5.
 Theme: (Explain the theme)

 Gender inequality-It demonstrates how women may accept their husbands who
are having affairs, but it is a different story for women who are having affairs.
 Women who cheat are labelled as "whores" by those who believe they have
forfeited their female dignity.
 Love and betreyal-Even though she knew he was unfaithful to her, Nenita was
described as kind, caring, understanding, and compassionate towards her husband
in the narrative.
 Her spouse was ungrateful; rather than recognizing Nenita's hard work, he
decided to cheat and see other women.
 Write the Plot Structure of the Story

 a. Exposition-It happenedat the Municipal Hall.

 The time was three in the afternoon. The sun was high.
 Heat seeped into people’s bones.
 Someone’s 9thdeath anniversary was being celebrated.

 b. Complication-Nenita's husband used the money from her in-laws to pay for his
medicine.
 He used the money to join the judge's widow to Manila.
 Write the Plot Structure of the Story
 c. Climax
 Nenitas’s herbalist friend recommended a medicine that would shrivel his
husband's ball, cause hallucinations, and make his blood boil till his veins
burst

 d. Denouement
 Nenita continued to look after her husband and declined the medication
 provided by her herbalist friend.

 e. Resolution
 While performing a classic Spanish song about kissing someone for the
 final time, Nenita's husband died.
 Short Reflection about the Story
(What is it about? Did you get any value/s
from the story?)
 Daryll Delgado's Preludes was an interesting story to read since the
events were inverted or reversed, and you had to find out what was going
on first.
 The author of the narrative use foreshadowing and flashbacks to confuse
the reader and therefore urge them to read the novel.
 The narrative comes to a terrible conclusion when the woman uses her
herbalist friend's medicines to quietly murder her husband
 Short Reflection about the Story
(What is it about? Did you get any value/s
from the story?)
 This brief, eye-opening narrative made me more conscious of the harsh realities of
life, particularly in terms of relationships.
 It made me more cautious about others in my close surroundings, but not to the
point of shoving them away.
 Also, I should not rush into a relationship without first getting to know the
individual, both good and bad.
 Real life isn't a fairy tale in which everything goes as planned.
 It's called reality, not fiction, for a reason: everything and everyone on this planet
has flaws and problems, but that's good because it helps us grow as a person.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS

 1. What is prelude? What is that title of the story?

 What does Nenita feel for her husband? Why do you think she feels that way? Cite textual
evidences.
 What does her herbalista friend feel about Nenita’s husband?
 Who was the man that died in the first paragraph?
 How do you think he died? What clues in the text helped you to reach that conclusion?
 What is the importance of the dried purple leaves? Do you think that these were used in the story?
How?
 Who killed the man? Explain your answer
 The story ends with the feeling of heat. What are the many meanings of heat in the story?
 Why is it ironic that the widow was married to a judge?
 Do you think with what happened, that some kind of justice was serve? Why and why not?