LITERARY ANALYSIS

OF

SCENT OF APPLES
By: Bienvenido Santos
 LITERARY MAP
HISTORICAL-BIOGRAPHICAL Synthesis No. 1

FORMALISM Synthesis No. 2

STRUCTURALISM Synthesis No. 3 GRAND

SYNTHE
MARXISM Synthesis No. 4
SIS

PSYCHOANALYSIS Synthesis No. 5

MORAL-PHILOSOPHICAL Synthesis No. 6

HISTORICAL- BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
 Bienvenido N.
Santos(March 22, 1911-
January 7,1996) was a
Filipino-American fiction,
poetry, and nonfiction writer.
He was born and raised in
Tondo, Manila. His family roots
are originally from Lubao,
Pampanga, Philippines. He
lived in the United States for
many years where he is widely
credited as a pioneering Asian-
American writer.
 Santos received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of the
Philippines where he first studied creative writing under Paz Marquez Benitez.
In 1941, Santos was a government pensionado (scholar) to the United States
at the University of Illinois, Columbia University, and Harvard University. He
had arrived in San Francisco on October 12, 1941 aboard the Ruth Alexander
leaving his wife and three daughters in the Philippines. When war in the
Pacific came to the Philippines on December 8 (December 7 Hawaii time) he
feared he would never see his family again--- a reality that “ not only
interrupted his study of realism; it was overwhelming it” leading to a
transformation in his sense of national consciousness and identity. That crisis
changed the nature of his writing into a less carefree style to one mixing
laughter and pain; described by Florentino Valeros as “a man hiding his tears in
his laughter.”During World War II, he served with the Philippine government
in exile under President Manuel L. Quezon in Washington, D.C., together with
the playwright Severino Montano and Philippine National Artist Jose Garcia
Villa. Santos left for home on January 17, 1946 aboard the Uruguay arriving in
early February.
 In 1976, he returned to the United States to become a teacher and
University Administrator. He received a Rockefeller fellowship at the
Writers Workshop of the University of lowa where he later taught as a
Fulbright exchange professor . Santos has also received a
Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, a Republic Cultural Heritage
Award in Literature as well as several Palanca Awards for his short
stories. Scent of Apples won a 1980 American Book Award from the
Before Columbus Foundation. Santos received an honorary doctorate
degrees in humanities and letters from the University of the
Philippines and Bicol University (Legaspi City, Albay) in 1981. He
was also a professor of Creative Writing and Distinguished Writer in
Residence at the Wichita State University from 1973 to 1982 , at
which time the university awarded him an honorary doctorate degree
in humane letters. After his retirement, Santos became Visiting Writer
and Artist at De La Salle University in Manila; the university honored
Santos by renaming its creative writing center after him.
“Scent of Apples” by Bienvenido Santos is
part of a short story collection of the same
name published in 1978 by University of
Washington Press. “Scent of Apples” tells the
story of one man and his family’s unique
experience as Filipino immigrants to the
United States. It’s a unique story, as Santos
himself is a character in it. Santos wrote “Scent
of Apples” during the Rebirth of Freedom– a
period of activism following WWII and the
restoration of independence to the Philippines.
Synthesis No. 1

One’s experiences
can be written into
piece to better
understand the
nostalgia woven
through the story
 FORMALISM / EXPLICATION

Plot
The author, Mr. Santos was asked to speak
before an audience in Kalamazoo, Michigan one
October when the war was still on. On the same
night he met another Filipino– Celestino Fabia, a
farmer. Mr. Santos was surprised to see a man who
travelled really long just to hear him talk. In the
course of the discussion, the man asked, in
sporadically incorrect English, how the Filipino
women of today were different from the stereotype
he was familiar with. Mr. Santos replied that
although they differ in the exterior, both women of
different eras bear the heart and soul of a modest
Filipina. Mr. Fabia was pleased.
 After the lecture, Mr. Fabia told Mr. Santos
about his farm and his family and invited him over
to his house, repeatedly saying that his wife, Ruth,
will be pleased to meet “ a first class Filipino”. He
also told him about his son , Roger, with pride. Mr.
Fabia picked Mr. Santos up the next day and
during the course of what seemed to be an
endless journey to the distant farm, Mr. Santos
became aware of Mr. Fabia’s life in the Philippines.
He was a spoiled brat and the black sheep of the
family. He lived in an old Visayan town where
there are no apples. But there are coconut trees
and roosters cooing early in the mornng, and there
was his family.
 They finally arrived in the farm, the fragrance of
apples diffusing all over the place. Mr. Santos
noticed how Ruth’s hospitality and kind-heartedness
was almost Filipino and how adorable Roger really
was. In their humble home, he also found a picture
of an anonymous Filipina wearing a traditional
costume– another manifestation of how dire Mr.
Fabia’s nostalgia is. He bade farewell to the family
and and Mr.Fabia took him back to the hotel. He
offered to send news to his family when he got back
to the Philippines but Mr. Fabia refused, saying that
they might have already forgotten him. They shook
each other’s hand and said goodbye.
 CHARACTERS

Mr. Bienvenido Santos

Celestino Fabia- Fellow
Filipino who owns an apple farm
and has been away from the
Philippines for over 20 years.
Ruth Fabia- Wife of Mr.Fabia
Roger Fabia- Son of Mr. Fabia
 SETTINGS

The story happened in

Kalamazoo, Michigan and it
was on October.

The main setting was in Mr.

Fabia’s place, wherein he
invited Mr. Santos to come by
and eat dinner.
 CONFLICT

 The authors feels a great sense of nostalgia for his native country,
the Philippines. When he is giving talk in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Santos meet a Filipino farmer named Celestino Fabia. The author
observes many parts of Fabia’s life in America. In the end, Santos
seems to wonder if Fabia also misses home and if homesickness is a
conflict for him. When Santos bids farewell to Fabia, the author
offers to visit Fabia’s hometown in the Philippines and pass along
greetings from Fabia. Fabia says he does not know anyone in his
hometown anymore. This resolves the conflict, as its clear Fabia’s life
is in the United States now, even if he at times feels nostalgic for the
country of his birth.
 POINT OF VIEW

Santos tells the story from his point of

view. The plot is fairly direct. Santos is
delivering a lecture on life in the
First Person Philippines while Fabia, excited by the
POV notion of someone, anyone from his
native Philippines speaking, attends the
The author is lecture and interrupts his speaking about
the one who how Filipino women have changed from
20 years ago to the present time. It ends
narrates and
up to the something that the protagonist
involved in feels being nostalgic to his homeland
the story. every time he smells the scent of apples.
He became hopeless to come back to his
native home.
 THEME

The “Scent of Apples” is about how first

generation immigrants experience a sense of
loss and seek connection to their past life
even if they had created a life for them in the
new world.
This piece focuses on the main theme of
immigrant blues and how Philippines
Americans fell left out of American culture
and how they miss being part of the culture in
the Philippines.
 FORMALISM / EXEGESIS

Summary
The story is told from Santos’s point of view. Santos
delivering a lecture in Kalamazoo, Michigan especially among
colleged-aged women. He’s asked to comment on the
differences between American and Filipino women, which he’s
not sure how to answer because he doesn’t know many
American women. But one of his audience speaks somewhere
and he seems a man is a Filipino like him. On the same night,
he met Celestino Fabia, a farmer who works just outside of
Kalamazoo, he left the Philippines more than twenty years ago.
He wants to take conversation to Santos and he asked him
whether Filipino women are the same now as they were all
those years ago. Santos feels put on the spot, he doesn’t know
how to answer. So, he asked Fabia to explain how he
remembers women.The man explain the women used to be
natural, kind, loyal and modest.
 Santos knows how to answer him. He explained that the women
changed on the outside but not in the inside. They still the same like
what’ve before. The man seems happy. After the lectures, Santos
learn that the man is a labour on farm land thirty miles away. When
the man saw Santos’s name one day in local paper, he recognized it
as a Filipino so he travelled just to have a talk with him. Fabia
invites Santos to dinner and he wants to introduce his family to him.
Santos accepted the invitation. On the next day, Fabia picked him
up. When they arrived in the farm the fragrance of apples was spread
in the area. He noticed how Ruth’s hospitality and gracious. He met
also Fabia’s son, Roger. Each time Fabia smell the scent of apples,
he always remember his country. He has the feeling of loneliness
everyday because he smells the scent of apples everytime. When
Fabia took him back to the hotel, he offered to drop news to his
family when he got back to the Philippines but Mr. Fabia refused,
saying that they might have already forgotten him.
 SYNTHESIS NO.2

Starting a new life

elsewhere is not easy
because it can’t be
refusing that your past
experience on the place
where you truly live in
first will always be in
the mind and can miss
 STRUCTURALISM
“When I arrived in Kalamazoo, it was The author presented
October and the war was still on.
Gold and silver stars hung on the literary text in a
pennants above silent windows of detailed and in
white and bricked- red cottages. In a chronological manner
backyard, an old man burned leaves
and twigs while a grey-haired women with the use of
sat on the porch, her red hands quiet overflowing
on her lap. Watching the smoke rising adjectives and vivid
above the elms , both of them
thinking of the same thought perhaps descriptions. The first
about a tall, grinning boy with blue paragraph introduced
eyes and flying hair, who went out to the setting and the
war, where could he be now this
month when leaves were turning into governing mood of
gold and the fragrance of gathered the entire story .
apples was in the wind”.

“It was a cold night when I
left my room at the hotel for a
usual speaking engagement . I
walked but a little way. A
heavy wind coming up from
Lake Michigan was icy on the
face. It felt like winter
straying early in the northern
woodlands. Under the
lampposts, the leave shone
like bronze. And……….lands
without apple trees, the
singing and the gold.”
The second paragraph
also describing place
where the narrator is.
The perfect play of
words and adjectives
was the weapon of the
author to give a
concrete picture of the
setting and to let the
reader feel the real
emotions existing in
every scenes and
conversations.
SYNTHESIS NO.3

Description of the
place, of the
situation, and of the
characters conveyed
message and appeals
to have
differentiation of one
thing or place to one
 MARXISM
 As we stepped inside and
the door closed behind us,
immediately I was aware of
the familiar scent of apples.
The room was bare except
for a few ancient pieces of
second hand furniture. In the
middle of the room stood a
stove to keep the family
warm in winter. The walls
were bare. Over the dining
table hung a lamp yet
unlighted.
 Fabia is a farmer and his
salary is very tight, he’s not
also a superficial man.
Therefore, they didn’t afford
to buy such expensive and
firm things for their house.
The money that Fabia gain
from his job is not enough to
sustain their needs and wants.
They just depends their
livelihood on the season
where apple tree outgrowth
and they can sell it to the
market.
  The protagonist, Fabia
 One day, according to
Fabia, a few years ago,
before Roger was born,
he had an attack of acute
appendicitis. It was deep
winter. The snow lay
heavy everywhere . Ruth
was pregnant and none
too well her self. They
didn’t have enough
money and Ruth was
willing to work like a
slave.
experience poverty in
abroad. So, when their
problems suddenly strike
to them, they didn’t
know what to do . They
have no money so that
they have no choice but
to sacrifice even though
they lead it to their
death. It was very
admirable and amazing
because despite of
having difficulties, they
still unite as one to
survive.
 SYNTHESIS NO. 4

Everyone experience
difficulties in life but
it doesn’t mean that
challenges is all the
same as like one. All
you have to do is to
take risk and #10

sacrifice to overcome
 PSYCHOANALYSIS

The unique story of “Scent of Apple”

wrote by Bienvenido Santos, as Santos
himself is a character in it. It reflects the
immigrant character yearning to come
back to his land. The author is the
character that involve and reflects
himself in the text.
Anticipation Stage
 When Fabia saw Santos’s
name one day in the local
paper and recognizing him
as Filipino, he
immediately travelled to

ID
see and speak him about
how things used to be.
Dream Stage
 Fabia was very delighted
to introduce himself as
well as his family to
Santos.
Frustration Stage
 On the way, Santos
spots apple trees and it
reminds him of home.
He’s suddenly filled
nostalgia and sadness,
Fabia feels the same.
Every time he saw an
apple tree and smell its
scent, he remembering
EGO
his country and family.
When Santos says he
hopes he can visit
Fabia’s town in the
Philippines one day
soon, and he asked to
drop news to his family SUPERE
when he go back to the
country, Fabia refused
and says no one would
GO
remember him there
now.
SYNTHESIS NO.5

Not all decisions

end up in the right
choice.
Sometimes, you
could miss
everything
happens to you in
 MORAL- PHILOSOPHICAL
 “I left the Philippines more
than twenty years ago and
have never been back . Never
will, perhaps. I want to find
out Sir, Are own Filipino
women the same like they
were twenty years ago?”
 Fabia telling his story for the
first time in many years. He
was remembering his own
youth. He was thinking of
home. In these odd moments
there seemed no cause for
fear , no cause at all, no pain.
Fabia is wistful for
affections for the past
which is why the man
regrets his decisions.
His regret shown
while he was telling
the writer about what
he remembers about
the people especially
about the Filipino
women.
SYNTHESIS NO.6

No matter what
happens, always
bear the love for
the country even
though we are
afar it must
remain in our
 Synthesis No. 1 Synthesis No. 2 Synthesis No. 3
“One’s “Starting a new life “Description of
experiences can be elsewhere is not easy the place, of the
written into piece because it can’t be situation, and of
to better refusing that your the characters
understand the past experience on conveyed message
nostalgia woven the place where you and appeals to
through the story truly live in first will have
and the difficulties always be in the differentiation of
faces by every
Synthesis No. 4 mind and can
Synthesis No. miss
5 one thing or
Synthesis place
No.6
Filipino in
“Everyone it.”
“Not all decisions to
“Noonematter
another.”
what
abroad.”
experience
end up in the right happens, always
difficulties in life
choice. bear the love for
but it doesn’t mean
that challenges is Sometimes, you the country even
all the same as like could miss every though we are
one. All you have things happens to afar it must
 GRAND
SYNTHESIS

“Life is a really hard battle, we have to be

strong enough in facing many trials and
challenges to be able to win this
struggles. Never forget where you came
from, bear in mind that the country you
leave is the country where you should
live.
THE END!!!
THANK YOU!!!