Module 3: Return to the Roots/Return to Remembrance: Encounters and (Mis)Encounters

Module III: Summary & Reaction
IP 411: Philippine Literature in Translation/English
by Rachelle M. Aurellano

In this module, we are introduced to a variety of short stories written by Ilokano writers. These literature pieces are stories that Ilokano’s can easily relate to because they give this kind of remembrance of home, back in the Philippines. This module is really one to enjoy because the variety in these stories, from humor, to tragedy, to excitement, etc. gives the reader this understanding of the Ilokano people and their culture. The way Ilokano’s were raised, reflects upon who they become and many of these can be seen as encounters that Ilokano immigrants experienced. This sense of going back home or growing up in the barrio gives this warmth feeling because you feel like you’re in the story. The writers of these literature pieces did such a wonderful job that it’s very easy to understand. The three stories that I enjoyed the most, and I’ll give a little summary on each are: Pimples, Rice for the Moon, and Sing Cicada Sing. I chose these three because they’re all very different.

“Pimples,” by Pelagio Alcantara is a short story about coming of age. The main character, a young boy, is at the age when boys begin to notice girls. It opens with this young boy, daydreaming about this beautiful young girl flirting with him until he’s brought back to reality by his friend. They talk about school and the night until the young boy decides to go home. Later that day, he goes to a store to pick up some comics. When he gets there, he observes a young beautiful women being a harassed by drunk old man. When the drunk old man is rejected, he leaves the store and the young boy goes to the young women. He asks as if he’s old enough as he asks for a beer. At this point, he thinks he’s cool and tries to ask the young women on a date. It ends with the young boy drunk and out cold.

“Rice for the Moon,” by Manuel Diaz is also a short story about coming of age but one with a very big dilemma. It’s a story that takes place during the Japanese Occupation. It opens with a ritual of throwing rice to the moon for good luck which turns into a devastation. As rice becomes scarce, due to the Japanese invasion, families of Nagsaag are forced to move higher into the mountains, to the home of rich old man. In all this, a young boy, Odet, observes all the things that are happening and begins to question the family’s moving. He doesn’t understand until the very end, when they reach the rich old man’s house. He learns in the end that his older sister will need to marry that rich old in order to have food on the table.

“Sing, Cicada, Sing,” by Gregorio Laconsay is one of my favorite stories in this module because it ends happily. It opens with a young couple, a doctor and a nurse, who are well off, and are going back home to the province to visit family. This couple is from Manila, and they’ve taken the weekend off to vacation to their hometown. The young man, who’s a doctor, speaks about his memories during his childhood and the things that he misses about being home. His wife, a beautiful women, who’s a nurse, is going back home with her husband for the first time to meet the family. She learns about his childhood memory and how wonderful it was back then. When they finally get there, they realize how busy they’ve been that they haven’t got any children. However, the both of them were content with that until the very end, when they decide that they finally want to have children.