Rowena B. Delos Santos

Weng as fondly called by her classmates is a lover of Natasha and Avon beauty products. She  always see to it that her busy schedules includes shopping. Her biggest dream is to be known as a beauty queen or a model someday.....(puonan ta sa Ms. Caramoan jejeje)..

Favorite expression: come again??? 

Moonlight

In the short story of Guy De Maupassant entitled “Moonlight”, he wrote about the priest transformation towards views in life. He uses the moonlight to enlighten the priest heart and this priest was Abbe Marignan. His concept about love and the existence of women were changed. He realized that love is also God’s creation and if he will be against on it he will betray what God wanted to prevail.

Love is a terribly misunderstood emotion, it weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle and malfunction of the heart. True love is like ghosts, which every talks about and few have seen (la Rochefoucould). These are some of the definitions that attempt to explain love although it was unexplainable. It has no reasons, unconditional and no rules to follow. People have different perception about love. Even Abbe has his own concept about it. It is just a strange ecstasy.

Love is the theme of the story. It is the reason why his niece betrayed him. It is also the answer that he is seeking for so long. The moonlight showed to Abbe what love really is. It showered its light in the darkness so that everyone can see the night’s hidden beauty. When he was on the edge of the fields, he saw two figures walking arm in arm. Stated on the line that “as if he is looking at a biblical scene, like the love of Ruth and Boaz”. For him the night was supposedly for sleeping then he realized that the night was intentionally made for the lovers to cradle each other. He witnessed the magical love on these two figures and he was ashamed on himself because he attempts to forbid their love. He already figure out that love is magical. He has no right to deprive it to his niece. This is supported by the passage “and he fled, distraught and almost ashamed, as if he had entered a temple where he had no right to be”. No one has no right to go against love because if we do, we also break God’s commandment. Love is like a commandment if we oppose on it we will commit sin.

Mauppassant’s “Moonlight” was not just a piece of literature. It is a message of love where in no one has right to break it. The moonlight in the story is not just a mere moonlight. It signifies love. No one can ever gaze the beauty of the night without the moonlight. Just like love, no one can ever see it without looking deeply in someone’s heart. Love is fascinating like the night.

The other two by Edith Wharton

The short story written by Edith Wharton focuses on the character of Mr. Waythorn and Alice. The story can be analyzed using psycho analytical feminism since, the way how the characters think was stressed on the story. Mr. Waythorn posses’ feminine characteristics and so, with Alice who possess a masculine characteristics. These characteristics are seen on the minds and actions of the characters. In feminism it does not merely focus on the women but also on the society and the gender differences. This aspects are seen on the story as well as Mr. Waythorn treated Alice. However, the main focus of the story is on the character of Alice which is more masculine than Waythorn.

He married Alice knowing her past because of the fact that he is happier on a wife who is sex parasite. She is a sex parasite because she is considered as an expert when it comes in sex knowing the fact that she has a lot of husband. He treated Alice as a dirty woman just other’s do yet, he knows that only Alice can make him happy. Alice is a kind of woman who has a strong personality and not easily oppressed by men. She is powerful than him where he cannot resist her. The conflict on the relationship of these two became harder when Varick and Haskett, her ex-husbands, went on their home. And the story entitled “The other two” which refer to her ex- husbands.

Alice is a woman characterized indifferently on the traditional characteristics of a woman and so. Mr. Waythorn.

    

A poison tree

The poem “Poison tree” by William Blake tells about anger. It is revealed on the poem how the persona kept his anger and how it grew within himself. There is a paradox on the title. The word “tree” symbolizes life, growth etc. while “poison” as a dangerous thing. The tree is the metaphor for anger and the poem tackles about the persona’s growing anger.

The poem follows the rhyme scheme aabb,ccdd,eeff etc., the rhyming words are in pair on each stanza. The poem is in the form of quatrain and consists of two opposing words. The word “friend” and “foe” found on the first and third line of the first stanza were opposite to each other. The same on the word “end” and “grow” found on the second and fourth line and the sentence “I told my wrath, I told it not”. On the first stanza the persona revealed his anger. The second stanza tells how persona kept his anger and how it grew. In the line “and I waterd it in fears” and “the night and morning with my tears” tell that the fears and tears trigger the persona to keep his anger grew. “And I sunned it with smiles”, this line gives us an idea that the persona did not yet revealed his anger instead he showed his good side. The word “smile” can associate to mocking smile since we all know that he is angry. It was revealed on the third stanza that the persona is attempting to reveal his anger but his foe did not hid on it because he was blinded on the good side showed by the persona ( till it bore an apple bright). The word “shine” on the third line can be associate on the eyes of the foe that only looks on the brighter side of the persona. The last stanza tells that the persona’s anger already released and the third and last line give an idea of what happened to his foe. ( my foe outstretch’d beneath the tree). The last stanza simply tells the effect of the persona’s anger.

The poem is all about the anger kept by the persona and the effect of his anger. It consist of opposing words and the rhyme scheme is continues (aa-hh) and like the anger of persona that continuously flows in his vein.   

The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado, a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, showed the vengeance of Montressor to Fortunato. The title signifies the love of Edgar to the wine and also this is the cause of Fortunato’s death. In 1827 Poe joined the U.S. army as a common soldier under assumed name Edgar A. Perry. He has sent out to Fort Independence on Castle Island in Boston Harbor. When he was their, he was fascinated with the grave stone’s inscriptions. He heard the story of Captain Green and Massie, both army officers, where in there fight led to the latter’s death. Some of the officers take a revenge for Massie’s death. Knowing their story Poe agreed that he won’t tell to anyone the story. Then, still he does by writing a story with similar incident. He wrote The Cask of Amontillado to show the life of Captain Green and Massie. Fortunato and Captain Green have the same ending and both caused by the insult.

The story of Captain Green and Massie and the Cask of Amontillado both gives significance of revenge. Montressor felt that he was insulted so he decided to take revenge to fortunate. If we are going to look back, the life of Poe was full of sorrow. Most of the important person in his life died and left him alone. Poe’s life was full of hindrances and distress. Experiencing too much pain, he is trying to fight it. He is trying to ease the pain by fighting in his mind where in he always sees his wife counting her last breath. Just like in the story where in full of revenge, Poe’s life is also full of revenge. He kept on fighting the loneliness and pain caused by the death of his loved ones. I think the revenge or the idea of revenge in his short story was taken not only on the story of the two army but also in his own revenge on the pain.

Ku turiun si Kulakog

By Jose L. Chancoco

(Psychological Approach)

Ku turiun si Kulakog is a story that shows the circumcision stage usually faced by every man specially, the young boys. Kulakog is not a character in the story even though his name was on the title. In fact, he doesn’t really exist because he only appears on the mind of the young children. However, Bornok, a boy whose age is in between 8 or 9, was the main character on the story. Like the ordinary boys, Bornok is also afraid in circumcision but he was more afraid to Kulakog. In Freud’s stages og child development his behavior fall in Phallic stage because like with his friends he is also aware in his own body and he already understand the possible stages he might face like the circumcision. His actions fall in sexual pleasure like what have shown in his character where in he is fond of dreaming brawling scenes (Kulakog and Handiong). His actions reflect his gender. Bornok has a very imaginative mind, he gives a character on those people around him like Tsong Iyat as friend of Kulakog and Dr. Handiong, the hero in the epic Ibalong. Aside from that, Bornok and his friends are fond of boasting about their accomplishments. These are the usual behaviors of the young boys. He has also his own concept of being “Uragon”. For him man can be called uragon if he is brave and fearless in circumcision.

Kulakog was used in the story as an instrument of Bornok’s parents to make their child obey them. Bornok was so frightened on him because he looks like a giant in his enormous size. He also believed that Kulakog was angry to the young boys who don’t want to be circumcised.

The story was intended for children especially to the young boys because the importance of circumcision was emphasized for them to be aware that this stage is necessary to keep their body healthy. Circumcision is not just a tradition to be followed but also a pre –requisite to every man’s health.