CHRIST THE KING COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

QUARTER 3

WEEK 2: LESSON 2

Name: Yesha Lara Alegre

Section: HUMSS12

Activity 1. Explore me first.

Directions: Read, analyze and enjoy a true-to-life narrative text taken from one of the
best stories of True Accounts written by TIF Marcelo via Facebook and Instagram. This
story is inspired by his friend named Sha.

The Diary of the Girl

Dear Diary,
It was a very cold winter when the breath of the light of home was taken back
by the Giver of life. I was out in the dark during that time. The moon keeps on
smiling but suddenly it cried. I have cried out so loud from the envelope of love and
caress. At the same time, the deafening silence of the great woman cornered the
four sides of the white room. Together with the men and women in white, is the
pillar of home. Yes, he was left alone, just with me, with that day of tears, sorrow
and melancholy.

But he, knowing I am the cause of the decease of his dearly love, his flower of
delight since high school of loyalty and honesty, with love and tenderness, with
sacrifice and devotion, he poses that smile of inspiring and motivating love as I was
going out of the school. It seems he always misses me after eight hours stay inside
that highly-cost home of human knowledge and wisdom. He holds and carries me in
his strong arms as he turns me once or twice around. He kisses me with his beard
that tickles my thin skin. But the feeling is different. I love it.

Yes, he was left alone with only a piece of land inherited from his deceased
parents (which was sold when I was out to light) since my mom’s family defied him
for his indigence and misfortune. He was alone. He works nine or ten hours a day in
that factory of not-so-popular cloth trade. His pay is just a little. However, his
money is like abundant leaves. I was wondering how he pays our rent, our water,
our food, my ice cream, my Barbie, my tiny thick uniform, my candies, my
chocolates and my pretty toys.
Sometimes, I ask the air, “Where on earth my dad get lots of money?” Isn’t it
surprising? Yes it is. It is really surprising that my dad pretends to be happy though
I am the cause of his heartaches when mom died. Yes he is rich because he
pretends to be someone because he wants me to be happy at all times. He pretends
not to be tired because he wants me to be good at school. He makes me laugh
because he does not want me to be lonely. And most of all, he wants me to smile
because when I do, his pain will go away. Sometimes, he holds his stomach. I know
it is empty for the whole day. How I wish that time must fly so fast so I could
accompany him to bear his burdens.
 CHRIST THE KING COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

I knew it then. I knew that his joy is me. He sacrifices, he lies and he
pretends because I am the only fruit of his sweet long love from the great woman
whom I owe my life- my mom. How touching for a little girl like me with five and
four years in this world! Though innocent, I feel the warm caress and tender touch,
sweetest smile and eyes so bright of my dad.
This is Sharina, leaving you of the greetings, “Happy Father’s Day! Love your
dad unconditionally!”

Directions: Read the questions below and choose the correct answer from the given
choices.
A 1. What point of view was used in the text?
A. First Person B. Omniscient C. Second Person
B 2. What does the persona refer to as the “light of home”?
A. Father B. Mother C. Self
A 3. What happened during that cold winter as stated in the introduction part of
the text?
A. The mother died. B. The father left. C. The baby died.
C 4. What does the persona refer to as the “envelope of love and caress”?
A. loving hands of the father B. the warm look of the mother
C. the womb of the mother
C 5. How will you describe the tone of the opening of the introduction part?
A. Happiness B. Great C. Sadness
A 6. How does the persona describe the light of home?
A. Courageous B. Great C. Weak
C 7. What does the persona mean when she said “home of human knowledge and
wisdom”?
A. Family B. Hospital C. School
C 8. What particular annual celebration was the letter written
A. Christmas program B. Mother’s Day C. Father’s Day
C 9. Why does the father pretend to be someone else?
A. He does not want his daughter to see his struggles.
B. He wants to retain in his daughter’s mind that they are rich.
C. He loves his daughter that he provides everything and he does not
want his daughter to see him struggling.
B 10. Why did the author write this true account?
A. to inspire people to be better on their studies
B. to persuade readers to love, respect and appreciate their fathers
C. to emphasize the greater value of loving mothers who bear a baby
and sacrifice her life.

Did you have wider and deeper understanding now about techniques and themes used in a text? The
true-to-life narrative you just read is an example of creative non-fiction. It is non-fiction because it is
based from true story of people where it became creative because it utilized the techniques and
elements of fictional accounts. However, the focus of this worksheet is for you to analyze techniques
and interpret theme/s in a text.
Let us dig a deeper understanding on techniques and themes by providing you a text to read,
understand and analyze.
 CHRIST THE KING COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Activity 2.
Directions: Read, comprehend and analyze the text below. Then do the activities
that follow.

The Truth About Filipino Old Timers

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

The very first O.T. (Filipino Old Timer) I heard about was the man who
returned to Cebu to marry my mother’s friend, a spinster advanced in years. During
afternoon meriendas, I overheard the development of this alliance.
A crusty lady set in her ways, my mother’s friend refused to migrate to
America and the newlyweds lived in her seaside town. It was a poor place which
relied only on the sea’s yield and he quickly grew sick of eating fish and rice. He
longed for steaks, broccoli, and asparagus; he wanted them both to go to the United
States. She adamantly said no and finally he returned to America alone.
I got the idea that O.T.’s were displaced human beings after seeing another
O.T. in a travel agency. A quiet man with skin like stretched leather, he stood
solemnly while his relatives made arrangements for his quick return to the U.S. His
children had bought him a round-trip ticket from the U.S. to the Philippines and
back. He had not been home in over forty years; it had been his dream to return.
But after just a few days in his hometown, he became very unhappy and wanted to
leave.

When I was a graduate student at UCLA, I became scared when an O.T.

began trailing me. I was shopping in Westwood Village, and later he even rode my
bus. I managed to lose him, but I sometimes wondered why he did that. That
summer when I lived with my friend and her uncle, an O.T. – the one married to an
ex-nun – I was also puzzled when he followed my friend and me everywhere. I
would discover years later that these men, who had generally been isolated from
Filipino women, took pleasure in just looking at and being with Filipinas.
After seeing more of California, I made a mental picture of where these Old
Timers worked – on the farms of Salinas; in the canneries of Monterey, perhaps in
the Portola Sardine Factory. I imagined Temple Street before the freeways, the
raunchy bars and restaurants where they hung out. I knew there were few places
where these men could socialize in during the 1940s. Sometime, somewhere, I had
seen a poster saying: No Dogs and No Filipinos Allowed.
a poster saying: No Dogs and No Filipinos Allowed. I created a stereotype of
them, and I pitied these old men who had labored under California’s scorching sun,
who were not allowed to marry white women, who had only one another and their
card games and their whisky.
It was Tony who wrecked this mental picture.
My husband, son, and I used to live in an apartment in Los Angeles, where
Tony, an O.T., lived in one of the downstairs apartments. I felt sorry for Tony. He
was a small man who wore floppy fedoras, loose coats and baggy pants. I compared
him with the elderly in the Philippines who were surrounded by abundant children
and grandchildren. I remembered having to kiss the hands of my grandfather and
 CHRIST THE KING COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

granduncles to greet them. I projected everything I knew about O.T.’s on Tony and I
almost wept when I told my husband about him.
My husband said Tony seemed fine, that he had seen him exit from a bar
down the street. Of course, I retorted, the poor man is so miserable, he’s driven to
drink. I adopted Tony as a mental relative of sorts; after all, we were both strangers
in a strange land.
I never spoke to him because he was a very private man who came and went
without any fuss. There were, however, occasional strange sounds that came from
his apartment. Once, on the way to the laundry room, I walked by his bathroom and
heard what seemed to be an animal in great agony. I thought nothing of it.
When Christmas came, I gave him a box of See’s candies. “I thought you’re
Vietnamese married to a G.I.,” he said. The very next day he came knocking and
handed me a larger box of See’s candies with an enormous red bow and plastic
flowers. He didn’t say anything; he just gave me the box and left.
As the months passed, Tony continued coming and going as before, and I
continued entertaining this vision of him as a pathetic old man. But in the summer, I
had to change my view of Tony and about O.T.’s in general.
One night there was a terrible commotion from Tony’s apartment. My
husband and I peeped out our window and saw the manager with two policemen in
front of Tony’s place. I was sure they had found him dead or hurt.
In the morning we hurried to the manager to find out what had happened.
“Oh,” she said – she was a German lady, large with red hair—“nothing to worry
about. This happened before.” Our eyebrows shot up questioningly and she
explained that Tony had girlfriends who sometimes moved into his apartment. “The
giggling and goings-on coming from that place!” she added. Tony apparently wanted
his current girlfriend to move out but she refused, thus the hassle.
It took me a while to absorb her words. My husband laughed but I stood
there thoroughly puzzled. I had all these ideas about Old Timers, about Tony, I had
to rethink things.
Now when I see Old Timers huddled over their card games, my first instinct is
still a wave of sympathy, but I just think of Tony and I chuckle and wish them a
good hand.

Directions: Answer the following questions. These questions will serve as your
guide in writing your analysis of the techniques used and the interpretation of the
theme in activity 3.

1. What does O.T’s (Filipino Old Timers) mean based from the text?
-It means that an elderly filipino who may have retired and settled in abroad.
2. Read the second paragraph. How did the writer characterize the man (he)?
-He describes this man for someone who probably looks at Filipina ladies and admires them
already.
3. Is there an imagery used in the text? Enumerate some.
-“ My husband, son, and I used to live in an apartment in Los Angeles, where Tony, an O.T., lived
in one of the downstairs apartments”
4. The word meriendas is used in the text. What do you call this choice of word by
the writer? -Literary Technique
5. What was the first impression of the persona about Filipino Old Timers?
 CHRIST THE KING COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

-The impression of the first persona is filipino OT’s was a disciplined human beings.
6. Does this impression change based on the events of the story? What literary
technique is used in this part?
-Yes its changed the impression. The literary technique is Allusion.
7. Quoted speech is employed in the text. What do you call this technique?
-Epigraph
8. Is there a flashback employed in writing? Cite it.
-“ I remembered having to kiss the hands of my grandfather and granduncles to greet them. “
9. What kind of text is “The Truth About Filipino Old Timers”?
- Non-Fiction
10. What character of Filipino old timers is shown in the story?
-It was shown that filipino OT’s are somehow lonely and longing to see other Filipina’s.
11. Enumerate the main and minor themes of the story.
-Main Theme: Respect & Appreciation
Minor Theme: Sadness & Loneliness

Activity 3. Write your analysis and interpretation!

Directions: After reading the text, write your simple, yet comprehensive analysis of
the techniques used and interpret the theme in the story. Your answer should be
two consecutive paragraphs. The first paragraph should discuss first your analysis
on the techniques used and the second paragraph should compose your analysis on
the theme. Be guided with the given rubrics in writing your analysis and
interpretation.

According to my understanding the authors used different kinds of literary techniques to

convey his/her thoughts in the story. There is an evidence that the author used imagery in every
description in the text. I noticed also that figure of speech is also used in both stories such as
hyperbole, personification and simile. Based on the text humor utilized on how you feel after
reading. Lastly, the technique that I noticed upon reading is the arrangement and the change of
words.

I as a reader, I already identified the themes in the two stories provided. The first story focus
on how the father gave everything to the girl just to make her happy and to be good at school, after
her mother died while giving birth to her, it is obvious that the theme used in the story is love,
courage and positivity it is seen in the fourth and fifth paragraph. The second story, I noticed that
the idea presented in the text revolve around elderly people who are seeking love. The theme applied
in the story is love and social conditions of the elderly. Stereotyping in the sixth paragraph can view
by the author’s perspective and Inequality is shown in the fifth paragraph from the phrase “No Dogs
and No Filipinos Allowed” which is an example of social issue. The utilization of literary techniques
and themes in the two story is effectively conveyed me as a reader.