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    Lengua para Diablo (The Devil Ate My Words) : (Excerpt From Banana Heart Summer)

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    Tim Cabral
    This excerpt is from the novel "Banana Heart Summer" by Filipino-Australian author Merlinda Bobis. It tells the story of a father who loses his job and his capacity for speech. He claims "the devil ate my words" and no longer feels able to disagree with his wife or make promises to her. The devil represents his former employer, a wealthy Spanish man, who fired him to hire cheaper labor. The story explores how unemployment affected the father and family, as well as the father's loss of power and identity.

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    Lengua para Diablo (The Devil Ate My Words) : (Excerpt From Banana Heart Summer)

    Uploaded by

    Tim Cabral
    222 views14 pages
    This excerpt is from the novel "Banana Heart Summer" by Filipino-Australian author Merlinda Bobis. It tells the story of a father who loses his job and his capacity for speech. He claims "the devil ate my words" and no longer feels able to disagree with his wife or make promises to her. The devil represents his former employer, a wealthy Spanish man, who fired him to hire cheaper labor. The story explores how unemployment affected the father and family, as well as the father's loss of power and identity.

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    Lengua Para Diablo true story

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    Lengua-Para-Diablo-The-Devil-Ate-My-Words

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    This excerpt is from the novel "Banana Heart Summer" by Filipino-Australian author Merlinda Bobis. It tells the story of a father who loses his job and his capacity for speech. He claims "the devil ate my words" and no longer feels able to disagree with his wife or make promises to her. The devil represents his former employer, a wealthy Spanish man, who fired him to hire cheaper labor. The story explores how unemployment affected the father and family, as well as the father's loss of power and identity.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    222 views14 pages

    Lengua para Diablo (The Devil Ate My Words) : (Excerpt From Banana Heart Summer)

    Uploaded by

    Tim Cabral
    This excerpt is from the novel "Banana Heart Summer" by Filipino-Australian author Merlinda Bobis. It tells the story of a father who loses his job and his capacity for speech. He claims "the devil ate my words" and no longer feels able to disagree with his wife or make promises to her. The devil represents his former employer, a wealthy Spanish man, who fired him to hire cheaper labor. The story explores how unemployment affected the father and family, as well as the father's loss of power and identity.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 14

    Lengua Para Diablo

    (The Devil Ate My


    Words)
    [Excerpt from Banana Heart Summer]
    by Merlinda Bobis

    Presented by: Nagum, Jean Caryl


    Pagcaliwagan, Chrizel
    Quenery, Erica
    Lengua Para Diablo is an excerpt
    from the book “Banana Heart
    Summer” Banana Heart Summer
    is written by Merlinda Bobis,
    Merlinda Bobis is an acclaimed
    Filipino-Australian writer and
    performer who has publish in
    three languanges. Her novel,
    short story, and poetry
    collection, and play have receive
    various awards.
    Lengua Para Diablo
    Means “ The Devil Ate My Words”
    “Lengua” is a Spanish words meaning
    “tongue” which is the story symbolizes
    the words eaten by the devil.
    Lengua (Beef tongue) is also a dish made
    of cow’s tongue. Lengua is often seasoned
    with onion and other spices, and then
    placed in a pot to boil.
    Vocabulary Words

    Epicure Scrupulously Affluence


    A person Extremely State of
    who takes a attentive to having a
    particular details great deal
    pleasure in Cajole Luxuriate of money
    Appeasement
    fine food and Persuade Take self- Receive or satisfy
    drink someone to indulgent (a demand or
    do something delight feeling)
    by sustained
    coaxing or
    flattery
    This story concern a father and how he no
    longer feel like he has a power over his family
    and society. It show how unemployment can
    affect people and their family members.
    Lengua Para Diablo (The
    Devil Ate My Words)
    [Excerpt from Banana Heart Summer]
    by Merlinda Bobis
    I suspected that my father sold his tongue to the devil.
    He had little to say in our house. Whenever he felt like
    disagreeing with my mother, he murmured. ‘The devil ate
    my words’. This meant he forgot what he was about to say
    and Mother was often appeased. There was more need for
    appeasement after he lost his job.
    The devil ate his words, the devil ate his capacity for
    words. The devil ate his tongue. But perhaps only after
    prior negotiation with its owner what with Mother always
    complaining, I’m already taking a peek at hell!’ when it got
    too hot and stuffy in our tiny house. She seemed to sweat
    more that summer, and miserably. She made it sound
    like Father’s fault, so he cajoled her with kisses and
    promises of an electric far; bigger windows, a bigger
    house, but she pushed him away, saying, ‘Get off me, I’m
    hot, at this hellish life!’ Again he was ready to pledge
    relief, but something in my mother’s eyes made him
    mutter only the usual excuse, ‘The devil ate my words,’
    before he shut his mouth. Then he ran to the tap to get
    more water.
    Lengua para diablo: tongue for the devil. Surely he
    sold his tongue in exchange for those promises to my
    mother: comfort, a full stomach life without our wretched
    want…But the devil never delivered his side of the
    bargain. The devil was alien to want. He lived in a Spanish
    house and owned several stores in the city. This Spanish
    mestizo was my father’s employer, but only for a very
    short while. He sacked him and our neighbor Tiyo Anding,
    also a mason after he found a cheaper hand for the
    extension of his house.
    We never knew the devil’s name. Father was
    incapable of speaking it, more so after he came
    home and sat in the darkest corner of the house,
    and stared at his hands. It took him two days of
    silent staring before he told my mother about his
    fate.
    I wondered how the devil ate my father’s tongue.
    Perhaps he cooked it in mushroom sauce, in that special
    Spanish way that they do ox tongue. First, it was
    scrupulously cleaned, rubbed with salt and vinegar,
    blanched in boiling water, then scraped of his white
    coating – now imagine words scraped off the tongue, and
    even taste, our capacity for pleasure. In all those two days
    of silent staring, Father hardly ate. He said he had lost his
    taste for food, he was not hungry. Junior and Nilo were
    more than happy to demolish his share of gruel with fish
    sauce.
    Now, after the thorough clean, the tongue was pricked
    with a fork to allow the flavors of all the spices and
    condiments to penetrate the flesh. Then it was browned in
    olive oil. How I wished we could prick my father’s tongue back
    to speech and even hunger, but of course we couldn’t,
    because it had disappeared. It had been served on the devil’s
    platter with garlic onion tomatoes, bay leaf, clove,
    peppercorns, soy sauce, even sherry, butter, and grated Edam
    cheese, with that aroma of something rich and foreign. His
    silent tongue was already luxuriating in a multitude of
    essences, pampered into piquant delight.
    Perhaps, next he should sell his esophagus,
    then his stomach. I would if I had the chance to
    be that pampered. To know for once what I
    would never taste. I would be soaked, steamed,
    sautéed, basted, baked, boiled, fried and feted
    with only the perfect seasonings. I would become
    an epicure. On a rich man’s plate, I would be
    initiated to flavors of only the finest quality. In his
    stomach, I would be inducted to secrets’ I would
    be the ‘inside girl,’ and I could tell you the true
    nature of sated affluence.
    The End

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