a critical survey of Philippine Literatures

THE LITERARY GENRES THE FILIPINO NOVEL AND SHORT STORY

A Brief History
The novel in the Philippines was modeled after Western prototypes, but its roots lie deep in native soil.

There is a tradition of local narrativesoral epics, ballads, tales, and other folk materialsto which were later added other narrative types introduced by the Spaniards, including metrical romances (corridos), saints lives, fables, parables, and folk epics (pasyon).

The novel in the Philippines developed by combining elements from these different traditions, producing many noted works

Francisco Baltazar
FLORANTE AT LAURA

Pedro Paterno
NINAY

Jose Rizal
NOLI ME TANGERE EL FILIBUSTERISMO

These were the first works of realistic fiction produced by a Filipino, the work of a man steeped in both his native traditional literature and the major European literatures.

By the 1920s English was firmly established as a medium of both education and literary expression. Nonetheless, the early novels in English are not appreciably different from their predecessors in Spanish and Tagalog.

A Child of Sorrow (1921) by Zoilo Galang is a simplistic and melodramatic story of thwarted love.

in essence, a Tagalog novel written in English

On the other hand, The Filipino Rebel (1927) by Maximo Kalaw is a historical novel about the American conquest of the islands and the establishment of the new colonial regime.

very much in the tradition of Rizal, though far less successful

In the 1950s and early 1960s, the intellectual milieu of the urban, university-educated English writer in the Philippines became even more sophisticated and cosmopolitan. Foremost among the postwar novelists are Bienvenido Santos, N.V.M Gonzalez, and Nick Joaquin.

Nick Joaquin
Joaquins novel The Woman Who Had Two Navels (1961) is an impressive achievement, both for its dazzling use of English and for its mastery of narrative technique in rendering the search for a national identity. Cave and Shadows (1983) is structured like a mystery thriller, yet it explores the same theme, drawing on a rich store of myth and legend but locating the action in the thick of contemporary events and using a middleclass intellectual as protagonist. Joaquins style has been described as tropical baroque, a reference as much to his choice of unusual protagonists in rather melodramatic situations as to his prose.

Bienvenido Santos
Santoss earlier novelsVilla Magdalena (1965), about a decaying family and class differences; The Volcano (1965), about Philippine-American relations; and The Praying Man (1982), about corruption in high places are set in the Philippines, but his two later novels The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor (1983) and What For You Left Your Heart in San Francisco (1987) are deeply moving portraits of wounded men, Filipinos in America. It is in these two novels that his distinctive use of the English language is most obvious: his choice of idioms, the clipped, brisk pace, the consistent understatement.

N.V.M. Gonzalez
Gonzalezs novel The Bamboo Dancers (1959) draws on the authors urban experiences, and on his expatriate years. His earlier Season of Grace (1956), on the other hand, drew on his earlier life in the province of Romblon and Mindoro, bending English to the shape and sense of the language of the Visayan peasant with admirable simplicity and economy.

Kerima Polotan
Perhaps the most important woman novelist of the postwar period is Kerima Polotan. The Hand of the Enemy (1962), the story of a womans search for love, but a search solidly grounded in contemporary social and political realities (including a sakdalista movement in Pangasinan), has been lavishly praised for its impeccable handling of English, an elegance perhaps matched only by Gregorio Brillantes and Gilda Cordero Fernando, younger fiction writers who have not produced full-length novels.

Edith Lopez Tiempo

Edith Tiempo, named National Artist only in 1999, is best studied through her poetry. Still, her novelsA Blade of Fern (1979), His Native Coast (1979), The Alien Corn (1991), One, Tilting Leaves (1995), and The Builder (2004)are interesting in that they focus on a different Philippinesthe provincial towns and cities, the world of loggers, miners, small-town academicsand in that they are told in a rather quaint, almost mannerist English, the effect perhaps of the relative isolation of Silliman University, where she is based.

The Contemporary Novel

Most contemporary Philippine novels are historical novels. In these, history does not merely provide the setting, but enters into the motivation of the characters, propels the plot. The characters are political beings; their conflicts are engendered by political events. We could even make the claim that the real protagonist here is the nation itself, and the real conflict is the countrys desperate struggle for survival.

Juan C. Laya
HIS NATIVE SOIL THIS BARANGAY

Stevan Javellana

WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN

Edilberto K. Tiempo

CRACKED MIRROR FARAH MORE THAN CONQUERORS THE STANDARD BEARER TO BE FREE WATCH IN THE NIGHT (CRY SLAUGHTER)

Linda Ty-Casper

AWAITING TRESPASS DREAD EMPIRE DREAM EDEN FORTRESS IN A PLAZA THE HAZARDS OF DISTANCE THE PENINSULARS A SMALL PARTY IN THE GARDEN THE STRANDED WHALE TEN THOUSAND SEEDS WINGS OF STONE

F. Sionil Jose

THREE FILIPINO WOMEN MY BROTHER, MY EXECUTIONER THE PRETENDERS ERMITA GAGAMBA MASS PO-ON TREE VIAJERO

Jose Y. Dalisay Jr.

KILLING TIME IN A WARM PLACE SOLEDADS SISTER

Renato E. Madrid

DEVIL WINGS MASS FOR THE DEATH OF AN ENEMY

Carlos Cortes
LONGITUDE

Wilfrido Nolledo
BUT FOR THE LOVERS

Charlson Ong

AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES BANYAGA: A SONG OF WAR BLUE ANGEL, WHITE SHADOW

Alfred Yuson

THE GREAT PHILIPPINE JUNGLE ENERGY CAF VOYEURS AND SAVAGES THE MUSIC CHILD AND THE MAHJONG QUEEN

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

WHEN THE RAINBOW GODDESS WEPT (SONG OF YVONNE) MAGDALENA ANGELICAS DAUGHTERS

Antonio Enriquez

THE LIVING AND THE DEAD SUBANONS SURVEYORS OF THE LIGUASAN MARSH

Erwin Castillo
THE FIREWALKERS

Mig Alvarez Enriquez

THE DEVIL FLOWER HOUSE OF IMAGES

Azucena Grajo Uranza

BAMBOO IN THE WIND FEAST OF INNOCENTS A PASSING SEASON WOMEN OF TAMMUZ

Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo
RECUERDO A BOOK OF DREAMS

Eric Gamalinda

EMPIRE OF MEMORY MY SAD REPUBLIC PLANET WAVES CONFESSIONS OF A VOLCANO THE DESCARTES HIGHLANDS

Mario I. Miclat

SECRETS OF THE EIGHTEEN MANSIONS

Clarissa V. Militante
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

It should be mentioned that many of the contemporary Philippine novelists in English are expatriates.

Carlos Bulosan

AMERICA IS IN THE HEART ALL THE CONSPIRATORS

Ninotchka Rosca
STATE OF WAR TWICE BLESSED

Jessica Hagedorn
DOGEATERS THE GANGSTER OF LOVE DREAM JUNGLE TOXICOLOGY

Arlene J. Chai

THE LAST TIME I SAW MOTHER EATING FIRE, DRINKING WATER

R. Zamora Linmark
ROLLING THE RS LECHE

Peter Bacho
CEBU NELSONS RUN ENTRYS LEAVING YESLER

Bino A. Realuyo

THE UMBRELLA COUNTRY

Han Ong

FIXER CHAO THE DISINHERITED

Brian Ascalon Roley

AMERICAN SON

Noel Alumit

LETTERS TO MONTGOMERY CLIFT TALKING TO THE MOON

M. Evelina Galang
ONE TRIBE

Sabina Murray

A CARNIVORES INQUIRY FORGERY

Donna Miscolta

WHEN THE DE LA CRUZ FAMILY DANCED

Tess Uriza Holthe

WHEN THE ELEPHANTS DANCE THE FIVE-FORTY-FIVE TO CANNES

Marisa de los Santos

LOVE WALKED IN BELONG TO ME

Samantha Sotto
BEFORE EVER AFTER

Merlinda Bobis

BANANA HEART SUMMER THE SOLEMN LANTERN MAKER FISH-HAIR WOMAN

Marivi Soliven
THE MANGO BRIDE

Our younger novelists

Gina Apostol

BIBLIOLEPSY THE REVOLUTION ACCORDING TO RAYMUNDO MATA GUN DEALERS DAUGHTER

F.H. Batacan

SMALLER AND SMALLER CIRCLES

Vicente Garcia Groyon III

THE SKY OVER DIMAS

Dean Francis Alfar

SALAMANCA

Katrina Tuvera
THE JUPITER EFFECT

Miguel Syjuco
ILUSTRADO

Criselda Yabes

BELOW THE CRYING MOUNTAIN

Karl de Mesa

NEWS OF THE SHAMAN

Alex Gilvarry

FROM THE MEMOIRS OF A NON-ENEMY COMBATANT

Tara FT Sering

AMAZING GRACE ALMOST MARRIED BETWEEN DINNER AND THE MORNING AFTER

The Summit Books

The Aesthetics of the Filipino Novel 1.

A common characteristic of the Filipino novel in English is DIDACTICISM (which can be found in the Tagalog novel as well), which means that it sets out to instruct taglay ng nobela ang layuning magbigay ng mga aral, isang katangian na nag-uugat sa tradisyong didaktiko. Ang nobela bilang salamin ng buhay na maaaring mapagkunan ng mga pang-araw-araw na panuntunan ang kaisipang paulit-ulit na binibigyangdiin ng mga nobelista. Soledad Reyes

Didacticism in the Filipino novel occurs either as (a) moralistic didacticism (b) nationalistic didacticism 1. symbolic names of characters
Salvador de la Raza in Joses Viajero Sisa in Yusons The Great Philippine Jungle Energy Caf

2. stories set against crucial events in Philippine history, where the historical events are not mere backdrops of the story but in fact shape the lives of the characters

2.
ALIENATION

This can occur in three ways: (a) alienation, as exiles, from people of a strange land

From Bienvenido N. Santoss The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor, Solomon King, a.k.a. Sol, the main character of Robert Taylor, is a soltero and a Filipino oldtimer in the United States. He feels alone, not just because he is single, but also because he lives, as an American citizen, among strangers in a land that remains foreign to him:

He had known what it meant to be hungry, without a cent in his pocket and forced to take dangerous and filthy jobs. And nobody need remind him that he was practically alone in the world. He knew. It was the painful truth: he was truly alone. He had no more friends and relatives in the Philippines. It had been such a long time.

(a) alienation, as exiles, from people of a strange land (b) alienation from other Filipinos

From Eric Gamalindas Confessions of a Volcano: Daniel, a journalist, grabs a grant to write in Japan to escape post-EDSA 1986 Manila, where he feels like a stranger in his own land. But in Japan, he gets involved with Filipino overseas workers, including Japayukis, and their Japanese lovers, friends and foes. On his first week in Tokyo, he spots a Filipina on a train, and realizes his own longing for home:

But somehow he felt drawn to this unusual encounter; or, more to the point, it was unusual that a stranger on the train should choose him to effect an easy escape fromwhat? Her own loneliness, because that was how she struck him: proverbial lonely alien in a cold, antiseptic city, looking for the first stranger who could speak her language, tell her about home, et cetera.

(a) alienation, as exiles, from people of a strange land (b) alienation from other Filipinos (c) alienation from the Philippines itself

From Nick Joaquins Caves and Shadows: Jack Henson comes from Davao to Manila, two years before Marcos declares martial rule, to help figure out a mysterious death. He feels like a stranger as he walks the streets of Manila again:

Carried along in the crush, he was in no position for nostalgia [sic] who should have been in the mood for it, for here he was, a Manileo born and bred, treading the ground of his city for the first time in twenty years (he was forty-two). He glanced around for landmarks but, aside from the cinemas, all still in place, could recognize only the hotel towers of the Great Eastern and the Avenue. He wondered if round the corner on Ronquillo the Palace was still across the street from the old noodle joint where you went for Chinese snacks after vaudeville at the Palace. (continued)

(continued) When he left here on the honeymoon he had never come back from, the 1950s had started, the cumbanchero era was peaking. There had since been rock and twist and discotheque while he blackened on an island off Davao, raising rubber, culturing pearls. Now he turned away from the smell of coffee, repelled from the cafe he had paused at by the a-go-go howling of its jukebox.

3.
AFFIRMS A SENSE OF COMMUNITYor being one with ones countrymen and with ones Philippinesand suggests that the bond is all the more strengthened by speaking, or writing, about it or about the old country. Ninotchka Roscas State of War Jessica Hagedorns Dogeaters Bino A. Realuyos The Umbrella Country

Speculations
Why are our novels didactic? F. Sionil Jose: Art does not develop in a vacuum; the artists first responsibility is not just to his art, but to his society as well. We have no choice but to face our didactic tradition in literature Balagtas and Rizal in curricula and in popular culture The rules of the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature state: In the Novel category, the theme is open and free. However, it should depict the Filipino way of life, culture, or aspiration.

Where does this tendency for didacticism lead to?

Literary criticism has often demanded that the Philippine novel in English be proletarian, or nationalistic, or something else. The novel has not been allowed to be what it must essentially and primarily be a story. Joseph Galdon

Even if Philippine novels in English are written in a foreign language, how do authors seek to provide a distinct Filipino tone and sensibility?

1. incorporation of myths, legends, and folktales 2. contain words either in Tagalog or other local languages, and much use of Filipino English

From Jessica Hagedorns Dogeaters: We compare notes after the movie, sipping our TruColas under the watchful gaze of the taciturn servant Lorenza. I dont like her face, Pucha complains about Jane Wyman, I hate when Rock starts kissing her! Whats wrong with it? I want to know, irritated by my blond cousins constant criticisms. She wrinkles her mestiza nose, the nose she is so proud of because its so pointy and straight. AY! Que corny! I dunno what Rock sees in her she wails. Its a love story, I say in my driest tone of voice. Although Im four years younger than Pucha, I always feel older. Its a corny love story, when you think about it, Pucha snorts. Being corny is the worst sin you can commit in her eyes.

What about Gloria Talbot? You liked her, didnt you? Shes so...I search frantically through my limited vocabulary for just the right adjective to describe my feline heroineinteresting. Pucha rolls her eyes. AY! Puwede ba, you have weird taste! Shes really cara de achay, if you ask me. She purses her lips to emphasize her distaste, comparing the starlet to an ugly servant without, as usual, giving a thought to Lorenzas presence. I avoid Lorenzas eyes. She looks like a catthats why shes so strange and interesting, I go on, hating my cousin for being four years older than me, for being so blond, fair-skinned, and cruel. Pucha laughs in disdain. She looks like a cat, aw-right, she says, with her thick, singsong accent. But if you ask me, prima, Gloria Talbot looks like a trapo. And whats more, Kim Novak shouldve been in this movie instead of Jane Wyman. Janes too old, Pucha sighs. Pobre Rock! Every time he had to kiss her Pucha shudders at the thought. Her breasts, which are already an overdeveloped 36B and still growing, jiggle under her ruffled blouse.

From Bienvenido Santoss The Man Who (Thought He) Looked Like Robert Taylor:

- Philippine Consulate... - Hello. We got problem. - Beg pardon. Whos calling please? - Im a Filipino. Like my friend here - Whom did you want to talk to? - We have a argument, see? About Philippine independence... - Hold on, please. Ill give you the Cultural Attach - Quiet! Shes giving us something. - Office of the Cultural Attach... - Hello. Like I say, we got problem. My friend here says Philippine independence is July fourth. I says its June 19, Rizals birthday. We got a bet, see? - Sorry. You lose, both of you. Its June 12. - We lose, both of us. Draw. Hey, how come June 12? - Its a long story.

Either this is just (a) incompetence in grammar and syntax

If you plan to write in English, master the language. No amount of insight will excuse atrocious grammar and graceless usage. We dont have to be embarrassed by this to begin with, because whatever we say, it isnt our language, especially in the literary mode. But if you write professionally in it, then youll have to learn it as well as doctors or carpenters know their trades. Jose Y. Dalisay Jr.

 or (b) an act of political willresponding to a post-colonial call

The Patriot By Nissim Ezekiel I am standing for peace and non-violence. Why world is fighting fighting, Why all people of world Are not following Mahatma Gandhi I am simply not understanding. Ancient Indian wisdom is 100% correct. I should say even 200% correct. But Modern generation is neglecting Too much going for fashion and foreign thing.

Other day Im reading in newspaper (Every day Im reading Times of India To improve my English Language) How one goonda fellow Throw stone at Indirabehn. Must be student unrest fellow, I am thinking. Friends, Romans, countrymen, I am saying (to myself) Lend me the ears. Everything is coming Regeneration, Remuneration, Contraception. Be patiently, brothers and sisters. You want one glass lassi? Very good for digestion. With little salt lovely drink, Better than wine; Not that I am ever tasting the wine. Im the total teetotaller, completely total. But I say Wine is for drunkards only.

What you think of prospects of world peace? Pakistan behaving like this, China behaving like that, It is making me very sad, I am telling you. Really most harassing me. All men are brothers, no? In India also Gujaraties, Maharashtrians, Hindiwallahs All brothers Though some are having funny habits. Still, you tolerate me, I tolerate you. One day Ram Rajya is surely coming. You are going? But you will visit me again Any time, any day, I am not believing in ceremony. Always I am enjoying your company.