The Rainy Day

     Title: The Rainy Day

     Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine—then still part of Massachusetts—on February 27, 1807, the second son in a family of eight children. His mother, Zilpah Wadsworth, was the daughter of a Revolutionary War hero. His father, Stephen Longfellow, was a prominent Portland lawyer and later a member of Congress. 

  

    source: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/henry-wadsworth-longfellow

     My Point-of-view: This poem talks about the problems that we have and that these past experience affect our lives. This also means that these types of problems are temporary if you decide to carve yourself out of the problem. Because if you don't do anything yes, the problem might go away but would you want to continue suffering and do nothing? or end your suffering by doing something about it.

    

   

To Whom Shall I Tell My Sorrow

     Title: To Whom Shall I Tell My Sorrow

     Author: Anton Chekov

     Author's Background: Anton Chekhov, in full Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, (born January 29 [January 17, Old Style], 1860, Taganrog , Russia—died July 14/15 [July 1/2], 1904, Badenweiler, Germany), Russian playwright and master of the modern short story. He was a literary artist of laconic precision who probed below the surface of life, laying bare the secret motives of his characters. Chekhov’s best plays and short stories lack complex plots and neat solutions. Concentrating on apparent trivialities, they create a special kind of atmosphere, sometimes termed haunting or lyrical. Chekhov described the Russian life of his time using a deceptively simple technique devoid of obtrusive literary devices, and he is regarded as the outstanding representative of the late 19th-century Russian realist school.

    source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anton-Chekhov

     Vocabulary:

            mare - an adult female horse

            nag - old horse

            brandish - wave of flourish

            fidget - make small movements, especially of the hands and feet, through nervousness or impatience.

            galosh - a waterproof overshoe. Typically made of rubber

            colt - a young uncastrated male horse, in particular one less than four years old.


     Characters: Iona Potapov -  an old cab driver who recently lost his son

                        Iona's horse - His only companion

                        An Officer - Iona's first passenger

                       Three young men - 1 short hunchback and 2 tall ones

     Setting: A cold winter night in Russia

     Exposition: The story describes Iona as a slegde driver that is as white as a ghost, and his little mare was also white and motionless.

     Rising Action: After the coachman swears at Iona fidgets and the officer asked him what is wrong. After he revealed that his son died the officer brushed him off because he was too busy and was in a hurry to get to Vyborgsakya.

     Climax: He feeds his horse which then escalates to him talking about his son and that he should be the one to do the cabying instead of him.

     Falling Action: He talked with his horse about his son.

     Ending: Iona talked more about his son because the horse was the only one that would listen to his sorrow.

     Symbolism:  The title to whom shall i tell my sorrow shows that not everyone is willing to give their ears and here you talk to them.

     Theme: The story showed that not everyone is willing to listen to a person talk because they have their own things to worry about.

     Lesson: We should not bottle up our emotions or else these emotions might overflow and destroy us. You can just talk to something that can't talk back it evident in this story.

     

A Night In The Hills

     Title: A Night In The Hills

     Author: Paz Marquez- Benitez

     Author's Background: Paz Marquez Benitez On March 3, 1894, educator Paz Marquez-Benitez, who authored the first Filipino modern English-language short story "Dead Stars", was born in Lucena City, Quezon.

Benitez was among the first generation of Filipinos trained in the American education system which used English as the medium of instruction.She taught at the University of the Philippines’ English department from 1916 to 1951, acquiring a reputation as an outstanding teacher.

She became an influential figure to many Filipino writers in the English language , among them, Loreto Paras Sulit, Paz Latorena, Bienvenido Santos, Manuel Arguilla, S.P. Lopez and National Artist Francisco Arcellana, who later emphatically declared, “She was the mother of us all!”

In 1919, she founded "Woman's Home Journal", the first women's magazine in the country. In 1928, she compiled "Filipino Love Stories," reportedly the first anthology of Philippine stories in English by Filipinos, from the works of her students.

     Source: https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/972/today-in-philippine-history-march-3-1894-paz-marquezbenitez-was-born-in-lucena-city-quezon

     Vocabulary:

         azotea - a flat roof. 

         solicitous - characterized by or showing interest or concern.

  

         fastidious - very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.

        carreton – small cart

 kaingin – employing a technique of clearing land by slashing and burning underbush and trees and plowing the ashes under for fertilizer

 camisa de chino – an undershirt

 misas de gallo – an event in the Philippines during Christmas season

 Characters:

        Gerardo Luna - The person whose dream was to see the forest for the first time

         Luna's wife - She was interested in the business aspect of the forest

         Ambo - an orchid gatherer

         Sotera / Ate Tere - Gerardo's older sister

         Peregrina - The person Gerardo met when going back home

     

   Setting: Manila, Philippines

   Exposition:  This part was when Gerardo was introduced as a salesman in a jewelry store. An that he inherited the job from his father.

    Rising Action: Gerardo told his wife about his dream but she told him that it would bring discomfort and sickness for no reason.

   Climax: Gerardo's wife died and he used this opportunity to go to the forest.

    Falling Action: This was when everything he dreamt about the forest was false and that he was expecting the forest to be beautiful and calm. 

     Ending: Gerardo went back home feeling sad and then meeting Peregrina

     Symbolism:  We can use Gerardo's experience about his forest visit with how we should not always be blinded by one possibility because if there is a good side there will always be a bad side.

    Theme: Expect the unexpected events

    Lesson: You should always expect thing to be as smooth as butter there always two sides of a coin and you should always consider that there is a good and bad side of things.