A Very Thin Line Between Fantasy And Reality

Fantasy is defined as a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and setting. The setting is often a fictional plane or planet where magic and magical beings are commonplace. Personally, when I hear the word "fantasy", I can't help but think of fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc. It would always involve princesses and knights in shining armours. Fantasies are the thoughts you get when you close your eyes before you sleep and when your mind wanders at school.

Reality is defined as "the state of things as they actually exist". It is very different from fantasy in the sense that of course, there's no magic. No talking animals, no fairy godmothers. While fantasies tend to take you in a whole new world, reality takes you back to the world as it is, along with its many problems.

In the story "The Tale of the Spinster and Peter Pan", I could relate with the main character. I am also guilty of daydreaming of what-could-bes and what-could-have-beens. I tend to think and think and think about these things that I always end up upsetting myself. But unlike the woman in the story, my life is not routine. I am very open to change because I know that everything has its purpose. And I know that in the end, God will make everything beautiful for me in His time.

So what is the very thin line between fantasy and reality? For me, fantasies are there to help you picture the perfect scenario of what you want your life to be. True, there is no "magic". But the magic comes from when your fantasies slowly become realities.

Cannon and Contemporary

Again I saw many differences between Cannon and Contemporary short stories. One of which are the cultures and the traditions that they follow. In Cannon, the settings of each of the stories were of course set on some of the many distant provinces in the Philippines. And these stories were written way back before, during, and after war. I noticed that the characters are very traditional and they value their different customs. They are innocent of Western culture. In My Father Goes To Court by Carlos Bulosan, the characters believed in spirits and superstitions. In How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife by Manuel Arguilla, they have their unique customs and traditions on marriage. In the Bread Of Salt by N.V.M. Gonzalez, we are shown chivalry. In The Summer Solstice by Nick Joaquin, they practice strange religious customs. In Contemporary, however, I saw that there was a change in the culture. The characters also welcome and are open to Western culture. These stories are based on modern times and the stories show that modern technology is one of the reasons for this change.

The roles the women portrayed in the stories were also very different. In Cannon, the women were very conservative. Some of them were very dependent on their husbands. In Love In The Cornhusks by Aida-Rivera Ford, the main character was helpless in her situation. She just accepted the fact that she is already married to another man and she must learn to move on with her life as a mother and as a wife. In Contemporary, the women were not-so-conservative. They are independent and they like to take control of their situation instead of letting the man handle it. The women are strong.

Personally, when I read the stories under the Cannon, I was amazed to find out that we have weird customs that some Filipinos still practice today. I guess it’s somewhat good that we Filipinos are open to change in our cultures and traditions but I don’t think it’s good that we are so open to other cultures that we forget to appreciate our own.

Similarities

In my opinion, there are two similarities between Francisco Arcellana's The Mats and Divide By Two. First of all, I noticed that both Mr. Angeles and Belle's husband have pent up emotions. Maybe the reason why they concealed their sorrow and anger so much is because both of them are men. Men tend to put up a strong facade around them in order to maintain their reputation and I guess to also boost their ego.

In The Mats, I think the reason why Mr. Angeles hid his anguish and sorrow was because of his family. He wanted to show his family that all was well with him. Back then, since the story was written post-war, I think that people were still very traditional then. The man would be the one who's working and his wife and children would be very dependent on him. So I guess that's Mr. Angeles' reason for concealing his feelings. He wanted his family to move on and get over their hang-ups on their loss.

In Divide By Two, Belle's husband could possibly be hiding his own feelings for the sake of his and Belle's relationship. Maybe he knew that Belle was having an affair with their neighbor but he just ignores it to make it seem like he is indifferent with the entire situation.

Second, I noticed that in both stories, the husband and wife doesn't seem to have very good communication with each other. It's like their husband and wife for the sake of being a husband and a wife. They don't talk about their family and personal affairs. It's funny because these two stories are about family. But when you read these stories, they show family problems and it seems to me that there is no deep personal relationship between the couples.

I think the reason why Francisco Arcellana showed these family issues was because he wanted to show how Filipinos encounter these problems and how they would overcome.

Proud To Be Pinoy!!!

I remember the time when I first read "My Father Goes To Court" by Carlos Bulosan and "How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife" by Manuel E. Arguilla. I think that was way back in high school during one or two of our English classes. The class was divided into two groups to discuss these short stories. I also remember that I was practically dead at that time due to boredom. English was our last class for that day and I couldn't wait to go home. All I did during that time was talk to my friends and not participate in the group discussion. After all, the class genius was my groupmate so I was assured that our group grade for the activity would be high.

Almost five years later, here I am again, reading these two stories. Like before, I wasn't that enthusiastic with the idea of reading short novels. But after a while, I actually enjoyed reading them and listening to the class discussions that followed. I liked how the authors of both stories portrayed Filipinos with simplicity and innocence. It's amazing how I've been living in the Philippines for eighteen years and yet I still am not familiar with some of its cultures and traditions. I guess that I was just too busy looking at the Philippines' political and economical problems to just stop and see that there's still some beauty left in the Philippines.

Anyway, the two stories focused on the Philippine culture and some of the many unique attributes of Filipinos. In "My Father Goes To Court", it showed there that Filipinos can be very optimistic through problems. It showed in the story that even through great adversity, Filipinos can still find humor in the situation. The story also showed that Filipinos have different beliefs. Some Filipinos take superstitions very seriously. "How My Brother Brought Home A Wife" also portrayed the different cultures and traits of Filipinos. It showed in the story that Filipinos are very hospitable and they follow certain traditions with regards to marriage.

My family also follows traditions that are sometimes weird to me. We are a very happy bunch of people. Before my grandmother migrated to the U.S.A., my cousins and I would go to our grandparents' house for the weekend. We call that our "weekly family reunion". Sometimes we would bring clothes so that we can easily persuade our parents to let us stay the night. We would also cry when Sunday comes because that meant it's time to go home. Aside from that, everynight we would call our Lolos and Lolas to bid them goodnight.

When visitors come to our house, we let them eat the "best food" in the house. Even if what's left for us would be sardines or corned beef. Sometimes, we would let them eat first and we would only eat after they've gone. Being a Christian family, we pray together before eating and sleeping. Every Saturday, we have our family hour where we study the Bible and discuss God's word. Every morning, we have our quiet time and daily devotions. That's like our "alone time" where we have our personal time with God. We would also go to church as a family.

Today, I still see some Filipinos who still follow their traditional rituals. In Baguio, I have friends who are part of indigenous tribes and they have different beliefs. Some Filipinos have different religious perspectives. Like in the stories, there are many Filipinos who are hospitable and optimistic. I'm thankful because I had a chance to read these stories again because it gave me a different perspective about Philippine lifestyle. What makes the Filipinos different in character makes them beautiful. =)