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.
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.
1 comment:
wait till we get to "Document" by Luis Katigbak :) (which is set pretty recently)
Post a Comment