Verdillo, Ervin C.

BSED – English III

Activity 1
Direction: Respond accordingly and logically to the literary pieces given. Cite your
proofs by stating the stanza or line identities. (10pts each) *Note: Grammar matters!

A. For Reflection:
A Poison Tree
By William Blake
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears,

Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,

Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole

When the night had veiled the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

Reflection:
The poison tree symbolizes human behaviour. We, humans, tend to keep our anger on
ourselves resulting in it growing. On the other hand, if we tell the cause of our anger to
a friend it fades immediately because we let out our hidden feelings. The reason for this
is because we articulate and let go of our anger rather than keeping it inside our head.
Also, faking our actions and emotions doesn’t help. Deceitful smiles and actions only
worsen our anger because you are fooling yourself.
In the poem, the tree bears beautiful fruit, an apple. But it is poisonous, the narrator
knows that but his foe didn’t. That fruit symbolizes a trap. He wanted his enemy to go
down so he didn’t tell it’s poisonous. He let his foe eats it and he rejoice in the morning
seeing his foe is dead. We are like that, we are envious if our enemies achieve
something and we celebrate if our enemy fails at something.

B. For Reaction:

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 Revolt from Hymen
By Angela Manalang Gloria

O to be free at last, to sleep at last

As infants sleep within the womb of rest!
To stir and stirring find no blackness vast
With passion weighted down upon the breast,
To turn the face this way and that and feel
No kisses festering on it like sores,
To be alone at last, broken the seal
That marks the flesh no better than a whores’!

Reaction:
Initially, the title makes it appear that the poem is something about women. The tone of
the poem makes it seem that the speaker at last, finally breathed loosely. The words she
used makes me think that she finally be able to escape from something terrible.
The 4th to the last line shouts that the narrator is abused sexually. In the 5th line “To turn
the face this way and that and feel” seems that she is sexually abused by a man but just
couldn’t do anything. As I read the poem I feel her bitter-sweet celebration that she’s
eventually free. As if she finally pulled out a thorn pierced into her throat. She’s finally
freed from tiredness and be able to sleep at last.

C. For Insight
If You Think
By Walter D. Wintle
If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t;
If you think to win, but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost;

For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in your state of mind.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger and faster man,
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

Insight
The poem is very motivating. Mindset plays a big role in our actions. If we think we are
going to lose then we are lost already because our actions will drove around that
thinking. We see what we chose to see, so it is better to put our thinking towards
something positive.

Quiz 1

On the perspective of being a BSE – English major student, give your: A) Reaction; B)
Reflection; and C) Insight as to the theme of the excerpt below (15pts each). Underline
and set in bold face (if your answer will be computerized) your THESIS STATEMENT.
Support your claims.

First chapter of the novel “Edenville Owls” written by Robert B. Parker.

At Center Junior High School we played six-man football in the fall, and regular baseball in the
spring. But we had mo gym, so we didn’t have a basketball team until seventh grade, when my
friend Russell and I decided to start one. Nick said he’d play. And Billy, and Manny. We wanted
to call ourselves something kind of tough: Tigers, or maybe the Wolverine. But when Russell and
I went to New Bedford to buy the jerseys, all they had were yellow ones with a picture of an owl,
so we became the Edenville Owls instead.
We hitchhiked to most games wearing our Owls uniforms under clothes and taking turns
carrying the basketball. Sometimes an adult would pick us up and give us a lecture about the
dangers of hitchhiking, but no one paid any attention. It was the way we traveled. When we
weren’t playing we hung out together. Play pinball at Spag’s Spa. Sit on the benches outside the
Village Shop at the top of the wharf and listen to the jukebox through the screen door. Sometimes
we fished for scup and blowfish off the dock. Blowfish weren’t good to eat, but if you rubbed their
stomachs they’d blow up and you could skip them across the water. We hung around together so
much that people just began to call us the Owls. My mother told me no good would come of
hanging out with them. But most of the kids liked us. Except the jerks.
In the eighth grade our teacher was new. Last year’s teacher had been fired, everyone
said, because she was a drunk. All the grown-ups told us that wasn’t the case, but grown-ups
tell you a lot of junk. We hoped it was true, and after a while, we kind or remembered her being
drunk. This year’s teacher was named Claudia Delaney. She wrote it on the board the first day.
Not just Miss Delaney, but the whole name, Claudia Delaney.
The Owls were sitting where we always sat, in the back seat of each of the five rows. I
was in the middle between Russell and Nick. I had a copy of Black Mask Magazine in my lap
and was reading it below the desk so Miss Delaney couldn’t see it. As she stretched to write, her
skirt pulled tight.
“Ming!” Russell said beside me.
I looked up. Russell nodded toward Miss Delaney.
“Hubba, hubba,” I whispered.
Miss Delaney turned around.
“Do you five boys always sit back there? She said.
“Yes,” Nick said.
“You would be the Owls,” Miss Delaney said.
“Hoot, hoot,” I said.
Everyone laughed, including Miss Delaney.
Billy was always scared of teachers. And Manny was a cape Verdean colored guy and was very
careful about everything. Mostly Russell and I and Nick were the ones that talked.
“I’ve heard about you,” Miss Delaney said.
“We’re not so bad,” I said.
“Oddly enough,” Miss Delaney said, “that’s what I heard.”
Some of the girls giggled. None of us liked that too much. We wanted people to think we were
pretty bad. Miss Delaney went to the board and wrote: “The Boy walked to school.”
“We’ll start this morning,” Miss Delaney said, “by reviewing some of the basic rules of
grammar that you might have forgotten over the summer. What are the subject and the verb of
this sentence?”
All of us groaned.
“I don’t like it either,” Miss Delaney said, “but we have to be able to speak the language.”
I put up my hand. She nodded at me.
“We can already speak the language,” I said. “How come we got to speak it a certain way?”
“Manners, mostly,” she said. “Like table manners, and appearance. It’s mostly about other
people’s impression of you.”
“What if you don’t care about impressing other people?” I said.
She smiled.
“It’s sort of a matter of freedom,” she said. “As long as you know how to speak the language, you
can choose the way you want to speak it,” she said. “But if you don’t know correct English, you
can only speak what you know.”
She was different. Most teachers got annoyed with me when I asked questions like that.
Sometimes I was really trying to figure it out. Sometimes I did it to annoy them. Miss Delaney
didn’t get annoyed. She gave me a serious answer. And she was very pretty too.

Reaction:
I find the chapter pretty interesting because of how it makes me feel nostalgic. The way
the main character told his junior high school story makes me reminisce about my older
days as a high schooler. This section was in a very light mood since there was no major
event yet. I think the focal point of the chapter was when a new teacher arrived to teach
them English grammar. And I was amazed by how smart she answers the question of
the main character. Her analogies were spot-on too. I feel like Miss Delaney, the new
teacher will have a great impact on the main characters and on the whole story.

Insight:
The setting of the story was in school. The characters are slightly disobedient as they
didn’t pay attention to the advice of the grown-ups but that is understandable because
they are still kids. But one thing that surprises me is the firing of their former teacher
because of her alleged drunkenness. Surely, that is not normal for a teacher to do. The
narrator told that they remembered her being drunk but the grown-ups told that it
wasn’t the case. I think they’re trying to cover up their co-worker. Early in the chapter
grown-ups are the one that advises the kids good moral. Then later on in the chapter, it
tells us how the grown-ups and the kids think differently.

Reflection:
We can all agree that the center of attention of the chapter was the conversation
between the new teacher and the main character. The question asked by the narrator is
why would even bother to study a language that you already know how to use? And
that is a very reasonable question. I remember asking the same question to my
classmate when we are studying our native language subject. Though I do not dare to
ask the teacher, the teacher should tell his students first and foremost the purpose of
studying a language they already know how to speak. At that time I don’t even know
the answer myself. Then in the story, Miss Delaney respond smartly. She explained it
well and use analogies to make it clearer. I should have had asked my teacher that
question too.

Quiz 2

JUSTIFIED TRUE OR FALSE. Read and analyze each statement. If the statement is
correct, write TRUE; if otherwise, write FALSE. Whether the item is correct or not,
explain or justify your answer. (3 points each)

TRUE 1. Literature is primarily oral.

- Humans generally first learn to speak than to write. The Egyptian hieroglyphs
considered the earliest writing systems but before they knew how to write they already
have an oral tradition. So Oral literature is more primary than written literature.

TRUE 2. Anybody can criticize a literary work.

- Anyone can criticize a literary work. The critique should just know and follow
the systematic way of criticizing a literary work. There are no requirements for being
able to criticize. Even a student can criticize his/her own choice of a literary piece.

FALSE 3. Criticism seeks the lapses what a literary piece has.

- Criticism does not seek the error of a literary piece rather seeks it worth and
value. If an error makes it more aesthetically pleasing then the critique will just
commend it and will not condemn it.

TRUE 4. A person with higher education in literature reacts better to a literary piece
than a bachelor degree holder.
- A person with higher education in literature reacts better because he/she
studies it. He/she will appreciate the literature more because he/she has more
knowledge about it.

TRUE 5. Literary criticism more deeply evaluates and analyzes literatures than reaction
papers.
- Literary criticism is more complex because it follows various systematic
approaches in analysing a piece. While reaction papers are mostly depending on how a
reader will respond and is mostly subjective.

FALSE 6. No single period of criticism can be considered as best time in analyzing

literary crafts.
- In the range of 1700-1800 the literary criticism became popular. It was called the
Enlightenment Period. In that period the reading was not only viewed merely as a
Educational but for entertainment also. So literary criticism arise very quickly as well.

TRUE 7. Literary criticism is used to acquaint professionals on literary gems.

- One of the aim of literary criticism is to show people how worthy it is to read a
literary piece. With literary criticism, readers can relate themselves to the
messages that the literary work has.
TRUE 8. Inner voice speaks analysis perfectly.
- One of the strategies to respond correctly to a literary piece is to listen to your
inner voice. Inner voice conveys what you truly mean. It also a form of thinking. If your
inner voice tells you that a piece is great, maybe it is.

FALSE 9. First person narration in literary analysis creates sincerity and openness.
- It is advisable not to use first-person narration when conducting a literary
analysis because it makes the whole judgement subjective and biased.

TRUE 10. Superb and polished criticism may be done after reading the whole context or
piece of literature.
- Finishing reading a piece of literature is a must for precise criticism. You can’t
fully analyse the piece if you just read it partially.

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Read the following questions with utmost comprehension. Write
only the letter that corresponds to your answer on the space provided before each
number.

A. 1. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about literature?

I. It depicts what life is.
II. Literary themes are adopted from existing life experiences.
III. Literature educates people.
IV. Literature moves man’s belief.

A. I and II only B. II and III only C. III and IV only D. All of the above

C. 2. Which of the following is/are characteristic/s of literary criticism?

I. Literary criticism caters the perceptions of critics.
II. This science evaluates the historical bases of a literary work.
III. Literary critics pay more attention on the vividness of works.
IV. Critics balance their emotions and objectivity.

A. II and III only B. III and IV only C. II and IV only D. II

only
C. 3. The following are core aims of literary criticism except –
A. to teach young learners.
B. to isolate more serious forms of literature based on their styles and forms.
C. for the literature teacher shares his lived principles among his students.
D. to develop analytical thinking of readers.

A. 4. Which of the following features/characteristics of literary works which should be

avoided refers to the cover design and texture of leaves?
A. Appearance B. Price C. Illustrations D. Length

B. 5. Why summaries are to be avoided in choosing literary works to be analyzed?

I. They will tolerate the tardiness among readers.
II. Readers will just rely on these briefs thus will not work on their own.
III. Summaries limit the capabilities of readers in digesting the gist of the works.
IV. Summaries occupy spaces which can be used for other activities.

A. I and II only B. II and III only C. III and IV only D. I, II, III, and IV
 Quiz 3
JUSTIFIED CLASSIFICATION. Analyze carefully the thesis statement in each item.
Write LR if the statement employed literary criticism approach and RN for reaction.
Reason out your answer on the space provided. (1pt. for each correct classification and
2pts for correct justification)

____ RN___1. The artists [movie] performed very well which astonished the audience.
- The statement only says the reaction of the audience which is astonished.

___ LR____2. The light direction [stage play] does not fit to the theme.
- The statement is a literary criticism because it criticizes the light for not fitting
the theme.

____ LR___3. The author’s tone [poem] helps in decoding the central idea of the piece.
- The statement employed literary criticism because it analyses how the tone of
the author contributes to the central idea of the text.

_____ LR__4. The writer’s point of view [short story] clouded the plot.
- It is a literary criticism because it shows his contradiction and judgment on how
the point of view of the writer causes the plot to be cloudy.

_____ RN__5. Suspense [novel] level did not meet the expectations and abilities among
my students.
- This statement only indicates the reaction of a teacher for not meeting his/her
students’ expectation.