Footnote To Youth (Summary)

"Footnote to Youth" begins with the main character Dudong working in the fields.
He takes no real joy in his dusty work; he is too distracted,

impatient to get home and tell his father that he has asked Teang, the woman he loves, to marry him—and she has accepted. He is
preoccupied by feelings of adulthood and masculinity, believing himself to be grown and capable. On the way home, he stops to bathe in a
creek, a symbolic gesture: he is beginning fresh, starting a new chapter in his life. At home, we see the labors of the home and the trials of old
age: Dudong regrets that he doesn't have a sister to help his mother with the housework; his father has a terrible and persistent toothache.
When he tells his father his news, the latter tries to talk him out of it—Dudong is young, only 17. But because he is only 17, he is headstrong
and sure of what he wants, so his father allows him to marry.
Nine months later, Teang gives birth to a boy, whom they name Blas. As Dudong waits out the childbirth in the yard, he frets to himself about
what it will mean to be a father, and he imagines himself having ten children. He is afraid and despondent rather than excited at the prospect,
and he is embarrassed to be a father and to have a child and to feel these things, though he does develop a sense of paternal pride upon
seeing the baby.
Over the course of six years, Teang gives birth six more times, which takes its toll on both her body and Dudong's. Both become old beyond
their years, and both regret having married so young; Teang bitterly wishes she had accepted the hand of another suitor, who in those six
years had married but had no children. Dudong does not want all these children, and one night he stays awake wondering why life can be so
cruel when youth is so full of dreams, so full of hope and expectation.
This same night, Blas, now 18, comes home late, and is unable to sleep. Dudong asks him what has him so agitated, and sees that the roles of
father and son are now reversed: where once Dudong was the stubborn, impatient youth who thought that to marry was to live, and his father
was the cautious, objective voice of reason, now Dudong's son has asked his girlfriend to marry him, and Dudong wants desperately for the
young man to reconsider. But he will not reconsider, and Dudong resignedly gives his consent. Thus the impatience of youth perpetuates itself,
along with the wisdom of years. Though love may at first overcome, life soon catches up.
Dudong,17, is impatiently waiting for his father to return home so that he can tell him of his love for Teang and his desire to marry her. He
feels that at 17 he is a grown man and is ready for the next important step in his life. When he tells his father that he has asked Teang to
marry him and wants his blessing, there is a long and cruel silence. His father asks if he must marry her because Dudong is very young. Dudong
resents his father's question, and finally his father gives his consent.
Nine months later, Dudong is waiting outside while Teang gives birth to their first son, Blas. He feels young and inexperienced, a contrast to
how he felt nine months ago. Dudong did not want any more children, but they came anyway. For the next six years, Teang gave birth. Seven
children in all.
Teang did not complain. However her body was now shapeless and thin from bearing so many children and from the hard work of caring for
them and the household. Even though she loved Dudong, she cried and wished that she had not married so young. There had been another
suitor, Lucio, who was nine years older than Dudong. She chose Dudong because he was so much younger. Lucio had married after she married
Dudong, however, he was childless. She wonders if she had married Lucio, would she be childless? She feels that would have been a better lot
in life. But she loves Dudong, even though life has made him old and ugly.
One night Dudong goes outside and thinks about his life. He wants to have the wisdom to know why life does not fulfill Youth's dreams. Why
did life forsake you after love? He never finds the answer.
When Blas turns 18, he comes home and tells Dudong that he wants to marry Tena. Dudong at this time is only 36 years old, but he is
portrayed as a much older man. Dudong does not want Blas to marry so young. He asks the same question his father asked him. Does Blas
have to marry Tena? He does not want him to make the same mistake he did. Blas also reacts with resentment. Dudong realizes that he is
dealing with Youth and Love, and they will triumph over this situation. After that, comes real life. He gives his consent, feeling sad and sorry
for his son.
He called this "Footnote to Youth" because a footnote is an additional comment or reference on the content of the text. He is telling youth to
pay attention to the lesson of this story.

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"Footnote to Youth" begins with the main character Dudong working in the fields.

He takes no real joy in his dusty work; he is too distracted,

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