Name: Sem R.

Bagot

Course/year/section: BSED FIL 4B

How to read literature

Pretest:
Mix and match: Match the short stories with their authors.

1. “The Story of an Hour”----Kate Chopin

2. “The Cask of Amontillado”---- Edgar Allan Poe
3. “The Flints of Memory Lane”----Neil Gaiman
4. “Hills like White Elephants”---- Ernest Hemingway
5. ‘’The Dead”---- James Joyce
6. “summer Solstice”---- Nick Joaquin
7. “the Lady with Dog”---- Anton pavlovich Chekhov
8. “The wedding Dance”---- Amador Daguio
9. “The Voter”---- Chinua Achebe
10. “Death Constant Beyond Love”---- Gabriel García Márquez
11. “The Haunted Mind”---- Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Which of these short stories have you read? Did you like it? Why or why not?

The story that I have read is the wedding dance, since it was one of the short story that we have
disscuss in our literature 1. The wedding dance is a nice short story and full of love, drama and
even sacrifice, because of their tradition that if you do not a have a child it means the husband is
inferior, tahts the reason she married another girl because his wife cannot give him a child.

Self-evaluation:
How does reading short stories influence the way you perceive the world?

For me short stories are sometimes true to life stories that can give us lessons, ideas and
knowledge about life. Through this it can help us to overcome situations and problems,
especially those problems and situation that are the same in the short stories. It can help us also
become a good communicator, a good reader, and it can also develop our skills in writing.

A. Elements of the short story

 1. Who is the main character/s? What type of character is/are she/he/they? How is/are
she/he/they described? Is she/he/they believable?

The main character are Rufus Okeke or Roof along with Marcus Ibe and Maduka. Roof was a
good man were his heart and will is for his village but everything was change when he become
one of the campaign boys of the Honourable Minister marcus ibe which he become corrupt,
betrayer, and untrustworthy just like what he did for bribing people to cast vote to Marcus Ibe
and even betray his friend just for money. Marcus Ibe I can say that he is a corrupt and
irresponsible leader. Maduka also is a corrupt leader just like Marcus Ibe for paying or buying
votes for the people. Base on the story for me they are not believable for they just want only to
become powerful and to become rich easily that’s the reason why they join politics.

2. How is the setting created? What role does it play in the story?

The setting of the story is in Umoufia and it is full of bad and corrupt doing in their village. It is
the time of election where the politicians and campaign boys are busy for the incoming elections.

3. What is the most important event in the story?

For me I think the most important event in the story is when roof was being bribe with 5 pounds
to vote for Maduka, and the time during the election when he cast his vote, for this event are the
event of how loyal and trustworthy is Roof.

4. How would you describe the main conflict in the story?

The main conflict in the story is when both politicians want to win in the election, that’s the
reason why they use money to buy the votes of the villagers and also when Roof become
unloyal and Untrustworthy just because of money which he become corrupt.

5. What is the theme of the story? How is it expressed?

For me the theme of the story is all about corruption and betrayal for they buy the votes of the
villagers to win the election to become power fuland rich quicly. Betrayal when Roof betrays
Marcus Ibe because of money.

B. Emotional aspect and identification:

1. Do you see significant aspects of yourself in any of the characters or events depicted?
Just like in the story yes I admit that sometimes I have done those things especially in small
things but after it conscience make me feel that I did wrong.

2. Do any of the problems, dilemmas or issues represented in the text resonate especially with
your own experience, as a member of a given social group or class ?
Yes, there are my experiences that are somehow alike in the story just like in elections where the
campaign personnel give money for my vote and the other campaign personnel give money also
just to by my vote and the truth is I accepted the money and I vote only to other politicians
without the knowledge of the other partylist or politicians.

3. Do any sections or aspects of the text repel, offend or embarrass you? Elaborate.
Yes, just like in the event when Roof was being bribe for his vote even though he has already
pledge his loyalty to Marcus Ibe. This event reminds me the same during the election where I
have accepted the money of both partylist without the knowledge of the other group and vote
only to one politician or partylist.

C. Write a short character analysis by answering the following questions. Write in

paragraph form.

1. Is the protagonist a round or a flat character? On what evidence do you base your
answer? What about the other characters? Why are they made the way they are?

2. Evaluate the moral structure of the protagonist:

a. To what degree is his/her moral stature defined by the words and actions of contrasting
minor characters, or by the testimony of characters who are readily acceptable as
witnesses?
b. Discuss the protagonist's inclinations toward specific virtues and vices, his/her powers or
handicaps with relation to those virtues and vices, and one or two important instances in
which his/her moral stature is apparent.

3. Describe the psychology of the protagonist:

a. What are her/his dominant traits or desires? How did these traits or desires apparently
originate? Do they support or oppose one another? Explain.
b. Through what modes of awareness is the protagonist most responsive to life – rational,
instinctual, sensory, emotional, intuitive? Explain and illustrate.
c. Discuss the way in which she/he takes hold of a situation. In what terms does she/he see
her/his problems? What does she/he try to maximize or minimize, try to prove or disprove?
Do her/his reactions proceed through definable phases? If so, what are they? How may one
explain her/his effectiveness or inadequacy in taking hold of a situation or emergency?

4. In view of all these matters, what does the author apparently want us to think and feel
about what happens to the protagonist?

5. Is the protagonist's personality worked out with probability and consistency?

C. Write a short character analysis by answering the following questions. Write in
paragraph form.

SHORT CHARACTER ANALYSIS

The protagonist in the story named Roof was a round character for at the start of the story he
was a popular, good and hardworking person but when he entered politics as an expert for the the
campaign in their village it was the start that he become unloyal, untrustworthy, selfish, corrupt
and even betray Marcus Ibe just because of the money. This event happen when the election day
is approaching where he become active as one of the campaign boys of Marcus Ibe, when he
accepted the money to vote for the opposition, and during the election when he cast his vote. The
other characters in the story are flat characters, for based on the story, all just they wanted is to
win the election to become powerful and rich in an instant way. To win the election they buy
votes of the villagers to win the election. Roof is a very good man who is popular to their village
as what is being said in the first paragraph of the story. His goodness and popularity in their
village are based on the testimony and witnesses of the villagers who knew Roof.

Based on the story, the protagonists virtue is just to help his village and the villagers, that the
reason why the villages has a high gratitude for him. And for me, I think it is also the reason why
he become a good and expert campaign manager of Marcus Ibe in his village for he is well
known and popular in his village. Roof was a good man, he even sacrifice his career as a bicycle
repairer's apprentice in Port Harcourt and return to his village to help his people in their difficult
time. And that’s the reason why Marcus Ibe take advantage to Roof because of his popularity in
their village.

The modes of awareness of the protagonist most responsive to life in the story are both
rational, instinctual, emotional. For me he is rational for the reason that he has return to his
village to help them in their problems and difficult time, instinctual for he is very cleaver
especially during the election where he has quickly find an idea on what to do to be not
suspected to whom he cast his vote, and lastly he is an emotional for the reason that he did not
follow his own good will but he thinks on the goodness for his people that’s the reason why he
return to his village rather than his bright future.

The problem and situation that h holds on is when the POP campaign team leader visited him
and give 5 pounds of money to Roof to vote for Maduka, and that time he balance it properly
weather to accept the money and vote for the opposition or to just ignore the money and become
loyal to Marcus Ibe, but in his decision he accepted the money. With it he was being force to
accept and vote for Maduka because of the iyi that makes his hearth nearly flew away, and he
made a quick decision to vote for Maduka for he is positive that Marcus Ibe will win the
elections. During the election where he was the first to vote Roofs spirit fell but he manage to not
to show it for maybe they will suspect him. On that very hour Roof wanted to return the money,
but because of that Iyi were he sworn to vote to Maduka, he decided to continue, and on that
very hour when he heard the voice of the police, he got a quick as lightning idea on what do to
his ballot. He folded the paper, tore it in two along the crease and put one half in each box. He
took the precaution of putting the first half into Maduka's box and confirming the action
verbally: I vote for Maduka. After that they marked his thumb with indelible purple ink to
prevent his return, and he went out of the booth just like nothing happen as he had gone in.

In view of all these matters, the author apparently want us to think and feel what happens
to the protagonist, maybe the protagonist will suffer for anxiety and conscience on what he did to
Marcus and Maduka and he warns us not to do the same on what the protagonist did, for as what
the saying says that "Do unto others what you want done unto you." ~Confucius “. For me the
protagonist personality worked out with probability and consistency for he has not been
suspected for what he did, until the end of the story but maybe his conscience is battling on what
he did to Marcus and to Maduka especially when they found out.