I. What does
the story say about human nature as portrayed by the following characters?
A. Abdullah (The Eyes)
Abdullah had always been mocked and laughed by people around him even
since he was born because of his deformity and ugliness. That discrimination he
had encountered had also been experienced by many people. Just like him, some
individuals could feel unfair treatment because of other’s judgment in their
physical appearance. But that feeling only made them stronger and taught them a
great deal about loving their own selves more. Moreover, people who are
discriminated proved to others that they also deserve to be loved and cared of.
It is just a matter of acceptance and understanding that nobody is born
perfect. They may feel the feeling of insecurity but the fact is we are
attached to it. We just have to bear in our minds that we are born unique for
too perfect is boring, and that in every difference there is beauty.
B. Mathilde (The Necklace)
Contentment is an ideal thing that everybody would wish for. But some
people, like Mathilde, never seemed to be contented. They are not satisfied
with what they have to the extent that they crave for something more. Not
knowing that everything has its own limitations and that we can never have
everything we want. We sometimes try to reach and own those things but in the
end we are the ones who are left hanging. We might not notice that while we are
craving for more, something from us slowly disappears, until our lives had
already been ruined. From these, we can see that craving for more, brings no
good to anyone.
C. Monsieur Loisel (The Necklace)
Men, nowadays, seem to act different that as if they don’t care. But
despite of this, there are still others who are willing enough to sacrifice
everything for their loved ones, just like Monsieur Loisel. They give
everything they can without even expecting something in return. To the extent
that, sometimes, they happen to tolerate the mistakes of the one they love just
for that person to be happy.
D. Princess (The Lady or the Tiger?)
The princess in the story portrays the nature of man in the sense that
sometimes, people tend to be selfish because of the thing called jealousy.
Especially with women who easily get jealous over their loved ones—jealousy
that sometimes, they would rather prefer the man they love to be dead than for
him to be owned by another woman.
E. Aylmer/Alchemist (The Birthmark)
Acceptance over the things you have seems to appear difficult. For many,
accepting is something really hard to do, especially when you don’t like it the
most. That’s the time the struggle for perfection appears. Now, many think that beauty can only be found
in perfect things, and that imperfection is something awful. But in truth, they
just don’t happen to know the real significance of life, that sometimes the best
things are found in the most imperfect creations in the world.
F. Jerry (Through the Tunnel)
Boys in the society seem to rely in their own beliefs as teenagers
nowadays. They do things the way they want it to be without minding the
possible consequences. They engage to different activities, even the risky ones
just to let the world know that they can stand with their own feet alone. In
the story, Jerry portrayed just how youngsters act these days.
G. Physician (Godfather Death)
Cheating is somewhat a thing commonly used by people who don’t exactly
know what they are doing. In the story, the Physician represents those people
who are called cheaters—being not true not just to others but also to
themselves. Sometimes, by doing this, one would not be able to notice that he
is hurting himself because of the fact that though he knows that it is wrong,
he still does it along.
H. Son (I Hate My Mother)
Youngsters nowadays become so demanding over their parents, asking
things which are not really important and useful. But at the end of the day,
they leave their parents unappreciated. Sometimes because of this, children
tend to feel ashamed of their parents and happen to abandon them, not knowing
the truth behind parents’ sacrifices all through the years.
I. Mother (I Hate My Mother)
It’s all about motherly love and sacrifice. Despite being
hurt because of her son denying her she still loved and understood him. It’s
good to know how much a mother can love her child, and proves how she could sacrifice
even herself just for her child. Not like today, where some would abort their
own babies.
J. The Couple (The Wooden Bowl)
It seems like the
couple had already forgot to love their parent. They tend to become irritated
with their own father only because he is old. It’s sad to know that there are
people like that today especially those who don’t have time to take care of
their own parents so they’ll put him to a Home for the Aged. It’s an awful
thing to know that they can’t give what their parents wanted and needed the
most; that is their love, care and attention.
K. Child (The Wooden Bowl)
It is portrayed in
the story the innocence of a child that shows how curious young ones could be.
In the society, children tend to follow older people’s doing without knowing if
it’s right or wrong. That’s why in the story, the child, seeing his mother and father
treat his grandpa as if he was an animal, decided to make a wooden bowl as a
preparation to the near future. The child was just the same with other children
now that could serve as an inspiration to the elders.
L. John Q.
Children, for parents, are considered as little gems that need to be
treasured. That’s why in the story, John Q, did everything just for his child
to be saved. In the real world, fathers like him, are much willing enough to
sacrifice everything for the ones they really love. Even their very life, they
can sacrifice it for the sake of their loved ones safety.
II. Find a significant object in the
story and discuss it’s symbolism in each story.
A. The Eyes –
EYES
The eyes are the
windows of the soul and it represents how a person sees you, but losing an
eyesight doesn’t mean you can’t be able to see love’s real beauty, because the
true beauty can only be seen by a pure a heart. In the story, Abdullah felt
scared upon the restoration of Leela’s eyesight. He was afraid what would be
Leela’s reaction upon seeing him. And if that will happen, his world would turn
out dark.
B.
The Necklace – NECKLACE
The necklace in the
story taught a great lesson to them from being not contented. Mathilde wore the
necklace instead of flower which her husband first suggested.
C. The Lady or
the Tiger – ARENA
The arena represents justice. It is the thing where your innocence will be
decided. Freedom or death, are the options in the arena. In the story the arena
decides if you’ll be eaten by a tiger or will marry a beautiful lady.
D. The
Birthmark – BIRTHMARK
The birthmark represents the imperfection. Everyone have imperfections but
sometimes these are the things that make us unique. In the story the birthmark
is the reason (the imperfection) that led the alchemist to find a way to remove
it and ended up killing his own wife.
E.
Through the Tunnel – TUNNEL
The tunnel represents the barrier that a person must cross in order to prove
something. Others want to show what they can do, not only for their fellow but
especially for themselves. In the story the tunnel is the obstacle that Jerry
must go through in order to reach that thing he wants to attest.
F.
Godfather Death – CANDLE
The candle in the
story represents life of a person. Shorter candle means shorter life and longer
candle means longer life. And once the candle extinguishes, that means the life
of that person has ended.
G. I Hate My
Mother – LETTER
The letter represents the confession of love and sacrifice. In the story the
letter is where the revelation of truth, of how much a mother loved his son
that she sacrificed her own eyes for him.
H. The Wooden
Bowl – WOODEN BOWL
The wooden bowl represents ungratefulness. Who would want to eat in a wooden
bowl? In the story, the couple showed their being ungrateful and disrespectful
to their father by giving him a wooden bowl in replacement of proper plate.
I.
John Q. – HEART
The heart represents life, love, hope, and sacrifice. It seems that the heart
is the very important part of our body. In the movie, heart is the only way for
John Q’s son to live. It is their only hope. John showed that he really love
his son by willingly sacrificing his own heart.
III. Identify
two major conflicts and describe how it occurs in each story.
A.
The Eyes
1) The first conflict was when, during
Leela’s pregnancy, she met an accident which caused to become ill. There, the
doctor told Abdullah that Leela could still see. Abdullah started worrying he’s
afraid about Leela’s reaction when she sees him.
2) Second is when Abdullah never said the
truth to Leela. He said a lie which caused Leela to lose hope. Then, Leela met
an accident which became the reason of her death.
B.
The Necklace
1) First was when the ball happened and
that Mathilde seemed not contented with what she had because she wanted to look
presentable just like those of the upper class society.
2) Second is when they lost the diamond
necklace without informing Madam Forestier. Because of such action they’ve
done, they suffered for about ten years just to pay for it.
C.
The Lady or the Tiger
1) First was when the king found out that
the princess and the man had an affair. The king became angry and ordered that
the man must be punished.
2) The
second conflict was when the princess happened to know who the girl in the
other door was and became jealous. The story then revolves around the decision
of the princess if she will let her man marry another lady or kill him.
D.
The Birthmark
1) First happened when Aylmer noticed his
wife’s birthmark on the left cheek and wanted to remove it.
2) Second was when after the operation, he
thought that it was a successful one but unfortunately it became the reason of
his wife’s death.
E.
Through the Tunnel
1) First was when Jerry wished to reach
the opposite side of the tunnel because of his curiosity, practicing on holding
his breath.
2) Second happened when he reach the
inside of the tunnel, he came struggling over his breath that he even thought
he will die at that time.
F.
Godfather Death
1) First was when the Physician cheated
over Godfather Death. He made such thing because he wanted the princess to be
his wife so that he could become a king.
2) Second was when the Physician pleaded
to Godfather Death not to take away his life. It happened in the cage full of
candles. Despite of him pleading, Godfather Death already made his decision.
G.
I Hate My Mother
1) First was when the son became mad at
his mother for the reason that she visited him in school. He became really
angry to the extent that he cursed his own mother.
2) Second was when after his mother died,
he found a letter which revealed the truth that his mother happened to have a
one eye only because she gave it to him when he was still young.
H.
The Wooden Bowl
1) First was when grandfather started
spoiling his food. The couple then happened to feel irritated so they made
another set of table for him alone.
2) Second happened when the couple saw
their son making a wooden bowl saying that it’s for them when they grow old.
The couple felt guilty upon hearing those words and they realized their
mistakes.
I.
John Q.
1) First was
when they knew that their very own Michael has a heart failure and that he
badly needed a heart transplant.
2) Second
happened when John Q felt desperate on about saving his son’s life. There, he
decided to commit a hostage drama because the world left him no choice.
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