The document discusses the historical-biographical approach to analyzing literature, specifically focusing on Bienvenido N. Santos's short story 'Scent of Apples.' It explores how Santos's experiences as a Filipino immigrant influence the narrative and highlights themes of nostalgia and struggle in retaining cultural identity. The story is a reflection on the complexities of immigrant life and the personal connections to one’s homeland.

1. Historical-biographical
context in reading
LESSON 3 WK 3

2. •Analyze a literary text as an expression of individual or
communal values within biographical and historical contexts.
a. define the biographical and historical approaches to reading
a literary text.
b. note and discuss historical and biographical data about a
given topic, person, author, or experience.
c. relate the author’s history and biography with the literary
elements (i.e., setting, characters, and POV) of his/ her text.

3. Scent of Apples by Bienvenido N. Santos
Bienvenido Nuqui Santos (March
22, 1911 – January 7, 1996)
was a Filipino-American fiction,
poetry and nonfiction writer. He
was born and raised in Tondo,
Manila.
His family roots are originally from
Lubao,Pampanga, Philippines. He
lived in the United States for many
years where he is widely credited
as a pioneering Asian-American
writer.

4. Filipino consciousness
and identity

5. UNLOCK AND EXPLORE!
Arrange the following letters to discover the words in the box.

7. Read and Annotate!
Read the short biography of Bienvenido N.
Santos. After reading, accomplish the worksheet
Read and Annotate!

8. WHAT IS ANNOTATE?
To annotate is to make notes on or
mark up a text with one's thoughts,
questions, or realizations while
reading.

11. ● The historical-biographical approach of reading a short story
combines the biographical and the historical aspects of
information as the primary insight in the creation of the text.
● The biographical context relates the events in the short
story to the actual experiences of the author as this kind of
reading assumes that the author’s work is his/her/their way
of revealing himself/herself/themselves or a way of
expressing his/her/their actual experiences. To prove the
claim that the author is present in the text, one has to read
the author’s biography to see how much an author’s
experience influences the text.

12. ● Not all short stories are related to the personal life of
the author because some authors tend to revise the
facts of their own lives, which could be misleading
should one wish to connect the author’s life with the
text. Hence, not all short stories can be read and
analyzed from a biographical perspective.

13. ● The historical context seeks to understand the text
based on the social, cultural, and political aspects and
occurrences of a particular time, which could directly
or indirectly shape the events in the short story. To
better understand the text from a historical point-of-
view, one has to research the period in which the
events are set and happen. By going back to the time
of the events, one can clearly see how the story
unfolded in relation to the author's experiences.

14. ● One must also seek accurate historical
accounts since the proliferation of fake
or revised information may mislead them
in making sense of the historical
background of the short story.

15. PLOT SUMMARY
“Scent of Apples” by Bienvenido Santos is part of
a short story collection of the same name published
in 1978 by University of Washington Press. “Scent of
Apples” tells the story of one man and his family’s
unique experience as Filipino immigrants to the
United States. It’s a unique story, as Santos himself is
a character in it. Santos wrote “Scent of Apples”
during the Rebirth of Freedom—a period of activism
following WWII and the restoration of independence
to the Philippines.

16. By appreciating the context, it’s possible to better
understand the nostalgia woven through the story and
the difficulties Filipinos face trying to retain a connection
to their past while starting a new life elsewhere.
The story is told from Santos’s point of view. He’s
delivering a lecture in Kalamazoo, Michigan, before a
reasonably large audience of mostly college-aged
women. The talk centers on the Philippines, and Santos
talks of his people and his country fondly. He’s asked to
comment on the differences between American and
Filipino women, which he’s not sure how to answer
because he doesn’t know many American women.

17. In the audience, someone else speaks—a man, this time.
Santos can tell from his appearance that he’s also Filipino. A
farmer who works just outside of Kalamazoo, he left the
Philippines more than twenty years ago. He wants to take the
conversation one step further—he asks Santos whether
Filipino women are the same now as they were all those years
ago. At this question, the audience hushes, listening closely for
the answer.
Santos feels put on the spot; he doesn’t know how to answer.
He’s worried about giving the man false impressions, but he
also doesn’t want to shatter the man’s ideals about his
homeland. He doesn’t want to come across as insincere either.
There is a long pause as Santos decides how best to answer;
when he does, he has a strategy.

18. He asks the man to explain how he remembers the women,
so he can draw a proper comparison. This allows him to see
how best to answer the question. The man explains that
women used to be natural, kind, loyal, and modest. He
fondly remembers how they used to dress and says it’s the
men who’ve lost their faith and character.
Santos knows now how to answer him. He explains that,
while the women have changed on the outside, they still
have the same temperament and strength of religious faith.
The man seems happy with this explanation, and Santos can
rest easy knowing he hasn’t disappointed anyone. The
answer is also, to his mind, an honest one. However, the rest
of the talk feels less important after the interruption, and
Santos knows he’ll think about it for a while.

19. When he leaves the lecture, Santos meets the man outside.
He learns that his name is Celestino Fabia, and he labors on
farmland thirty miles away. He saw Santos’s name one day in
the local paper and, recognizing a Filipino compatriot,
traveled all this way to hear him speak about how things used
to be. Fabia invites Santos to dinner the following day, and he
accepts the invitation.
Santos goes to meet Fabia, who is overjoyed to introduce his
family to a fellow Filipino who reminds him of how things—
and Filipinos—used to be. Fabia worries over whether his
house is messy or dilapidated, but Santos doesn’t notice. He
knows Fabia is a farmer and money is very tight, and he’s also
not a superficial man. He’s looking forward to meeting
everyone.

20. On the way, Santos spots apple trees. They remind him of home,
and he’s suddenly filled with nostalgia and sadness. Sometimes, it
seems he can’t balance his memories with building a new life.
Fabia feels the same, and he pours out his thoughts to Santos
who feels privileged to hear them. They both fondly remember
their youth, but it’s sad to think everything’s changed.
Santos is embarrassed by how he feels when he meets Fabia’s
wife, Ruth. He notices she’s unattractive and her hands are rough.
He knows he shouldn’t notice such things, and he hopes it
doesn’t show on his face. He feels especially bad when he hears
everything Ruth has done for Fabia over the years—including
working all hours for very little money just to afford things like
healthcare. She reminds Fabia of Filipino women, and Santos
agrees.

21. Toward the end, Santos tells Fabia he plans on going
home and would like to visit Fabia’s town. Fabia
doesn’t want him to, because he knows no one will
remember him—and, perhaps, because he wants to
remember it as it was, not as it is now.

22. “Scent of Apples” reminds us of the struggles Filipinos
experienced letting go of their homeland and trying to
make a new life with nothing but memories of how
things used to be.

23. ASSIGNMENT:
• IN YOUR NOTEBOOK: (1)
LIST DOWN THE:
a. CHARACTERS
b. Setting
c. What type of POV did the author use?
d. What conflict is present in the text?
e. Plot