The short story "Dead Stars" by Paz Marquez Benitez follows Alfredo Salazar who is engaged to Esperanza but finds himself drawn to Julia Salas. Though he falls deeply in love with Julia, Alfredo honors his commitment and marries Esperanza. However, over their eight years of marriage, Alfredo cannot stop thinking of Julia. He seeks her out years later only to realize that his love for Julia was a fleeting feeling, like a dead star, and will never be attainable.

1. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
DEADS STAR
By: Paz Marquez Benitez
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Formlessmelancholy
-
a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.
For example: "an air of melancholy surrounded him" or She felt a little
melancholy.
Synonyms: sorrowful, unhappy, depression, joyless
2. Fervid imagination -
intensely enthusiastic or passionate, esp. to an excessive degree.
For example: "a letter of fervid thanks".
Synonyms: Wholehearted, passionate, sincere, and intense
3. Apathetic -
showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern
For example: Apathetic about voting.
Synonyms: uninterested, indifferent, and unconcerned
4. tumultuous haste -
making a loud, confused noise
For example: tumultuous applause
Synonyms: loud, noisy, and thunderous
5. indolent ease -
lazy; wanting to avoid activity
For example:Cathy was an indolent girl who never completed her tasks.
6. errant -
misbehaving, guilty
For example:Errant behaviour is not good.
7. tantalizing charm -
interest; desire
For example:There are tantalizing hints that our universe has already survived.
8. reposeful with trees calm, quiet, relaxing, restful
For example: All were enjoying reposeon the desired shore.
9. vivid apparel bright, highly colored, realistic
For example:Vivid imagination to do to make herself feel safe?
10. Acrid -
having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant taste or smell.
Synonyms: bitter, sharp, sour, harsh
For example:Acrid milky juice.
11. Circuitous route -
longer than the most direct way; roundabout, winding, indirect
For example:Circuitous journey by land.
12. nuances in her voice -
expression or sound.
For example: "The effect of the music is nuanced by the social situation of
listeners".
13. Keen -
having or showing eagerness or enthusiasm
For example: She must be keen on details.
14. Bewilderment -
confusion resulting from failure to understand
For example:Have anyone else had these feeling of total bewilderment.
15. Exasperation -
a feeling of intense irritation or annoyance;irritation, annoyance, anger
For example: "She rolled her eyes in exasperation"
Presented by: JOMALYN V. TILETILE
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Major in Management
1

2. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Paz Márquez-Benítez
(1894 - 1983)
Tall and elegantly attired in full terno, she was a familiar figure on the campus of the pre-war
University of the Philippines. She was Paz Marquez Benitez, beloved mentor to the first generation of Filipino writers in
English. Inspiring many students who later became literary luminaries, she had an enduring influence on the
emergence and development of Philippine literature in English.
Born to the prominent Marquez family of Quezon Province, Marquez Benitez belonged to the first
generation of Filipinos trained in the American educational system. She was a member of the first freshman class of
the University of the Philippines, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912. She taught at the University‟s
English department from 1916 to 1951, acquiring a reputation as an outstanding teacher. Among her students were
Loreto ParasSulit, Paz Latorena, Bienvenido Santos, Manuel Arguilla, S.P. Lopez and National Artist Francisco
Arcellana, who later emphatically declared, “She was the mother of us all!”
Among ALIWW‟s prized exhibits are the journals of Paz Marquez Benitez, which are inscribed in two
hard-bound volumes. The entries, written by hand in both pencil and ink, date from 1924 and extend for an as yet
undetermined number of years. Of special interest to literary scholars are her notes on the tentative plot and setting
of her short story, “Dead Stars.” This story, first published in 1925 and regularly anthologized since, is considered the
first modern short story written in English by a Filipino
Presented by: JOMALYN V. TILETILE
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Major in Management
2

3. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
PLOT:
Summary
Dead Stars a story of pain and sorrow that love can give to an everlasting life of happiness.
Exposition
Alfredo met Julia Salas in a out of town business. But rather Alfredo and his father, Don Julian,
became close to Judge del Valle. In time, Alfredo fell in love with Julia. Julia did not have any affection to Alfredo. But
Alfredo has an on-going relationship back at home.
Rising Action
Don Julian and Carmen talks concerning the ongoing relationship of Alfredo Salazar and
Esperanza.Perhaps, the relationship between Alfredo and Esperanza for four years gradually ready to disappear. Don
Julian once said ,I supposed long engaged people are like that; warm now, cool tomorrow. I think they are oftener
cool than warm. The very fact that an engagement has been allowed to prolong itself argues certain placidity of
temperament or of affection on the part of either, or both.
After the procession for The Lady of Sorrows Alfredo caught up with Julia. It was when Julia found out
about Alfredo‟s wedding so he congratulated him. Alfredo needs to make a very difficult situation. Would he choose
what he wants to? Or would he choose what he has to?
Falling Action
Julia didn‟t want Alfredo not to honor his understanding with Esperanza. She said goodbye. He went
home to Esperanza. And there, the last word has been said.
Conflict
In the story, Alfredo struggles against his fate and the circumstances of life and love facing him. He
needs to face problems in choosing between difficult choices of his life.Everyone takes it for granted that Alfredo will
eventually marry Esperanza. But although he is ashamed to admit it, the intensity of his passion for Esperanza has
faded and he is attracted to Julia, whom he meets at a dinner party. But he is aware that all his loved ones including
Julia would disapprove of his failure to honor his understanding with Esperanza. So he and Esperanza get married and
have a family.
Climax
Alfredo and Esperanza got married. After eight years, he was searching for a lady named
BrigidaSamuy-a lady important for his defense in the court-in Sta. Cruz, Julia‟s hometown. He went to Julia‟s house
and he found her there. Still unmarried. And he realized that his love for Julia was like a Dead Star. It was non
existent.
SETTING:
Don Julian’s house
Carmen was asking Don Julian about Alfredo‟s wedding. Alfredo remembered that period with a
wonder not unmixed with shame. That was less than four years ago. He could not understand those months of a great
hunger that was not of the body nor yet of the mind, a craving that had seized on him one quiet night when the moon
Presented by: JOMALYN V. TILETILE
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Major in Management
3

4. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
was abroad and under the dappled shadow of the trees in the plaza, man wooed maid.
Judge Del Valle’s house
Alfredo went „neighboring with Don Julian. This is when he met Julia Salas. Don Julian and his
uncommunicative friend, the Judge, were absorbed in a game of chess. So he and Julia went outside and talked.
Don Julian’s house in Tanda where there are coconut plantations and a beach.
After the merienda, Don Julian sauntered off with the judge to show him what a thriving young
coconut looked like "plenty of leaves, close set, rich green"--while the children, convoyed by Julia Salas, found
unending entertainment in the rippling sand left by the ebbing tide. Alfredo left his perch on the bamboo ladder of the
house and followed. Alfredo and Julia had a very long conversation and told each other about themselves.
Calle Real
After the parade for The Lady Of Sorrows Alfredo caught up with Julia in Calle Real. Julia congratulated
him for his upcoming wedding ironically. They were walking until the gravel road lay before them; at the road's end
the lighted windows of the house on the hill. There swept over the spirit of Alfredo Salazar a longing so keen that it
was pain, a wish that, that house were his, that all the bewilderments of the present were not, and that this woman
by his side were his long wedded wife, returning with him to the peace of home.
Sta. Cruz
Sta. Cruz was Julia‟s hometown. Alfredo was searching for BrigidaSamuy, a lady important for his
defense in the court. Knowing that this place was Julia‟s hometown, he thought of his marriage. He was not unhappy.
He went to Julia‟s house. He saw her She asked him about the home town, about this and that, in a sober, somewhat
meditative tone. He conversed with increasing ease, though with a growing wonder that he should be there at all. He
could not take his eyes from her face.
Time
The time of the story is the Lenten Season because they are celebrating the holy week proven by the
procession they made with the Our Lady of Sorrow
CHARACTERS:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Alfredo Salazar
 Son of Don Julian, a more than 30 years old man and a bachelor. He is engaged to Esperanza but him
still fleeting to Julia Salas.
Esperanza
 Wife of Alfredo Salazar. She is a homely woman, literal minded and intensely acquisitive. She is one of
those fortunate women who have the gift of uniformly beauty.
Julia Salas
 Sister-in-law of Judge Del Valle. She is the other girl of Alfredo Salazar that remains single in her
entire life.
Don Julian
 An old man, a father of Alfredo Salazar and Carmen.
Carmen
 Sister of Alfredo Salas.
Judge Del Valle
 Brother-in-law of Julia Salas.
Donna Adella
 Sister of Julia Salas. She is small and plump, a pretty woman with a complexion of a baby with a
expression of a likeable cow.
Presented by: JOMALYN V. TILETILE
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Major in Management
4

5. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
h.
i.
j.
k.
Calixta
 Note-carrier of Alfredo Salazar and Esperanza.
Dionisio
 Husband of Donna Adella.
Vicente
 Husband of Carmen.
BrigidaSamuy
 She is the illusive woman whose Alfredo is looking for.
SYMBOLISM
The short story “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez symbolizes a dream for something that is nonexistent. The guy loved the girl. She was his dream, his star. He thought there was love there. But like a dead star
which is so far away, and whose shine could actually be the leftover traveling light from it, he was a long way from
getting the girl, and the love he thought was possible, never was.
It alsosymbolizes things that are present but are left unspoken of. The love between Alfredo and Julia
seemed real, but look closer and one can state that it was hardly mutual, and that it was impossible to last.
Esperanza's devotion to Alfredo also resembles love, but since she believes in the "regenerative virtue of institution"
more than true love, it is safe to say that she is in the relationship, because of moral obligation. So what one thought
as real (or present) is now nothing but an illusion.
PERSONAL REFLECTION OF THE PIECE
The story evolves around Alfredo, Esperanza, and Julia, and the complications of love and feelings, old
and new, that surround them. Alfredo is soon to wed his long-time fiancée, Esperanza. He meets Julia and
immediately believes he has fallen in love with her. But conventions require him to restrain such unwelcome emotions
and so he proceeded to marry Esperanza. For eight years, Alfredo yearned for Julia and his long-lost love for her. Told
in the point of view of Alfredo, Dead Starsis not a difficult read. It is straightforward and honest, and though I do not
entirely agree with what Alfredo did (and did not do), I am quite familiar with the confusions surrounding love and
relationships. After all, who can fully understand one‟s feelings?
I am of the belief that Alfredo is suffering from cold feet that certain feeling of indecision common
among would-be married couples. But I do not believe that he is in love with Julia. Infatuation, yes. The momentary
excitement of meeting someone new. A longing for something (or someone) he cannot have. I am a staunch believer
in love strengthened and nurtured by time and that is what Alfredo and Esperanza have. Whatever feelings Julia might
have stirred in him, I cannot, will not, call it love.
Too much time and effort were wasted by Alfredo in thinking about Julia all these time he was married
to Esperanza. And even though it might not be outright cheating, or unfaithfulness, on his part, I have every reason
to believe that Esperanza knew about Julia, and for that, I feel sorry for her. And angry on Alfredo. This man just
cannot make up his mind! He has a lot of what-ifs! And the ending is just right. I cannot help but give a snort of
laughter at Alfredo. Serves him right for pining over a woman he should not have any business dealing with in the first
place.
Presented by: JOMALYN V. TILETILE
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Major in Management
5