16. We are all influenced and affected
by the world around us. In the same
way, the reading selections or the
literary works that we read such as
short stories, poems, novels, plays,
and essays were also influenced by
many factors.
19. An example of a literary work that
clearly reflected culture is the essay
written by Doreen G. Fernandez
entitledWhy Sinigang?The cuisine
of a certain place shows a lot about
its people and its culture. In
Fernandez’s essay, she narrated the
different variations of a popular dish
in the Philippines, the sinigang.
20. She even mentioned in her essay the
influence of the Spanish and the
Chinese in the Filipino cuisine, and the
contributions of the American’s in the
Filipino’s eating habits. With the essay,
Why Sinigang? Fernandez was able to
explain how a certain Filipino dish
represented Filipino taste and identity.
21. Other examples of literary works
influenced by culture are the epics like
Biag ni Lam-ang, Bidasari, Indarapatra
and Sulayman, and a lot more.These
literary works tell readers about the
practices and beliefs of the people in
the place where they originated from.
22. 2. HISTORY
History also has a huge influence on the literary
works that we read. According to Hodgson
(2015), history’s impact can be seen in the
occurrence of historic events in a selection.
Moreover, history’s influence on a selection is also
evident when it pays attention to the social and
intellectual aspects of the time in which the text
was written (Mehrotra, 2018).
23.
24. For example, the novels Noli MeTangere and
El Filibusterismo by Dr. Jose Rizal reflect the
events during the Spanish colonization in the
Philippines by showing the perceived
injustices of the Spanish Catholic friars and
the ruling of the government.Thus, those
novels were influenced by the Philippines’
history.
25. 3.
ENVIRONMENT
According to Sahu (2014), the environment’s
influence on reading selections or literary works
was reflected when they showed background
issues concerning nature. Some literary works
also use nature imagery to support their theme
or central idea, and to express the desires,
shortcomings, and emotions of the characters.
26. Examples of reading selections or literary works
influenced by the environment are legends and
folktales.
27. According to Ahi (2014), most of the
folktales that they have analyzed used
nature-human interaction as their theme.
This is evident for some Philippine folktales
and legends since most of them used the
elements of the environment such as the
rainbow, sun, moon, stars, rain, plants, etc.
as the characters from the story.
28. 4. OTHER FACTORS (SOCIAL ISSUES LIKE
GENDER, RACE, SOCIAL-ECONOMIC STATUS,
POLITICS, ETC.)
The other factors that can influence a
reading selection or literary work are the
different social issues such as gender, race,
social-economic status, politics, etc. These
may influence a literary work when they
show up as a theme that affects the plot and
the outcome of the story.
29. An example of a literary work influenced by
different social issues is the novel Dekada ’70 by
Lualhati Bautista. It is a political novel that dealt
with the different issues and events that had
happened during martial law.The novel also
reflected gender equality issues since it
portrayed the struggles of a woman living in a
“man’s world” during those times.
30.
31. 1. What are the two trees compared
in the story?
2. Which of the two resembles our
characteristics as Filipinos?
3. Who colonized the Philippines?
32. 4. How will you describe the
Filipinos during the colonization?
5. What characteristics of the
Filipinos are you mostly proud of?
