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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Short Story Analysis: "A Night in the Hills" by Paz Marquez Benitez


by Paz Marquez Benitez


II. SYNOPSIS

         Gerardo Luna, a jewelry store salesman in his 30’s, has always dreamed to go to the forest which he regards as a beautiful place. One day, when Ambo, an orchid gatherer who buys some jewelry for his wife’s store, tells Gerardo about living in the forest for weeks at a time, the latter gets more interested, and tells his wife about it. However, his wife is eyeing only the business aspect of such idea. Hence, he never mentions his dream again.

         Then Gerardo’s wife dies. At last, he can fulfill his long-time dream, especially that Ambo has come again, with stories regarding newly opened public land on a forest plateau. So, the two of them plan to go to the forest.

         Before actually going to the planned trip, Gerardo’s Ate Tere is not so keen on the idea. She wants him to marry Peregrina who will surely take him the minute he proposes.

       Ambo and Gerardo go to the hills, and it is among the foothills where they spend noontime. Gerardo is tired and sweaty, and he asks for water, which, according to Ambo is ten minutes away. They walk and walk, and along the way Gerardo experiences nature in a manner that is not that wonderful for him.

         Finally they enter the dim forest. Gerardo is uncomfortable on his bed of small branches and twigs. He cannot sleep that night; he thinks of his wife, not fondly, though. He also thinks of God. He is oppressed by nostalgia.

         There is an eerie light in the forest, and Gerardo hears strange sounds that are caused by tree worms. Then he hears water from afar. All in all, he feels that he will never understand the forest.

         Gerardo goes home, first getting his house’s key from his Ate Tere. There he meets Peregrina whom he tells “Pereg, as soon as I get these clothes off I shall come to ask you a question that is very—very important to me.”
         As she smiled eagerly but uncertainly into his face, he heard a jangling in his hand. He felt, queerly, that something was closing above his hand, and that whoever was closing it, was rattling the keys.

III. SHORT STORY ELEMENTS

A. CHARACTERS
1. Gerardo Luna - a jewelry store salesman in his 30’s, Protagonist, Developing
2. His wife – Antagonist, Flat, Static
3. Ambo - an orchid gatherer who buys some jewelry for his wife’s store, Flat, Static
4. Ate Tere or Sotera – Gerardo was a younger brother to the former mistress of her also younger brother, Flat, Static
5. Peregrina – Flat, Static

B. PLOT - Linear

     a)  Introduction

Gerardo Luna is being introduced, with the mention of his secret long-time dream of going to the forest.

b)  Rising Action

He tells her wife about such dream, but she brushes it off; thus, he forgets about that dream. Then she dies.

c)  Climax 

   The peak of this short story is when Gerardo is finally in the forest, and he experiences things that he has never though the forest has.

       d)    Falling action 

          Things start to “fall” when Gerardo realizes that the forest is not exactly what he has always dreamed.

       e)    Denouement

         When he goes back home, Gerardo feels he should get back to reality.

C. SETTING

a)  place – in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines

b)  time- a long time ago

c)  weather conditions- fine

d)  social conditions- Gerardo has a nice job

 e)  mood or atmosphere- light

D. POINT OF VIEW

       The Point of View used in this short story is the Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc).  We know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.


E. LITERARY DEVICES


         For me, the literary devices used in this story are Symbolism and Irony. Gerardo’s dream of going to the forest symbolizes the freedom he has always longed for. Meanwhile, this dream is ironic because the forest is not what he thinks it is.

F. THEME

         In my opinion, the theme things are not always as they appear to be is applicable to this story. 

G. CONFLICT

         The conflict here is Internal, that of Man vs. Himself. Gerardo has always dreamed of going to the forest, and he has kept this within himself.  --ARV

38 comments:

  1. thank you very much. what a big help!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're welcome. I'm happy to be of help...

    ReplyDelete
  3. you're great! thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the compliment... You're welcome...

    ReplyDelete
  5. thank you so much..
    i need it so badly..it's good that i found your blog.. godbless. more power!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're welcome... I'm so glad to be of assistance.

    ReplyDelete
  7. thank you very much. this is such a great help to me. :D

    ReplyDelete
  8. hi
    can u kindly help me for this 15 words in 1 term i may find difficult in your poem tnx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi. Sorry I saw your message only now. What are the words you find difficult?

      Thank you.

      Delete
  9. dont you have the servant girl????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, sorry I saw your message only now... What do you mean by the servant girl?

      Thanks.

      Delete
  10. thanks for the blog..it was a big help of me for my report...:) godbless..

    ReplyDelete
  11. thank you so much. . .it helps me a lot..

    ReplyDelete
  12. thankyou for being sop kind, your work is of great help:)

    ReplyDelete
  13. moral lesson of the story?

    ReplyDelete
  14. thankyou :) it is such a very big big help :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. thankz for this info. it was a very big help..

    ReplyDelete
  16. can u answer this pls ..what was gerardo's dream and what was his wife's reaction towards his dream..plss i need now the answer pls ..

    ReplyDelete
  17. what can you say about the recurring dialogues about business/profit between the characters?
    wife: I doubt he (Ambo) would let you in on his business.
    Sotera: How can you think of land when a pawnshop is more profitable?
    Young man in the forest/hills: if I had the capital I would have gone into business in Manila.
    thank you in advance :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. What is the moral lesson??

    ReplyDelete
  19. what is the moral lesson of the story?

    ReplyDelete
  20. who is that "another God" gerardo luna was talking about? and the "God he had always known"?
    "He looked up again at the blue sky and thought of God. God for him was always up in the sky. only the God he thought of now was not the God he had always known. this God he was thinking of was another God."
    thanks! in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  21. please help what is the personality disorder of the character in the story??

    ReplyDelete
  22. thank you very much for this info....such a very super dooper big help for my report in Phil. Literature
    GOD BLESS you my friend :D

    ReplyDelete
  23. salamat for this quotation as my pleasure to present it to the class.

    ReplyDelete
  24. thankyou so much!! this is a big help! keep it up. and God Bless.

    ReplyDelete
  25. can you give a conclusion for this story??

    ReplyDelete
  26. what is the theme and the mood of this story

    ReplyDelete
  27. What do you think is Gerardo's question to pergrina?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thank you for this!It help me a lot!God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  29. What is the resolution of the conflict?

    ReplyDelete
  30. As a reader , do you share the same characteristic with gerardo?

    Express what you think or feel about a certain part in the story and why?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi do you still checking this website?

    ReplyDelete

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