1. Who is the central character of the story?

Or is there more than one central

character? If so, how does the author preserve the unified focus?
Slide 1
Two Main Characters:
Fas-ang — Bontoc woman who comes to Baguio in search of work
Tanabata — Japanese local who offers her work and comes to fall in love with her
Slide 2
How the author preserves mutual focus:
● omnipresent narrator
● Each event is told through the separate experiences of Fas-ang and Tanabata
● The story does not favor the point of view of only one of the characters
● Emulates the loving relationship between two people:
○ Perspectives should not be biased, but neutral and respectful
○ They allow for the expression of the other party

2. What are the dominant traits of the central character? How does the author reveal
these traits?
Slide 1
Ways by which the characters are revealed:
1. Conversation
2. Incidents
3. Indirect effects/suggestions
Slide 2
Fas-ang
● beautiful and lithe
● Determined
○ eager to take on responsibility and tasks in order to earn her keep
● clever and discerning
 ○ weighs out her circumstances and wages as a road worker against those of
her becoming a gardener
○ does not impulsively make decisions based on the amount of profit she
will make
● Diligent
○ takes her job seriously and does it well with obedience
○ wastes no effort on half-hearted work
○ tends to the garden and performs housework with care
● takes Tanabata’s kindness and generosity for granted
○ abuses opportunity by frequenting the cinema daily, and staying for hours
● Ignorant
○ neglecting her duty as a wife to be present in their marriage and to love
her husband
○ pursues things for her selfish need
● Unfaithful
○ elope with her Bontoc lover, bringing her child, and fleeing from Tanabata
Slide 3
Tanabata
● Kind and generous
○ Does not regard natives as slaves
○ He sees them as equals, and therefore, deserving of the same life
opportunities
● Active and diligent
○ Maintained the quality of his garden
○ He would see to it that the seedlings were prepared, and performed the
transplanting on his own, since he developed an expertise for handling his
crops.
● Loyal
○ not only to Fas-ang, but to his friend Okamoto as well
 ○ frequently visits Okamoto as they exchange meaningful and good
conversations as a reminder that they can truly trust each other
○ Loved Fas-ang from the beginning, and longed for her even when she left
him. He could not bear any hatred towards her.
● Lenient
○ Lenient towards Fas-ang’s frequent outings and suppressed his true
intentions
○ He knew that such things could potentially be fatal to his relationship with
her
○ Allowed Fas-ang access to unlimited freedom
● Has a tendency to impose his Japanese culture onto his wife
○ Influences her to adhere to Japanese practices i.e., using chopsticks,
drinking tea, cooking with toyo, etc.
○ At the christening of their son, Kato, Tanabata invites all of his Japanese
acquaintances, and forgets that this will hinder his wife from socializing
and appreciating the rituals due to the language barrier and difference of
cultures
○ prohibits his wife from leaving the house a month after her birth in
compliance with Japanese customs

3. What forces make up the main conflict in the story?

Slide 1
Main Conflict
● The main conflict of the story happened when Fas-ang left Tanabata, bringing her child
with her.
● She left because she cheated on Tanabata
● Therefore, Tanabata was grieved and could hardly eat.

Slide 2
FORCES
Internal conflict
refers to the character’s internal struggle.

Character vs. Self

● Fas-ang longed for having an enjoyable time for herself
● She had to stay indoors for a month after giving birth because it is a Japanese custom.
● She was eager to go out, particularly going to the cine.

Slide 3
Character vs. Self
● The main conflict started when Fas-ang frequently goes to the cine.

● She met the guy from Bontoc and started to have feelings for him since she could relate
to him.

Slide 4
Character vs. Self
● She was homesick
-misses her family,
-misses her friends
-misses the customs they do in Bontoc.

Slide 5
External conflict
-the struggle that a character faces against an outside force
Character vs. Character
● Fas-ang left Tanabata for the guy.
● Tanabata hated the guy that seduced his wife.
● The guy was the one that wrote the note.
 ● From that, he knew for himself that he could not go to Bontoc.

4.How is this conflict resolved? If it is not resolved, what prevents a resolution?

Slide 1
● Some people reported to and informed Fas-ang about the situation of Tanabata after she
left him.
● Fas-ang decided to go to him before it is too late. She went to him but she was ashamed.
● She was about to turn away but her son cried aloud. Tanabata heard that and immediately
goes outside. He was startled but he gently led his wife and son into the house.

Slide 2
The boy who grieved and ruined himself finally saw his wife that he loved so dearly and his own
son

5.
Slide 1:
The Plot Diagram
Slide 2:
Exposition
● Tanabata, an unmarried middle-aged Japanese immigrant farmer in La Trinidad Valley,
hired a young Bontoc woman named Fas-ang as his farmhand. He fell in love with her
and married her. They had a son named Kato.
Slide 3:
Rising Action
● Tanabata allowed Fas-ang to see the movies in town. More and more, Fas-ang became
fascinated by the world of cinema and became a cine addict. The couple then grew apart
from each other.
Slide 4:
Climax
● Fas-ang left Tanabata and eloped with her lover.
Slide 5:
Falling Action
● Tanabata was grieved. He fell into depression and ruined himself. He drank liquor all day
and shut everything away from him. He even thought of going back to Japan to die.
Slide 6:
Denouement
 ● Fas-ang came back with her son to Tanabata. When Tanabata saw her wife and son, he
rushed outside, overjoyed. He took their hands and slowly led them into the house.
Slide 7:
Recapitulation
*insert the picture of the Plot Diagram. The Plot Diagram is the same of what was in the Short
Story Analysis Paper.

6.
Slide 1:
Themes
Slide 2:
Theme: Cross-culture
Slide 3:
“He gave a baptismal party to which were invited his Japanese friends. They drank sake, ate
Japanese seaweeds, pickles, canned fish, etc.”

“Then the men consulted the Japanese calendar. The child was given the name Kato And the
guests shouted banzai many times, tossing glassfuls of sake to the ceiling. They wished the
mother and child, good luck.”

“Tanabata, alone, would stay at home. He sat up late reading his books of Japanese novels. “
Slide 4:
“In time, Fas-ang was introduced to Japanese customs. Thus she learned to use chopsticks
after being prevailed upon by Tanabata; they had a zinc tub outside their hut in which they
heated water and took a bath in the evening; Fas-ang pickled radishes after the Japanese
fashion, salting them in a barrel; she began to use wooden shoes, though of the Filipino variety,
and left them outside their bedroom before she retired; she became used to drinking tea and
pouring much toyo sauce in the viands; mattresses too, and no longer a plain mat, formed her
beddings.”
Slide 5:
Theme: Love
Slide 6:
● Tanabata is a martyr of love.
● Fa-sang is not ready to love someone.
● A love that is lacking and a love that is too much are no good at all.
Slide 7:
“He was grieved. And for three days, he could hardly eat. He felt bitter, being betrayed and
deserted. Helpless, he was full of hatred for the man who had lured his wife away.”

“He saw the mother and child. He rushed outside, exultant.”

7.
8.
9. 1 slide
Left side is question, other half states:
Yes, to maintain the essence of the short film, to be brief, no unnecessary details of events were
added to the story. A story of Tanabata and his wife only being focused and only a few more
characters were introduced to keep the story simple and on track.
10. 2 slides
First slide: question + Theme: cross-cultural/ culture differences
Second slide:

Tanabata: Japanese Fas-ang: Bontoc/

Filipinak

● Tanabata manages ● On the other

to take care of his 3 hand, Fas-ang
farms alone, represented
depicting a how a Filipino
Japanese is willing to
hardworking trait have a job with
and gives more a master even
priority to farming. having
In the latter part of almost-no
the story, it’s safe to benefits and
say that the earth of low wage.
his farm ● Fas-ang even
represented well manage to
Tanabata, that when represent a
his wife left, he was Filipino’s
in misery, same with dedication to
his farm. take miles of
● The story even walking only to
showed the reach another
Japanese openness place.
and kindness,
Tanabata’s
welcoming trait to
his unfaithful wife
and his longed son,
without having
grudges accepting
again his wife to his
home similar to the
beginning of the
story, when he
accepted Fas-ang in
his home without
 having doubts.

11.
Slide 1: In what aspects are the style and content of the story interrelated and mutually
dependent?

Slide 2: Third person omniscient ⇔ its characters, their culture, and the setting

Slide 3: Chronological order of events that highlights the climax and conflict