Knitting Straw

1.      Give significant background information about the author or the literary piece

Answer:

Estrella Alfon was born in Cebu City in 1917. Unlike other writers of her time, she did not come from the intelligentsia. Her parents were shopkeepers in Cebu. She attended college, and studied medicine. When she was mistakenly diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to a sanitarium, she resigned from her pre-medical education, and left with an Associate of Arts degree.
She was a storywriter, playwright, and journalist. In spite of being a proud Cebuana, she wrote almost exclusively in English. She published her first story, “Grey Confetti”, in the graphic in 1935.

She was the only female member of the Veronicans, an avant garde group of writers in the 1930s led by Francisco Arcellana and H.R. Ocampo, she was also regarded as their muse. The Veronicans are recognized as the first group of Filipino writers to write almost exclusively in English and were formed prior to the World War II. She is also reportedly the most prolific Filipina writer prior to World War II. She was a regular contributor to Manila-based national magazines, she had several stories cited in Jose Garcia Villa’s annual honor rolls.
In the 1950s, her short story, "Fairy Tale for the City", was condemned by the Catholic League of the Philippines as being "obscene". She was even brought to court on these charges. While many of her fellow writers did stand by her, many did not. These events hurt her deeply.

In spite of having only an A.A. degree, she was eventually appointed as a professor of Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines, Manila. She was a member of the U.P. Writers Club, she held the National Fellowship in Fiction post at the U.P. Creative Writing Center in 1979

2.      Write the synopsis or summary of the literary text

Answer:

Knitting Straw tells about family story with 5 characters inside, they are Primitiva, (mother, 60, serene-looking woman), Daniel (husband of Primitiva, over 60), Sylvia (their daughter, a stylish 35), Bernie (husband of Sylvia, about 40), Mimi (daughter of Sylvia, 17). This story was started by giving the description of the house of Sylvia. There was a two seater sofa right-angeled against a window inside the house . Near the sofa, a low table on which, beside the usual table accessories: cigarette box, lighter, ashtray, vase of flower, is pile of straw, the kind of straw that people are knitting everywhere. Beside the straw, there was a dainty plastic basket kept by t a straw bag in the making. On the sofa itself, there were several straw bags already knit, even one already fitted with a handle.

Primitiva came in dressed in the stylized kimona. She bear a cup of chocolate in her hand and placed it on the coffee table as she herself sits on a chair across from Sylvia, she drew the basket with the work in it and smoothly, gracefully, deftly works on a bag. Sylvia looked at her mother, her hand busy at the straw and wait for a little while for speak. Then, although she opened the mouth, she closes it again and busy with her straw. Sylvia stretched the straw that has intricate pattern of its design. Thus preoccupied, she doesn’t see her husband tying tie, peep in, see her thus so engrossed in her straw work and he go out again. .

Primitiva started making the conversation with Sylvia. She asked Sylvia to tell the story about her daughter, Mimi. However, Sylvia couldn’t tell it easily especially on her daughter feeling because she was not too close to her daughter. Unfortunately, her daughter didn’t want to tell her story to her mother. Mimi is a pretty young girl, her face is made up in the current vogue of the young, her eyes were shadowed, her hair draped to the guiches at the ear. Primitiva tried to approach her in order to make her telling her story. She talked carefully so that Mimi wanted to tell about her problem until Mimi described about her story and her friends. Mimi said that she and her friends went to the club and they drunk and dance. Her friend, jimmy asked her to go to his father’s house in Pasig. They took turn a mixing drinks with dancing. And for without they realized they are lying down, after that she woke up  with a headache and she realized that her friend also lying around and naked. Primitiva was shocked and she puts her work down and stand up and stand by the window, her breasts heaving but she didn’t say a thing. After a while she walked to the Mimi, touched the bent shoulders gently, then roughly, then angrily went back to her own seat again. Sylvia and her husband came from church. They knew about Mimi’s situation and tried to solve the problem. All of the member of the family made a conversation about Mimi, many opinion came to their mind. Primitiva wanted to send Mimi  abroad far away from their house, Daniel said go to Japan for abortion, Bernie said, just stayed at home and take care her baby at that home. Sylvia then asked her mother to allow her daughter to make a decision whether she kept that baby or an abortion. And Mimi said that she wanted to keep a baby. Primitiva then asked MImi to travel around the world to soften her heartache. She gives support and motivation to her grandchild that God makes everything to our life. He is the one who is knitting our straw. Primitive hope that  God can make a better pattern for her grandchild in the future.  

3.      Jot down three questions that come to mind while reading the text, then choose one explore it more fully

Answer:

1.      What the other meaning of Knitting straw?

2.      Why the title of this story is Knitting Straw?

3.      Why Mimi’s grandmother has more important role in making decision than her parents?

I will explain the first question about the other meaning of “Knitting straw”. In the real life there is an activity like knit some straw. This hand made is usually make by housewife (mother or grandmother) during a spare time and It needs a focus and patient in doing it in order to produce a good result. He knitting straw in this story according to the writer also describes about the destiny for our life from God. God will knit our life carefully and He is also  the one that draw our future life.

 4.      Explain the emotion that literary text work in you or which you felt while or after reading the peace.

Answer:

The emotion of the story after reading it indicate the relationship  between grand mother and her grandchild is closed and full of affection. It can be seen from the sentence “the old woman holds the little quivering girl close and wipes away her own tears”. Other emotion express angry. It can be seen in this sentence “I.ll kill the man”.

In other hand, faith is also shown in this story by seen this sentence “ up there darling, He is probably knitting our straw, May be next time  He’ll make a better pattern”

Shock, “she puts her work down and stand up and stand by the window, her brasts heaving but she doesn’t say a thing”

5.      Copy a part of literary text (sentence, paragraph, dialogue) which struck you most something you find beautiful, enlightening and discuss why?

Answer:

“although she open her mouth, she closes is again and applies herself to straw”. This sentence means she wants to say something or ask something but she can’t speak because of not harmony relationship situation.

“Up there darling. He probably knitting our straw. May be next time He’ll make a better pattern”. This sentence means there is a God, who draw and pattern our life in the future. 

6.      Identify the theme of literary piece and discuss it in the light of drama or poem

Answer:

The theme of this story is the family problem that is caused by their young family member pregnancy. She’s pregnant, she was raped and she doesn’t know who actually rapped her. And finally, she must face that reality come to her and make her own decision. 

7.      Write the critique of the works using an appropriate literary approach or theory

Answer:

I will give a critique from the historical/bibliograpgycal approach. The story which is written by  Estrella Alfon are something to do with the journey of someone’s life which is influenced by God power. I believe that the message from this story also has a big correlation with the writer life. From the story of her life we know that her writing did not come from the intelligentsia. Her parents were only shopkeepers in Cebu. Her study in  college of medicine are not correlated with her profession as a writer. Hence she want to deliver a message by telling the story of family that there is a big power outside us who make a destiny for our life. He knite the straw of our life like the destiny to become a writer as Estrella Alfon  do.