Write a Literary Criticism on Dead Stars.

Historicism: Literary criticism, taking into account historical evidence or the context in which a work was
written, including facts about the life of the author and the historical and social circumstances of that
time.

“Dead Stars” is the brief 1925 tale that took rise to contemporary Philippine English poetry. English was
still a youthful language in the Philippines, and it was still fought by many of the language writers.

Paz Márquez-Benitez has not only written about a story of affection in her novel Dead Stars. Most
substantially, her instruction reflects the time when literary work was comprised in conjunction with the
language, norms, and beliefs of people. It functions for authors as a literary time machine, allowing
them to understand how courtship, marriage, and fidelity were considered in the early 1900s. It
distinguishes strongly between the past and the present, the present modern culture, and the almost
obsolete, vanishing tradition.

New Criticism: It emphasizes the inner features of the document itself and discourages the use of
external evidence to clarify the job.

“Dead Stars” was a narrative story, published from a third-person perspective. In the third person, the
author informs the tale (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc.).

The tale utilizes the tone of the third person and is put at the beginning of the 1900s. The tale is placed
in the Philippines buildings of Don Julian and Judge Del Valle. It foreshadows the location at that time’s
cultural make-up and dominant opinions.

The male-dominated society represents the characteristics of such a cultural configuration. The tale
became a forerunner to the development of Filipino English literature as the author is a woman writer
positioned in a male-dominated era and world.

Man is the supreme power in a patriarchal culture to define standards, morally or otherwise. When it
goes to choosing the dominant concept and pervasive problems, women are secondary and precluded
groups. But not only is the female anti-manor inadequate-man; she’s also what guy can never be.

This requires the balance between the two, and if the revolutionary or reformist zeal challenges this
equilibrium, it is often stifled and silenced. Both of them cannot occur unilaterally or autonomously and
they need to be mutually reaffirmed.
In such male-dominated and chauvinistic moments, therefore, females often become an afterthought,
although the delicate and inextricable interdependence of masculine and woman types is always a
feature of a cohesive social system.

Man vs. Himself

In the tale, his choices made Alfredo unsure and embarrassed. He’s been caught between doing the
correct thing and doing the correct thing in his soul.

Man vs. Society

In the story, Alfredo struggles against society because, especially during the time of the story, he was
afraid of the reaction of people around him. People often pay heavy attention to the community they
relate to. They attempt to conform to their society’s standards, traditions, and culture, although
conformity would sometimes force them to give a portion of themselves–an attitude, an impulse, or a
choice.

Man vs. Circumstances

In the tale, Alfredo is fighting against his destiny and the lives and family situations confronting him. In
selecting between hard decisions of his career, he requires to confront issues. The tale is a collection of
the complex lives that must be experienced in existence by every person.

Symbolism:

Deadlights symbolize current but hidden stuff. The relationship between Alfredo and Julia seemed to be
genuine, but as the moment passes by the affection they had wasted and disappears like such a
disillusioned dead star, reminiscent of the past that no longer exists. No, he doesn’t find her to be
distinct from that individual he considered her to be all these years because of lost youth. And he’s
disillusioned. The illusion he harbored all these years is nothing but frozen trees, forever gone but
emitting heat that appears to be genuine because of the range it has to move, even if the origin has
wasted its brightness or disappeared.

The dedication of Esperanza to Alfredo also represents affection, but since she thinks more than real
affection in the “regenerative nature of the establishment,” it is secure to tell that she is in the
partnership due to moral obligation.

Theme:

Paz Marquez Benitez’s short story “Dead Stars” passes on the subject of prohibited love. It says
prohibited love is just obvious, and its banes frequent to an individual until he understands his
deficiencies. The hidden topic is responsibility, as the story demonstrates that Alfredo is focused on
marrying Esperanza and people anticipate that he should wed her.

Women’s activist abstract analysis bringing about blending with socio-political women’s liberation, man-
centric language evaluation, and writing or literature by uncovering how it reflects male philosophy. It
looks at sex elements in plays and investigates the sensitive advancement of masculinity and feminity
inside plays and their similar position, situating, and underestimation.

Ladies depicted as vulnerable in this story and consider individuals to be the second rate. They are
steadfast and easy to appreciate while others are balanced and uncertain. The story broke the male-
centric framework idea as culture thinks about guys as a levelheaded sort or tuned in to rationale, while
females are the psychological sort.

Peruser reaction evaluation is a school of the scholarly hypothesis that spotlights on the reader (or
“group of spectators”) and their abstract work understanding, unlike other schools and speculations that
emphasize fundamentally on the creator of the substance and type of the work.

Men are easy to drop distant in the story of the deceased angels and easy to drop in contact. Alfredo,
the hero or protagonist, is dubious about his life choices. He was locked in with his four-year-old soon to
be life partner, Esperanza. In any case, for certain reasons, there has been a shift of attitude on the bit of
Alfredo. He fell for Julia Salas, the judge’s sister-in-law who had a reunion with his father. His shame,
weakness, and being unreasonable are innate human deformities. Alfredo considers something
particular from Julia Salas that Esperanza does not have, and I think of it as childish for him to distinguish
the two females. He considers females as his fantasies’ subsequent choice when it’s fading.

Moral Lesson:

The story is infused with moral and intellectual approaches that emphasize the values and morals that
exist in that age, culture, and place. Historicism and the historical context of the story give it prominence
in terms of understanding characters like Alfredo, Julia, Esperanza’s thoughts and subsequent actions,
etc.

It portrays a multitude of fights involving a human being based on conditions and relationships with
other human entities. Characters like Alfredo, Julia, etc. are battling not only against their chances but
also against their conditions, government and personal responsibilities.
They are also engulfed in a fight against their feelings and comprehension, a fight within themselves, to
create matters worse. They absence the assurance of thinking, feelings for each other, and therefore
their activities (lies, ridicule, threats, etc.) represent their ambiguity and despair.

The penmanship of Paz Marquez reflects the dominant cultural opinions and conferences of both
literature and culture. It exposes different natural feelings (such as love, compassion, jealousy,
concupiscence, etc.) and participation in interactions (such as betrothal, courtship, relationship,
personal duties, etc.).

It thus produces a true knowledge base to compare and relates its era and location culture with the
modern or any other era. It offers a lens for the existing culture, customs, traditions, etc. to create
significance.

It, therefore, represents the malevolence of such cultural mores, procedures, and cultures with an
associated moment and even landscape shift. Both the guiding females are in line with the dominant
masculine and their ideology. In their life, Alfredo, they stay faithful to the person.

Therefore, both of them never criticize or lament the faults and deceit of Alfredo but agree with his
masculine exceptionalism. Alfredo. On the other side, he is depicted as weak-willed, easy to seduce,
contorted by his evolving feelings and susceptible to irrational behavior.

Ultimately, he surrenders to personal demands and does the moral right even though with Esperanza,
his first wife, he finally builds a loveless house.

In the story, the attraction between Alfredo and Julia is a forbidden and taboo phenomenon. They both
felt is to be real but never accepted their mutual attraction nor confessed it. They wilted to the social
expectations and did the morally ordained thing.

Even the moral fortitude of Esperanza is symbolized in her devotion to her husband even after learning
about his dalliance with Julia. She has a strong belief in the institution of marriage and loyalty and fulfils
her commitment for the same even though she might not ever truly love Alfredo.

The society is male-dominated and represent the features of such a social setup. As the author is a
female writer placed in a male-dominated age and World, the story became a precursor to the growth
of Filipino English literature.

In a patriarchal society, man is the ultimate authority in defining norms, moral or otherwise. Women are
secondary and precluded group when it comes to deciding the dominant idea and pervasive issues. But
the woman is not just anti-man or inadequate-man; she is also what man can never be.
This necessitates the balance between the two and if this equilibrium is challenged by revolutionary or
reformist zeal than it is often stifled and silenced. They both cannot exist unilaterally or autonomously
and need mutual reaffirmation by each other.

Hence, women often become an afterthought in such male-dominated and chauvinistic times even
though the subtle and inextricable inter-dependence of the male and female forms is always a function
of a cohesive social system.

The story is infused with moral and intellectual approaches highlighting the values and morals in place in
that age, culture and place. Historicism and the historical context of the story give it salience in terms of
understanding the thoughts and subsequent actions of the characters like Alfredo, Julia, Esperanza etc.

It depicts a plethora of battles that a human being is involved depending on the circumstances and
interactions with other human beings. Characters like Alfredo, Julia etc are fighting not just against the
odds fate has put before them but also their circumstances, public and moral obligations.

To make matter worse they are also embroiled in a battle against their own emotions and
understanding, a battle within themselves. They lack the certainty of thought, sentiments for each other
and thus their actions (Lies, ridicule, insults etc) reflect their ambiguity and desperation.

Paz Marquez’s penmanship mirrors the dominant social views and established conventions of literature
as well society. It expounds various human emotions (like affection, compassion, jealousy,
concupiscence etc.) and relationships involvement (like betrothal, courtship, friendship, professional
obligations etc.).

Thus, it creates a veritable knowledge base to contrast and compares the society of her age and place
with the contemporary or any other age. It provides a lens to make meaning about the extant culture,
customs, traditions etc.

Consequently, it reflects the malleability of such social mores, practices and customs with a
corresponding change in time and even landscape. Both the leading women conform to the masculine
dominant and their ideology. They remain loyal to the man in their lives, Alfredo.

Hence, they both never criticize or lament Alfredo’s lies and deceit but acquiesce to his manly
exceptionalism. Alfredo. On the other hand, is portrayed as weak-willed, easily seducible, contorted
with his changing emotions and vulnerable to irrational actions.
Eventually, he surrenders to the social expectations and does the moral good even though he ends up
building a loveless home with Esperanza, his first love.