Writing a Close and Critical

Interpretation of
Representative Literary
Texts from Asia
Learner’s Module in 21st Century Literature
from the Philippines
and the World 11

Second Quarter

MARITES T. TAULI
Developer

Department of Education • Cordillera Administrative Region

Republic of the Philippines
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 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Cordillera Administrative Region
Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet

Published by
Learning Resource Management and Development System

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
2020

Section 9 of Presidential Decree No. 49 provides:

“No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines.
However, prior approval of the government agency of office wherein the work is created
shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit.”

This material has been developed for the implementation of K to 12 Curriculum

through the DepEd CAR - Curriculum Implementation Division (CID). It can be
reproduced for educational purposes and the source must be acknowledged. Derivatives
of the work including creating an edited version, an enhancement or a supplementary
work are permitted provided all original work is acknowledged and the copyright is
attributed. No work may be derived from this material for commercial purposes and profit.

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 PREFACE

This module is a project of the DepEd-CAR through the Curriculum

Implementation Division (CID) which is in response to the implementation of the K to 12
Curriculum.

This Learning Material is a property of the Department of Education-CAR. It aims

to improve students’ performance specifically in English.

Date of Development November 2020

Resource Location DepEd CAR-LRMS
Learning Area English
Grade Level 11
Learning Resource Type Module
Language English
Quarter/Week Q2/W2
EN12Lit-IIa-22
Learning Competency Code
Writing a close and critical interpretation
of literary texts applying a reading
approach and an adaptation of these,
Learning Competency require from the learner the ability to
identify representative texts from Asia,
North America, Europe, Latin America,
and Africa

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The developer wishes to express her gratitude to those who helped in the
development of this learning material. The fulfillment of this learning material would not
be possible without them.
“Thank you all for your moral and technical support in the crafting of this learning
module. To my colleagues in our school for sharing your knowledge and expertise as I
developed this learning resource. Lastly, to the office of DepEd Division of Baguio City
for giving us the opportunity to discover our skills as module writers.”

Development Team
Developer: Marites T. Tauli
Illustrator:

School Learning Resources Management Committee

Joan B. Andayan School Head / Principal
Pia P. Duligas MT-Assistant Principal
Genevieve C. Tudlong School LR Coordinator

Quality Assurance Team

Lillian S. Pagulongan EPS-English
Leticia A. Hidalgo School District Supervisor

Learning Resource Management Section Staff

Loida C. Mangangey EPS – LRMDS
Victor A. Fernandez Education Program Specialist II - LRMDS
Christopher David G. Oliva Project Development Officer II – LRMDS
Priscilla A. Dis-iw Librarian II
Lily B. Mabalot Librarian I
Ariel D. Botacion Admin. Assistant

CONSULTANTS

JULIET C. SANNAD, EdD

Chief Education Supervisor – CID

CHRISTOPHER C. BENIGNO, PhD

Asst. Schools Division Superintendent

MARIE CAROLYN B. VERANO, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Copyright Notice ………………………………………………….……...….…. ii
Preface …………………………………………………………………...…….… iii
Acknowledgement……………………………………………………. …….…... iv
Table of Contents……………………………………………………….……. … v
Title Page…………………………………………………………………………. 1
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. 2
Learning Objectives
Pretest………………………………………………………………….…………. 3
Lesson Proper……………………………………………………………………. 4
Review…………………………………………………………………………. 4
Activity 1……………………………………….……………….…………. 5
Discussion of Activity 1……………………………………...…………… 6
Enrichment ……………………………………………………….…………… 7
Activities…………………………………………………………………… 8
Activity 1…………………………………………………………………… 9
Assessment 1……………………………………………...……………… 10
Assessment 2………………………………………………...…………… 11
Generalization …………………………………………………………………… 12
Application ……………………………………………………………….……… 13
Post-Assessment …………………...…………………………………………… 14
Answer Key………………………………………………………………………. 15
Reference Sheet…………………………………………………...…….…….… 16

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 What I Need to Know

Welcome to 21st century literature of the world!

This module is intended to help you explore and analyze the significant features of 21 st
century literary works from the world and be able to identify representative texts and authors
across the globe. It is designed to equip you with essential knowledge and skills on close
analysis and critical interpretation of literary texts. Particularly, this module is focused on close
analysis and critical interpretation of literary works with the aim to identify representative texts
from Asia.

HOW TO USE THIS MODULE

1. Scan the list of Learning Objectives to get an idea of the knowledge and skills you are
expected to gain and develop as you study the module. These specific learning objectives are
based on the most essential learning competency (MELC) for the subject.
2. Take the What I Know. Your score will determine your knowledge of the lessons in the
module.
3. The activities that are included here aim to develop the learning objectives set for the module.
It starts with an activity that will help you understand the lesson and meet the required
competencies.
4. Take your time in reading this module. Write down points for clarification. You may discuss
these points with your teacher.
5. Accomplish all activities. The activities and assessments are designed to enhance your
understanding of the lesson. The activities will also give you an idea how well you understand the
lesson. Review the lesson if necessary, until you have achieved a satisfactory level of
understanding.
6. At the end of the module, take the Post-Assessment to evaluate your overall understanding of
the lesson.
7. All answers for your activities should be written on your answer sheets. DO NOT WRITE ON
THIS MODULE.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the module, you should be able to:
1) identify 21st Century representative texts and authors from Asia;
2) closely analyze sample literary texts from Asia;
3. describe Asian literature before and now, and
4) realize the aesthetic, cognitive and social values of literature through literary analysis.

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 What I Know
Pre-Assessment:

A. Write TRUE if the statement is correct, and FALSE if the statement is wrong.

1. The “Tale of Genji” is a novel that encompasses many of the qualities valued by Japanese
people.
2. Indian literature does not belong to Asian literature.
3. Asian-American literature was greatly influenced by colonization and immigration.
4. Many of the ancient literary texts of China and other Asian nonspeaking countries are
translated for readers in the modern times.
5. Cultures, philosophies, and traditions of people from Asian nations are reflected in Asian
literature.
6. Asian literatures are primarily lyrics, drama or narrative form.
7. Some Asian literatures are adapted by other English speaking countries.
8. Asian literature often expresses the ideologies prevalent in every Asian nation.
9. Confucius is a notable Japanese author.
10. Asia is divided into five geographical and political-cultural subdivisions/ regions.

B. Below are famous literary works from Asia. Determine which division of Asian literature does
each literary work belong by matching column A with the correct answers on column B. Write the
letter of your answer on your answer sheet.

Column A Column B
1. Ramayana and Mahabharata A. Chinese literature
2. The Analects B. Philippine Literature
3. El Filibusterismo C. Hebrew Literature
4. Manga D. Arabian literature
5. The Talmud E. Hindu literature
F. Japanese Literature

What’s In
Asia, being the largest of the seven continents of the world, is grouped into five main
geographical and political-cultural subdivisions, namely Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia,
Southeast Asia and West Asia (Duka, 2001). These regions have their own distinct cultural,
economic, physical and political characteristics which are undeniably reflected in their literature.

In this lesson, you will perform a close analysis and critical interpretation of representative
literary texts from Asia. Close reading is a method of literary analysis which focuses on the
specific details of a passage or text in order to recognize some deeper meaning present in it.
Such details may include the literary craftsmanship of the text, the intended audience, the
author’s purpose or background or society's viewpoints, values, and general attitudes that are
reflected in the text. All of these meanings derived from the close reading leads to the reader’s
interpretation of the passage or text.

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 What’s New

Activity 1: ENGAGE IN: Read an excerpt from “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled
Hosseini, then answer the questions that follow.

“Mariam was five years old the first time she heard the word harami.
It happened on a Thursday. It must have, because Mariam remembered that she had been
restless and preoccupied that day, the way she was only on Thursdays, the day when Jalil visited
her at the kolba. To pass the time until the moment that she would see him at last, crossing the
knee-high grass in the clearing and waving, Mariam had climbed a chair and taken down her
mother's Chinese tea set. The tea set was the sole relic that Mariam's mother, Nana, had of her
own mother, who had died when Nana was two. Nana cherished each blue-and-white porcelain
piece, the graceful curve of the pot's spout, the hand-painted finches and chrysanthemums, the
dragon on the sugar bowl, meant to ward off evil. It was this last piece that slipped from Mariam's
fingers, which fell to the wooden floorboards of the kolba and shattered”(Hosseini, 2008 lines 1-10).

1. Who are the characters mentioned in the passage? How are they related to each other?
2. How are the characters and settings introduced?
3. Describe the mood in this part of the story? What social viewpoint is reflected here?

Great! What you just did is part of a close analysis of a literary piece. In close analysis, a
reader or a critic thoroughly reads a literary text to be able to identify the intention or purpose of
the author, the intended readers, the meaning or message of the text, literary elements present in
the text as well as the non-textual circumstances that affected the creation of the text.

Looking into lines 1-10 above, the author (Khaled Hosseini) creatively presented
the setting and characters in the beginning through vivid descriptions. These somehow
generate imageries for readers and make them realize the mood that the author is trying to
present, especially on the part of the main character, Mariam. That is, she is experiencing a
social class struggle after the death of her mother, and because of her being harami (illegitimate
child). These moods and descriptions depict traditional viewpoints of the Afghan
society.Moreover, the use of these literary devices by the author to hook readers shows his
literary craftmanship.

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 What is It

In the succeeding pages of this module, we shall discuss the characteristic of Asian literature and
some of its representative literary works and authors then and now. After which, we will be
closely reading and analyzing a sample literary work written in the 21st century.

Overview of Asian Literature

Asian literature encompasses East Asian literature such as Chinese, Japanese and
Korean literature; Central Asian literature comprising of Bengali, Indian, Pakistani and Tamil
literature; West Asian Literature covering Arabic literature, Persian literature and Turkish
literature and South East Asian Literature containing the literature of the Philippines and other
Southeast Asian countries.
Throughout the centuries, the countries of Asia provide a key into how new civilization
began. A vast amount their literature, mostly categorized as lyric, drama or narrative usually
determines the culture of that time and often expresses the ideologies prevailing in every region.
One of which is “The Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu. This novel encompasses many of the
qualities valued by the Japanese, and allows for a very specific and well-orchestrated view of the
Heian court during Murasaki Shikibu’s life. Other literary works of Asia that reflect about the
places’ culture, traditions, philosophies, ideologies and diaspora that include the Analects
(didactic teaching of Confucius), the two great books of Hindu tradition-Mahabharata and
Ramayana, The One Thousand and One Nights (Arabic folktales). The Talmud (Jewish oral laws),
Rizal’s two great novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo and many more.
Because of immigration and colonization, Asian literature has developed and broadened
its contexts, now, the so called Asian American Literature. This shows the impact of immigrating
to a new country with Asian characters trying to retain their new culture and adjust to new
situations. For instance, many of Chinese Literature have been translated and are now available
online. These online literature plays important role in the United States and the rest of the world
(Belle, 2016). Likewise, “Manga, a Japanese word for comics, has become an artistic storytelling
style and is being adapted by other English speaking countries like America, calling it the Ameri-
manga”
Like other 21st century world literature, most of Asia’s written literary works
tackleuniversal themes to which wider audiences/readers can relate or identify with. Such
themes include love and romance, family and marriage, individual struggles towards success,
humanitarian values, and coping with wars, famine, disasters and other tragedies of life (Calle,
2011). Some of the representative Asian authors in the 21st century include Khaled Hoessieni
(Afghan-American), Bi Feiyu (Chinese), Manu Joseph (Indian), Yoko Ogawa and Yosuke Tanaka
(Japanese), Jhoanna Lyn Cruz (Philippines), Merlinda Bobbis (Philippine-Australian) and many
other 21st Century Asian Authors.

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 What’s More
Activity 1: Close Reading- Read thoroughly the excerpt of a sample literary piece written by an
Afghan-American author. Take note of the teixtual and non-textual circumstance that affected the
creation of the literary piece.

Preview: A Thousand Splendid Suns is Khaled Hosseini's second novel that was published in 2007. The
story follows the lives of two Afghan women, their families, friendships, and hopes for the future, set
against a backdrop of three decades of political strife. The excerpt you are about to read covers Mariam,
an illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman. She was forced to get married with Rasheed, her
father’s friend, at age fifteen. Here, it presents a part of the novel when Rasheed offered to tour Mariam in
Kabul as a reward for being a hardworking and submissive housewife in their first few years of marriage.
That time, Rasheed required her to wear the burqa, a long, loose garment covering the whole body from
head to feet, worn in public by many Muslim women.

An excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns

By Khaled Hosseini – Afganistan

Mariam had never worn a burqa before. Rasheed had to help her put it on. The
padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull, and it was strange seeing the world
through a mesh screen. She practiced walking around her room in it and kept stepping on the
hem and stumbling. The loss of peripheral vision was unnerving, and she did not like the
suffocating way the pleated cloth kept pressing against her mouth.
“You’ll get used to it,” Rasheed said. “With time, I bet you’ll like it”.
They took a bus to place Rasheed called Shar-e-Nau-Park, where children pushed
each other on swings and slapped volleyballs over ragged nets tied to tree trunks. They
strolled together and watched boys fly kites, Mariam walking beside Rasheed, tripping now
and then on the burqa’s hem. For Lunch, Rasheed took her to eat in a small kebab house
near a mosque, he called it the Haji Yaghoub. The floor was sticky and the air smoky. The
walls smelled faintly of raw meat and music, which Rasheed described to her as logari, was
loud. The cooks were thin boys who fanned skewers with on hand and swatted gnats with the
other. Mariam, who had never been inside the restaurant found it odd at first to sit in a
crowded room with so many strangers, to lift her burqa to put morsels of food into her mouth.
A hint of the same anxiety as the day at the tandoor stirred into her stomach, but Rasheed’s
presence was of some comfort, and after a while, she did not mind so much the music, the
smoke, even the people. And the burqa, she learned to her surprise, was also comforting. It
was like a one-way window. Inside it, she was an observer, buffered from scrutinizing eyes of
strangers. She no longer worried that people knew, with a single glance, all the shameful
secrets of her pasts.
------------------------
The women in this part of Kabul were a different breed from the women in the
poorer neighborhoods- like the one where she and Rasheed lived, where so many of the
women covered fully. These women were- what the word Rasheed has used? –“modern”.
Yes, modern Afghan women married to modern Afghan men who did not mind that their
wives walked among strangers with makeup on their faces and nothing on their heads.
Mariam watched then cantering uninhibited down the street, sometimes with a man,
sometimes alone, sometimes with rosy-checked children who wore shiny shoes and watches
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 What I Have Learned
with leather bands, who walked bicycles with high-rise handle bars and gold-colored spokes-
unlike the children in Deh-Mazang, who bore sand-fly scars on their cheeks and rolled old
bicycle tires with sticks.
The women were all swinging hand bags and rusting skirts. Mariam even
spotted one smoking behind the wheel of a car. Their nails were long, polished pink or
orange, their lips red as tulips. They walked in high heels, and quickly as if on perpetually
urgent business. They wore dark sunglasses, and, when breezed by, Mariam caught a whiff
of their perfume. She imagined that they all had university degrees, which they worked in
office buildings, behind desks of their own, where they typed and smoked and made
important phone calls to important people. These women mystified Mariam. They made her
aware of her own lowliness, her plain looks, her lack of aspirations, and her ignorance of so
many things. (Uychoco, 2016 p.137-138)

Bio note: Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American novelist who was known for his vivid description of
Afghanistan. He was born in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 4, 1956. His father was a diplomat and his
mother is a secondary – school teacher. In 1976, He and his parents moved to Paris, where his father
worked at the Afghan embassy. Because of Soviet invasion in Afghanistan in 1979, they moved to
California. There, he studied Santa Clara University. In 1989, he began attending medical school at
the University of California, San Diego. He entered private practice as an internist in 1996, three years
after receiving his medical degree. He began working with his first novel (The Kite Runner) in 2001,
before heading to medical practice. His second novel (A Thousand Splendid Suns) was inspired by his
observation of women wearing burka (burqa) during a 2003 visit to Afghanistan.

ASSESSMENT 1: Compare and contrast

How are traditional women different from modern women as described in the excerpt? What
caused a change between modern women and traditional women? Present your answer
through a Venn diagram.

Assessment 2: Critical Analysis. Answer each question in 3-4 sentences. Write your answers
on your answer sheets.
Question
1. How is the relationship between Mariam and Rasheed in this part of the novel?
2. What does the burqa symbolize? How did the author portray the despotism among women
through the culture of wearing burqa?
3. What do you think is the author’s intention in presenting the traditional women and the
modern women of the Afghan society? Is there a similarity
with other Asian nations? Explain your answer
4. What themes can you deduce from the excerpt above? Give at least two and explain them
sensibly.

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Activity: My Acrostics
If you were to describe Asian literature, what word or phrase would it be? Write an acrostic
poem that tells about the literature of Asia.

Activity guide: An acrostic is a literary device in which the first letter of every verse consecutively
forms a word or message. It is mostly applied in poetry, but can also be used in prose or word puzzle. This word
or alphabet is often connected to the theme of the poem. It is deliberately inserted to make readers discover the
layered message. It also acts as a mnemonic device that can quicken the pace of the memorization process.
Acrostic poetry can be written in any meter, or free verse form, with or without a rhyme scheme. However, the
most common types of acrostic poems are those in which the initial letter of each line forms a word, and is often
capitalized (www.literary devices.net)

Rubric for assessing written Acrostics

Criteria Description score
Meaning and The poem is creative and has original thoughts.
originality It is evident that the poet put thought into his/her words and uniquely
conveyed his/her ideas and emotions.
Form and The poem is complete and follows its intended form
word choice The written acrostics use rhymes, and appropriate measure and meter
Writing Neatness/ spelling/ capitalization/ punctuation enhance the poem
mechanics The words used are connected and unified with the concept
Layout Poem includes a creative drawing or decoration relevant to the topic
Legend: 5-VMO (very much observed) 2- LO (Less observed)
4-MO (Much observed) 1- NO (not observed) 20 pts
3- SO (Somewhat observed)
Total

What I Can Do
Activity: Quotable Lines

Following are lines quoted from the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”. Select one which is
personally applicable to you, then explain in 1-2 paragraphs. Cite real life situations if necessary.

Criteria: Content …………………....8

Organization ……………....4
Writing mechanics ………..3
Total …………………….15

1. “Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act
of waiting.”
2. “yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways and move them to overcome the
most daunting obstacles with startling heroism”
3. “A society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated...”
4. “You see, some things I can teach you. Some you learn from books. But there are things
that, well, you have to see and feel.”
5. “Behind every trial and sorrow that He makes us shoulder, God has a reason.”

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 Post-Assessment
Instruction: From the choices given, select the letter corresponding to the correct answer.
1. Which of the following does not describe Asia?
A. It is the largest continent of the world.
B. It experienced several hardships in its long history.
C. It has five geographical and cultural-political subdivision
D. Its regions has its distinct cultural, economic, physical and political characteristics

2. To what region in Asia does the Philippines belong?

A. East Asia B. Southeast Asia C. West Asia D. Central Asia

3. Which of the following does not belong to Asian literature?

A. Persian Literature C. African Literature
B. Philippines literature D. Indian Literature

4. Which of these literary works is a representative text of Japanese Literature?

A. Tale of Genjji B. The Talmud C. The Analects D.The Arabian Nights

5. Which of these literary works is a representative text of Chinese Literature?

A. Tale of Genjji B. The Talmud C. the Analects D.The Arabian nights

6. Which statement is true about Asian American Literature?

A. It is caused by immigration and colonization.
B. It shows the impact of immigrating to a new country.
C. Some Asian literature are adapted by other English speaking countries.
D. A, B, & C
E.
7. What are being reflected in most of the Asian literature?
A. their culture B. their philosophies C. their teachings D. A, B, & C

8. Which of the following does not belong to East Asian Literature?

A. Chinese Literature C. Korean Literature
B. Indian Literature D. Japanese Literature

9. Which is TRUE about Asian literature?

A. Asian literature determines the culture of that time.
B. Asian literature often expresses the ideologies prevalent in every region.
C. A vast amount of Asian literature are mostly categorized as lyric, drama or narrative.
D. A , B & C

10. Who among the personalities below is a notable literary Asian author of the past?
A. Confucius B. Jose Rizal C. Rabindranath Tagore D. A, B, & C

11. Which name below is a 21st century Asian author?

A. Khaled Hosseini B. Bi Feiyu C. Yoko Ogawa D. A, B &C

Read the lines taken from a short story written by a Filipino author, then answer the
questions that follow:
“Bang bang bang, three to the chest. Reload. One had jumped in front
of him as he stepped through the diaper aisle. Next aisle, canned goods, three
perps, one holding a knife to a hostage. His arm glided from left to right, bang
bang, two in the chest, perp down. Bang, headshot. Reload. Last crook on the
right with the hostage: one to the leg, hostage runs, bang, headshot. Reload”
–Flicker Fade Gone by Carljoe Javier
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12. The lines above are written in what point of view?
A. first person B. second person C. third person D. none of the above

13. What example of imagery is used in the above passage?

A. visual (sight) B. auditory(hearing) C. tactile (touch) D. olfactory(smell)

14. What figure of speech is found in the lines above?

A. onomatopoeia B. metaphor C. simile D. personification

15. What information can be inferred about the character from the passage above?
A. He is a soldier. C. He is in a battle.
B. He is in a grocery store. D. He is playing video games.

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 ANSWER KEY
Pre-assessment

What’s new:
Activity 1- Engage In (possible answers are given in the discussion after the activity)

What’s More
Assessment 1 – answers vary
Assessment 2 – answers vary

What I have learned – answers vary

What I can do – answers vary

Post Assessment

REFERENCES
Alburan, Kent Vincent. 2019. Characteristics of Asian Literature. September 14. Accessed
October 25, 2020. https://www.scribd.com/document425784551/Characteristics-of-Asian-Lit

Asian Literature. n.d. Accessed October 25, 2020 http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/asianliterature.

Belle. 2016. History of Asian Literature. November 28. Accessed October 20, 2020.
https://www.coursehero.com/file/38635882/ASIAN-LITERATUREdocx/

Duka, Carolina. 2001. The literatures of Asia and Africa. 1st ed. Quezon City. Rex Printing
Company Inc.

Friesen, Calle. (2011). 21st Century Literary Genres. PowerPoint Presentation.

www.slideshare.net/.../21st-century-literarygenres-by-calle-friesen.

Hosseini, Khaled (2008) A Thousand Splendid Suns. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/a-

thousand-splendid-suns-e50253777.html on September 15, 2020

Tayao, Lourdes, Alonzo Rosario & Flores, Eden Regala.2017. 21st Century Literature from the
Philippines and the World. Quezon City. C & E Publishing Inc.

Uychoco, Marikit Tara A. 2016. 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World.
Quezon City. Rex Printing Company, Inc.

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:
Department of Education – Cordillera Administrative Region
Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet
Telefax: 422-1318 / 422-4074
Email Address: car@deped.gov.ph
Social Media: facebook.com/DepEdTayoCordillera

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