Republic of the Philippines

STA.CRUZ INSTITUTE (SCI), INC.

NUEVA SEGOVIA ARCHDIOCESAN CATHOLIC
SCHOOL
Sta.Cruz, Ilocos Sur
S.Y. 2021 – 2022

Performance Task
in
21 Century
st

Literature of the
Philippines and the
World

Submitted to:
Ms. Ruby Garnace
 Republic of the Philippines
STA.CRUZ INSTITUTE (SCI), INC.
NUEVA SEGOVIA ARCHDIOCESAN CATHOLIC
SCHOOL
Sta.Cruz, Ilocos Sur
S.Y. 2021 – 2022

Name: MARTINEZ, AVEGAIL JHANNAH A. Grade & Section: 12 – GENEROSITY

WORLD LITERATURE

Introduction
Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It
depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late
19th century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first to receive
global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in
English-speaking countries around the world. The novel was first published in the UK in 1962 by William
Heinemann Ltd, and became the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series. A Fine
Balance is the second novel by Rohinton Mistry, published in 1995. Set in "an unidentified city" in India,
initially in 1975 and later in 1984 during the turmoil of The Emergency,[2] the book concerns four
characters from varied backgrounds – Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash Darji and the
young student Maneck Kohlah – who come together and develop a bond.

Body
Things Fall Apart

Though Okonkwo is a respected leader in the Umuofia tribe of the Igbo people, he lives in fear of
becoming his father – a man known for his laziness and cowardice. Throughout his life, Okonkwo
attempts to be his father’s polar opposite. From an early age, he builds his home and reputation as a
precocious wrestler and hard-working farmer. Okonkwo’s efforts pay off big time and he becomes
wealthy through his crops and scores three wives.Okonkwo’s life is shaken up a when an accidental
murder takes place and Okonkwo ends up adopting a boy from another village. The boy is named
Ikemefuna and Okonkwo comes to love him like a son. In fact, he loves him more than his natural son,
Nwoye. After three years, though, the tribe decides that Ikemefuna must die. When the men of Umuofia
take Ikemefuna into the forest to slaughter him, Okonkwo actually participates in the murder. Although
he’s just killed his adoptive son, Okonkwo shows no emotion because he wants to be seen as Mr. Macho
and not be weak like his own father was. Inside, though, Okonkwo feels painful guilt and regret. But
since Okonkwo was so wrapped up in being tough and emotionless, he alienates himself from Nwoye,
who was like a brother to Ikemefuna.Later on, during a funeral, Okonkwo accidentally shoots and kills a
boy. For his crime, the town exiles him for seven years to his mother’s homeland, Mbanta. There, he
learns about the coming of the white missionaries whose arrival signals the beginning of the end for the
Igbo people. They bring Christianity and win over Igbo outcasts as their first converts. As the Christian
religion gains legitimacy, more and more Igbo people are converted. Just when Okonkwo has finished his
seven-year sentence and is allowed to return home, his son Nwoye converts to Christianity. Okonkwo is
so bent out of shape that he disowns his son.Eventually, the Igbo attempt to talk to the missionaries, but
the Christians capture the Igbo leaders and jail them for several days until the villagers cough up some
ransom money. Contemplating revenge, the Igbo people hold a war council and Okonkwo is one of the
biggest advocates for aggressive action. However, during the council, a court messenger from the
missionaries arrives and tells the men to stop the meeting. Enraged, Okonkwo kills him. Realizing that his
clan will not go to war against the white men, the proud, devastated Okonkwo hangs himself.

A Fine Balance

Dina hires the tailors to work from patterns provided by Au Revoir Exports even though she isn’t
supposed to run a business from her rent-controlled apartment. Dina, a widow, wants to maintain her
financial independence so that she won’t have to move back in with her brother, Nusswan Shroff, who
treats her like an unpaid servant. Meanwhile, the landlord is looking for an excuse to evict her and get a
higher paying tenant. The Darjis belong to the “untouchable” caste. By learning the sewing trade, they
have escaped their village, where the upper castes oppress the lower ones, and where a local landholder
named Thakur Dharamsi killed the rest of the Darji family because Ishvar’s brother got above his station.
Ishvar and Om hope for a fresh start in the big city and are glad to find employment with Dina. Maneck is
taking a certificate program in refrigeration and air-conditioning at the city college. He’s disgusted with
the filthy student housing and wants to go home. Instead, his parents arrange for him to rent a room from
Dina, who was his mother’s school friend. Even though Dina’s flat is shabby, Maneck finds it a better
alternative than the student hostel. Maneck and Om become fast friends since they are both 17. Ishvar acts
like their father, while Dina acts like their mother. Despite hardships and struggles, the four form a family
bond. The apartment becomes a safe haven in the midst of political turmoil, abject poverty, squalid slums,
and government corruption in 1975 India.

The appalling conditions in which people live in the city deeply affect Maneck. He easily becomes
overwhelmed and depressed despite acquaintance Vasantrao Valmik’s advice that he must learn to strike
a balance between hope and despair. Maneck refuses to move forward psychologically. He prefers to
dwell on his lost, happy childhood and resists the changes that life forces on him. Dina has other
problems. She worries about money and about meeting her weekly Au Revoir Exports quota. She’s
constantly harassed by the rent-collector and warned about operating a business in her flat. However,
Dina chooses to ignore the threats and boldly claims that Om and Maneck are her sons and Ishvar is her
husband, holding the befuddled rent-collector temporarily at bay. Despite the threats surrounding them,
the four people in Dina’s flat prosper. Dina stitches a quilt from scraps accumulated during their year
together. Each square contains a memory from their shared past. This familial bond temporarily breaks
when they have to part: Ishvar takes Om back to their village to find him a bride, and Maneck must return
home until school resumes. Once they are gone, Dina misses her flatmates and hopes for their speedy
return. The tailors face new misfortunes when they return to their village. Om spits at Thakur, the man
who burned his family. Thakur plans to take revenge for the insult. Because Thakur heads the
government’s voluntary sterilization program, he gives orders for people to be rounded up at random for
the surgery. When Ishvar and Om are taken, Thakur arranges for Om to be castrated rather than just get a
vasectomy. Ishvar develops blood poisoning from his surgery and needs to have his legs amputated.
Unaware of his friends’ plight, Maneck takes a job in Dubai and doesn’t return until his father’s funeral in
1984. In the intervening years, Maneck has been unable to find any meaning in life. Upon returning to
India, he’s still appalled by the violence, tragedy, and political turmoil. Nothing has changed for the better
in his absence. Maneck hopes to receive cheerful news by visiting Dina and the tailors. Instead, he finds
Dina living as a dependent in her brother’s house. She is nearly blind and appears old and worn out.
Maneck learns from her that the tailors are now beggars. Upon leaving Dina, Maneck encounters Ishvar
and Om on the street, but their ragged appearance shocks him so much that he doesn’t acknowledge them.
While Maneck waits for a train to take him back home, despair at all the losses his friends have suffered
overwhelms him. He also feels the loss of his own happy makeshift family. Seeing no reason to continue
living, Maneck throws himself in front of an oncoming express train and commits suicide. Not suspecting
that Maneck has ended his life, Dina brings the tailors inside for lunch as usual, since she feeds them
whenever the rest of the family is out. They joke with one another, recalling the old days. Ishvar now uses
the quilt that Dina made as a seat cushion. He frets at a torn square, but Dina gives him needle and thread
to repair it. When the tailors leave, Dina says to herself that they still manage to make her laugh every
day, just as Maneck once did.

Compare and Contrast

The african literature Things Fall Apart is a story about a culture on the verge of change, it examines how
diverse characters are affected by the potential and reality of change. When new systems emerge, it is the
old ones that have been made uncomfortable that will be the first to adapt. People have a hard time
recognizing it outside of the colonial narrative because we've all been conditioned to think of the west as
the center of the universe. The debate over whether change or tradition should take precedence sometimes
involves issues of personal prestige. The asian literature A Fine Balance is about sufferings and pain of
the poorest people. The corrupt and brutal government has just declared a State of Emergency, and the
country is on the edge of chaos. From this way, A Fine Balance is the story of the heroic struggles and
hideous misfortunes that is based on physical, psychological and social sufferings. Comparing the two
literatures both novels shared sense of colonialsm and discrimination, Immigration stories of moving
across the world or towards a better life. Both novels has the theme of globalization and changing
cultures, narration of social evils can be found in both forms of literature. Furthermore, the african
literature Things Fall Apart and asian literature A Fine Balance have differences in usage of language,
english maybe used in different ways. The cultural contexts and the social contexts of the two literary
texts are different. The locations of these novels are different, The way literary devices or structures are
used can be different. African literature often is based on apartheid and Asian literature is based on race,
culture and finding sense of identity.

Conclusion
Taking everything into account, these two different literatures has similarities and differences on some
part if the stories. It talks about race, discrimination, culture, globalization, psychological and social
sufferings. It puts us back on what happened years ago, it gives us the knowledge we need to know as of
now in this time. The stories gives us a mesage or morals that we can adopt and apply it in our daily lives.
Literatures maybe hard to understand but once you get the hang of it, you’ll appreciate the author writing
it so that the world can know what are the incessant struggles of the people when in times of difficulty.
The reason of occurrence of these literatures is to teach everyone a lesson, to teach everyone to be aware
pf the actions they portray, may these literatures I shared can give you knowledge and feed your
curiosities about african and asian literatures.