Nove Joy L. Deleña

Title: The Happy Man

Author: Naguib Mahfouz

Literary Type and form: Prose Fiction/Short Story

Literary Approach: Psychological Criticism

I - Elements of the story

a. Characters and characterizationThe happy man

He is the protagonist. He is on the state of mind of being stressed in work until he realizes

that he is happy.

Happiness

The happy man’s antagonist.

Bashir

The man’s servant He is low-class, and not closed with his master. He gets embarrassed when the man asked him if he considered a

happy man, because it was the first time addressing him as a companion or friend.

He is a static character because his personality remains the same throughout the story.

The Doctors/therapists/psychiatrists

These are the professional individuals that the man sought for help. They are too static characters, for they are nothing more than what

their job was.b. Settings

The settings change throughout the story since it is in the view of his daily life.

Home Office Many different medical clinics Meeting hall of the newspaper building (where he works) Set in Egypt

The main setting of this story is in the clinic.c. Plot (Traditional Structure)

Introduction/Exposition

The story begins the “Happy Man” is introduced and shows how unbelievably happy he is. His usual mood is the opposite, “for he usually got up with a terrible headache from working late hours or with a hangover from too much drinking in wild parties”. He explains this abrupt happiness as if his organs were” functioning in perfect harmony with an overwhelming feeling

Rising Action

The rising action of this story is when the man starts to seeks explanation of his overbearing happiness. Because of too much confusion towards his emotion cause him to start loosing sleep and miss work.

Climax

The climax in the story is when he realizes that he can no longer continue his life being this happy so he decides that there is something wrong with him, his emotions and he goes to different clinics to seek help from the psychiatrist.

Falling Action

The falling action occurs when the man visits many different clinics to find explanations and answers to his overbearing happiness and tries to figure out his internal conflict. Until he found a specialist that encounters similar cases and recommends him to go to session twice a week.

Resolution

The story ends with him at last he found a specialist that encounters similar cases and recommends him to go to session twice a week. In the end he decided to finally accept his happiness.

d. Conflict Person vs. Self

The man’s conflict takes place within himself. He is fighting with himself and feels like the life he used to live is faraway from the reality.

e. Point of View

In the story “the happy man”, the point of view is third person or omniscient. The narrator is telling the story.

f. Theme

The theme of the short story portrays what “happiness” and how this contributes to being human. Normal human feel various emotions; happiness, anger, excitement, sadness, madness and etc. That having overbearing happiness is impossible; this story also looks at self-identity, his outlook on life and pressures as well as values.

II - Interpretation of the Title

The short story entitled “The Happy Man”, the title itself emphasize the fact that the happiness he feels became everything for him, because he could only feel happiness and no other emotions. To be human needs to feel various emotions and face different phases of life and gain experiences to feel that the life that you live is worth living. The word “happy”, was the definite word that would describe him.

III - Gained Insights

A philosophy of life that emphasizes personal choice and subjectivity, which is the idea that our everyday choices, actions and reactions determine who and what we are. In the happy man the significant theme is what it means to be human. It could be explained by three aspects. The pressure and reality derived from this world is waiting us to face, the sentiments we experienced enrich our life and add flavor to the outlook of life and the most importantly, to create self-identity.

His short term goal is to get an answer to why he is so happy.“ I haven’t come to see you because I’m ill but because I’m happy!” “Happiness is not the key to life”. We need to capable feel of various emotions to feel that we’re human and in order to have a balanced life. In the story definitely shows us that without experiencing various emotions; happiness, anger, excitement, sadness, madness and etc., we can’t have a balanced life.

Nove Joy L. Deleña

Title: The Peasant who became King

Author/Reference: Baldonado, R.S. Franco. A.O.,et al. (2013), Readings From

World Literature. Great Books Publishing: Quezon City

Literary Type and form: Prose Fiction/Folktale

Literary Approach: Mythological Criticism

I - Elements of the story

a. Characters and characterizationMain Characters

Anubis/Anpu Elder brother of Bata

Bata Protagonist Younger brother of Anpu Have a good heart (divine heart)

Minor Character

Wife of Anpu Who attempt to seduce Bata Antagonis

Pharaoh Wife of Bata

God Ra The gracious God who helped Bata.

b. Settings In the house Field Near the river and valley of Acacia Egypt

c. Plot (Traditional structure) Introduction/Exposition

In this Egyptian myth there were once two brothers the eldest named Anpu and the younger one named Bata. The younger one Bata lived with his eldest brother and his wife, were Bata lived with Anpu as he were his own son. Bata was the person who drove the oxen to the field, it was he who also ploughed the field, and who harvested the grain.

Rising Action

Anpu’s wife got jealous of Bata and decided to destroy him to his brother. She made an evil plan, where she made a romantic gesture and asked the younger brother Bata to lay with her in which Bata denied. Upon Anpu’s return he found his wife laying on the floor in total darkness and asked what was wrong. The Anpu’s wife lied by accusing the younger brother Bata of attempting to hurt her and lay with her.

Climax

Anubis/Anpu the eldest brother attempts to kill his younger brother Bata, who flees and prays to Re-Harakhti to save him from his brother. The god creates a crocodile-infested lake between the two brothers, across which Bata is finally able to appeal to his brother and share his side of the events.

Falling Action

The brother discussed the whole story behind the matter and found out the truth. Anpu went home and found his wife washing the paint off. Anpu killed his wife.

Resolution

The resolution in the story is when Anpu realized the mistake he had done to his brother while his brother found peace living in the valley of the Acacia.

d. Conflict Man vs. Man(Bata vs. Anpu’s wife)

e. Point of View

The point of view of the story is third person or omniscient, because the story talks about the experience of Bata.

f. Theme

The theme of the story is life process where it tells the experience of the two brothers.

II - Interpretation of the Title

The story of "The Peasant who became King" describes how a farmer or a laborer who had been experienced and passed the wrath of his brother Anpu restore himself goes adventures and became king. Good traits, faith and efforts bring him to the peek. The tale also has traits peculiar to ancient Egypt, notably that the main characters are gods as well as kings. Bata and Anubis are both divine figures connected with Egypt’s mortuary cults, and their story is replete with religious symbols of rebirth.

III - Gained Insights

The Egyptian myth “The Peasant Who Became King” informs individuals that what goes around comes around or more likely known by individual’s in society today as karma. In the case of brothers Anpu and Bata not only do they display how they inflict harm themselves, but how their lives as peasants or farmers change out of spite of cruel and villain women, the Anpu’s wife. The karma hunts Anpus wife’s dies by her husband’s hands. Her death displays that karma takes no pity and that the penalty for the foul action came just as bad as her intention was. The truth deliberately always comes out sooner than anticipated in an easy form or a rather difficult one as this story. For the wife, due to her foul actions taken and also the older brother for judging without knowing both parts of the story.

The villain women not only caused disruption in the lives of the brothers

but also put them in the lowest positions of their lives. These two share similar qualities to those of past myths where women use their looks primarily to undermine men. Yet, in the end the both Anpu and Bata had a great ending despite their journey despite the villainous women they married caused strife and chaos in their lives. This tale gives insight on how the women (antagonist) destroyed the main characters, and how Karma does exist and everything from the past will catch up to each individual at any period. 

In the story there are lots of valuable lesson that we can get. We can learn how to give importance and appreciate the value of relationship of a family and how evil plans fails against good, specially in the family because there is a saying that “blood is thicker than water.” The are valuable lesson portrays in the story, lessons to the Egyptians in those years the lessons that can be pass through written and orally to the next generation.Nove Joy L. Deleña

Title: The Myth of Osiris and Isis

Author: Anonymous

Literary Type and form: Folktales/ Myth

Literary Approach: Mythological Criticism

I - Elements of the story

a. Characters and characterization

Ra King of the gods.

Nut Sky goddess, mother of Osiris.

Geb Earth God, father of Osiris.

Osiris Egyptian Pharoah who rigned over Egypt in the very early

beginings King of the dead

Isis Sister & wife of Osiris

Thoth God of wisdom.

Silene Moon goddess.

Horus Brother of Osiris.

Seth Evil brother of Osiris. Cruel and jealous of Osiris

Harpocrates Horus the infant, son of Osiris

Nephthys Sister of Osiris

g. Settings Land of Babylos Phoenicia Set in Egypt

h. Plot (Traditional structure)

Introduction/Exposition

The story begins first son of Geb and Nut, Osiris was tall, slender, and handsome, with jet black hair. When his father, Geb, gave up the reigning power over Egypt and retired into the heavens, Osiris took over the kingship and married his sister, the beautiful Isis. Under his wise authority the Egyptians were persuaded to renounce cannibalism. He taught them farming and the pleasures of music, and he framed a just legal code for them. Egypt flourished peacefully under his rule. Meanwhile, Osiris, Isis husband went off to civilize the rest of the world and brought the same blessings to Europe

Rising Action

The rising action of this story is when Osiris had an ugly and evil brother with red, coarse hair like an ass's pelt. This was Set, a born plotter who envied the power and attractiveness of his elder brother. Set had another reason for hating Osiris: His own wife, Nephthys, had conceived a child by Osiris — the jackal-headed Anubis. By bribery and cunning Set gained many allies during Osiris' absence, and together they devised a plan for the king's death.

Climax

The climax of the story is when Isis learned of her husband's death she traveled along the Nile in the deepest grief, searching for the chest containing Osiris. She found Anubis, who had been abandoned by Nephthys, and she nursed and educated him. Isis continued looking for Osiris through repeated discouragements, until one day she learned the chest had sailed to Phoenicia, where a tamarisk tree had enveloped it within its trunk.

Falling Action

Aided by Nephthys, Isis revived Osiris through magic and conceived a son by him. And Set then put her in prison, from which she escaped with the help of Anubis. Isis fled to the swamps of the Nile delta and, living like a peasant, she gave birth to Osiris' son, Horus the hawk, born to avenge his father's murder. Horus suffered intense pains throughout his childhood, and only his mother's witchcraft managed to save him. Horus grew to manhood as a valiant.

Resolution

The story Together Horus and Isis pursued Set, and when they met the fighting was even more intense. Set managed to grab Horus' eye and tear it out, but Horus wrested it back and finally drove Set into the Red Sea forever.

Conflict

Man vs. Man

i. Point of View

In this story the point of view is third person or omniscient. The narrator is telling the story.

j. Theme

The theme that being portrayed to this short story is “Happiness” and what it means to be human. That perfect happiness is impossible; this story also looks at self-identity, his outlook on life and pressures as well as values.

II - Interpretation of the Title

The title, being “The Happy Man”, just goes to further emphasize the fact that the happiness became everything for him. Because he could no longer feel other emotions, happy, was the word that would continue to describe him.

III - Gained Insights

One point worth remarking about some Egyptian gods, such as Ra, Shu, and Geb, is that they suffer the same vicissitudes as earthly monarchs. They reign for a while in Egypt, their power begins to dwindle, and they retire into the sky, leaving their kingdom to a son. Moreover, Osiris has a mortal body and dies like any man. And he must be restored to life through magic and love. One can link this to the annual death and rebirth of vegetation, but it has more to do with the idea of the soul's immortality and a regeneration beyond the grave.