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How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife

( Manuel E. Arguilla )

A paper analysis presented
to the class of
Miss Maria Cristina Arquiza.

In partial fulfillment of
the requirement for the subject
English IV.

By
Abella! "hilmar M.
IV# $iamond
Ernesto %ondon &igh 'chool
August ()! *+(+

Chapter I
AUTHOR !RO"#LE

Manuel E$ta%illo Arguilla ,(-(( . (-//0 1as an Ilo2ano 1riter in English! patriot! and
martyr.
&e is 2no1n for his 1idely anthologized short story 3&o1 My Brother 4eon Brought
&ome a 5ife!3 the main story in the collection 3&o1 My Brother 4eon Brought &ome a 5ife
and 6ther 'hort 'tories3 1hich 1on first prize in the Common1ealth 4iterary Contest in (-/+.
&is stories 3Midsummer3 and 3&eat3 1as published in the 7nited 'tates by the8rairie
'chooner.
Most of Arguilla9s stories depict scenes in Barrio :agrebcan! Bauang! 4a 7nion1here he
1as born. &is bond 1ith his birthplace! forged by his dealings 1ith the peasant fol2 of Ilocos!
remained strong e;en after he mo;ed to Manila 1here he studied at the7ni;ersity of the
8hilippines 1here he finished B' Education in (-<< and 1here he became a member and later
the president of the 7.8. 5riter9s Club and editor of the uni;ersity9s 4iterary Apprentice.
&e married 4ydia Villanue;a! another talented 1riter in English! and they li;ed inErmita!
Manila. &ere! =. 'ionil >os?! another seminal =ilipino 1riter in English! recalls often seeing him
in the :ational 4ibrary! 1hich 1as then in the basement of 1hat is no1 the :ational Museum.
3you couldn9t miss him3! >ose describes Arguilla! 3because he had this blac2 patch on his chee2!
a birthmar2 or an o;ergro1n mole. &e 1as 1riting then those famous short stories and essays
1hich I admired.3
&e became a creati;e 1riting teacher at the 7ni;ersity of Manila and later 1or2ed at the
Bureau of 8ublic 5elfare as managing editor of the bureau9s publication 5elfare Ad;ocate until
(-/<. &e 1as later appointed to the Board of Censors. &e secretly organized a guerrilla
intelligence unit against the >apanese.
In 6ctober (-//! he 1as captured! tortured and e@ecuted by the >apanese armyat =ort
'antiago.
And because of his great s2ills in 1riting stories and no;els he earned so many a1ard that
can classify him as an author of the year.
&ha'ter ##
I:A%6$7CAI6:

'tory is a common term for a description of a sequence of e;ents! or a statement
regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question.Ahe story is the one 1ho signifies the life
of a man or 1oman here in the 1orld 1hether it is comedy or tragedy! fantasy or real! happened
in the past of in the near future. Ahe story also ser;es as the reflection of each person in this ;ery
mysterious 1orld . 6thers thought that reading a story is a little bit boring and ridiculous but
there are some 1ho find it ;ery interesting .

Ahis short story entitled ! &o1 My Brother 4eon Brought &ome A 5ife ! is one of the
story 1ritten by a professional and famous author named Manuel E. Arguilla . Ahis short story
focused on ho1 the brother of Baldo or simply 4eon brought home his 1ife named Maria. Ahe
story happened at the :argrebcan! 4a 7nion 1here the author also born and li;ed. Ahis is a 2ind
of story that is ;ery typical here in the 8hilippines especially in some rural areas. Ahis story also
1ants to gi;e us 2no1ledge about some other places 1ho 2eep their tradition. Ahe other thing is
to gi;e lesson on ho1 to ta2ing care your relationship to those people you lo;e and to realize the
importance of friendship in e;eryoneBs life.
Ahe story! li2e most of ArguillaBs prose! transpires in Barrio :agrebcan in 4a 7nion! the
birthplace of Manuel E. Arguilla himself. CouBll immediately realize ho1 the 1riter lo;es his
hometo1n by the ;i;id imagery and sensuality that he offers on the plate. =rom the shapes and
the sounds to e;en the scent of the air! Arguilla spares no detail to pro;e that beauty e@ists in
:agrebcan. =rom the title! you can surmise 1hat type of story this is and ho1 it could de;elop
as it goes along. 4eon is actually the big brother of the main protagonist! the 1ielder of the
mystic point#of#;ie1! but his 1ife ta2es to him as :oel as the latter coinage is presumably a
modern t1ist of 4eon though ob;iously it is an in;ersion of the 1ord. Baldo is the little brother
and Maria! Baldo ta2ing traditional names into mind as he hears her name for the first time! is the
1ife 1hom 4eonD:oel brought bac2 home.
Maria is actually city bred and 4eonD:oel and Baldo are blatantly to1nsfol2. AhereBs the
culture clash that ser;es to be the conflict! though only bet1een the father and the obli;ious
Maria. 'ince 4eonD:oel brought Maria to :agrebcan! it can be presumed that theyBll be staying
there. As a precaution! unbe2no1nst to e;en 4eonD:oel and Baldo! their father ha;e as2ed the
younger son to do certain things out of the norm just to see if the 1ife can really adjust to her
ne1 setting . the barrio and the family.
In its entirety! How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife focuses on the
aforementioned culture clash or the setting shift 1hen someone from the barrio or the city is
transported to the other. Ahe concept is distinctly =ilipino but essentially global.
&ha'ter ###
A:A4C'I' 6= A&E 'A6%C
a. Character
1. Maria
= Tall and lovely lady with a long nail but not painted and look so fragrant like a morning
when papayas are in bloom.
= the beautiful and stunning wife of Leon from Manila.
2. Baldo
= He is the younger brother of Leon
= The one who fetched Leon and Maria from the road to Nagrebcan.
= He has a secret feeling to the wife of Leon.
3. Leon
= Sometimes called as Noel because of his look.
= He is the older brother of aldo who studied in Manila.
= The lovable husband of Maria.
4. Labang
= The ull whom aldo consider as his pet.
= Served as the transportation of Leon! Maria and aldo because of his cart at its back.
5. Norman Tabios
=Maria"s e#$boyfriend who happened to be a loro.
6. Churita
=Labang"s girlfriend%fiance

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