Group 2, E12H

Group 2

Antonio, Edmarie Angelyn

Belonio, Mary Catherine

Capinlac, Tricia Kyle

Macawili, Jhonray Roi

Mag-apan, Charie Mae

Malig, Robin Gabriel

Nebre, John Michael

Raynalyn, Villafranca

Mr. Virgilio Teñozo

21st Literature from the Philippines and the world

August 30, 2019

Introduction

Author’s Background

From every message a literature conveys, comes a great artist. Peter Zaragoza Mayshle is known for
his great work which are short stories, he is a Filipino American based writer whose short stories are
known for great morality and lessons.

“ He received an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, where he was
awarded two Hopwood Awards, a Farrar Award in playwriting, and a Civitas Fellowship for teaching
in the Detroit public schools with the InsideOut Detroit Literary Arts Project. He received a Yaddo
artist residency in summer 2010. His short stories have appeared in The Manila Times, The Philippines
Free Press and Mandala Journal, and forthcoming in Flash: The International Short-
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Short Story Magazine. He is currently doing research in Manila for his doctoral dissertation in
Composition and Rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”

“My research interests include the rhetorics of space and public memory, visual rhetoric, ethnography
and postcolonial subjectivities, all of which inform my teaching of writing to varying degrees. I am
working on a monograph, Walled Memoria: Presencing Memory Sites in Intramuros, Manila, about
the narratives and counter-narratives of various memory sites located within the former Spanish
colonial center of the Philippines. I have a chapter, “Writing to Name: Documents and Disruptions
of a Non-Native Teacher-Scholar,” in Lingua Franca: First Generation Scholars in Rhetoric,
Composition, and Communication, currently in review with the NCTE. I also write plays, screenplays,
and fiction. My most recent story appeared in Flash Fiction International, published by W.W.
Norton.”

- Peter Zaragoza Mayshle

Most of his works are very full of lessons which are a puzzle to our mind, the overall message of his
short stories conveys hidden meaning and a lot of symbolism which is linked to morality, we are lucky
to review one of his works which is “Touchmove” which shows how the mind is determined to
achieve a goal yet curiosity and distractions might get in the way.

Summary

Touchmove by Peter Zaragoza Mayshle

The story is all about Roman and Peter (based on the context) they were playing a game of chess when
suddenly Peter told Roman a story about this chick. He stated that there was this chick that once
visited their place, they have never gotten a woman to visit their place. The girl was indeed beautiful
and stunning it was starting to the below the belt part of Peter, which made him think that the girl
wants his private area, While preparing for her room, Peter gave him a towel as she took her shower,
he saw her beautiful body she was taller that Peter and she was leaning on the door of the shower
room. After taking a bath Peter saw her bush area because the towel was too short to cover it up, He
asked her to get her another towel but she insisted. The girl took off her towel and told
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Peter that for one thousand pesos he can do anything to her, Peter blushed and was surprised, as he
was massaging her butt that he described as an “ass of sago” once he has touched it he was surprised
on how soft it was and later on described it as an “ass of leche flan”. The girl told Peter to take off his
clothes and so he did, he pointed on his private area and said that “is this the reasons that you chose
me? I saw you staring at it downstairs.” She said no hence it was his beautiful hands which Peter
thought was ugly, a hand that belong to a monster, a hand that is ugly and slender, Peter was surprised
after seeing her bush area and her breast it, it was burned by a dozen of cigarettes and has a dark
purple bruised, The girl grabbed his beautiful arms as he put one of it in her bush area and one of it
in the breast, Roman was excited on what happened next, but Peter said nothing, she left with his shirt
and his maong while disappearing once again it the rain. Roman frowns. He stares at me for a few
seconds, wondering if I’m playing a joke on him again. You’re an idiot; he says finally and turns his
attention back to the chessboard. After a moment he says, Check! – threatening my king, but clearly
trying to capture my queen.
And I see that Roman doesn’t understand. As I rescue my queen from his dogged pursuit, I see that
he is just a kid, untaught in the ploys of the heart.

Literary Theories

An excellent writer by the name of Edgar Allan Poe once said that “A short story must have a single
mood and every sentence must build towards it.” So, for this short story we have decided to use
multiple approach to really understand what is the mood, the theme and the overall message that the
short story really conveys and what it offers to us.

The short story is somehow a reflection of an event that was once experience by the author, therefore
we have decided to use the Author-Dependent approach. “This approach focuses on the author’s
life and experiences. The psychological side examines how the author’s emotional upbringing or
psychological history impacts a text. Biographical criticism relies on a close examination of character
and motivations and their symbolic meanings (impulses, desires, feelings) that might be linked with
the author” as stated by Kocis, Thormen and Holman.
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It also portrays a message through morality and teaches us a important lesson that tickles our mind,
and because of this we will also be using the Moral-Philosophical approach. “Does the work convey
a lesson? Does it teach the reader morals? Is the “meaning” how to better yourself, your life, your
world? If the answer can be yes, the text can be viewed from a moral/didactic standpoint. What
lessons can you learn from the story? How about the importance of being kind and loving to your
children and following your instincts when it comes to NOT abandoning them in the woods And if
you try to do bad things to children (like eat them), bad things will happen to you.” as stated by Kocis,
Thormen and Holman.

Since the presence of women prevailed in the story, we also decided to use the Feminism Approach.
“Feminist literary theory focuses on society’s beliefs about the nature and function of women in the
world. These critics may focus on many things: sexual stereotypes including men as oppressors and
women in subservient positions, women overcoming oppression, patriarchal vs. matriarch systems,
intimacy in relationships, independence and dependence, images of women’s bodies, language
differences between women and men, the psyches of women, and the culture that shapes women”
(Moore 119)

Application of Literary Theories

A. Historical-Biographical Approach

The story shows us that this particular short story is a reflection of what actually happened in life of
the author, the short story being a mirror or a reflection as he used the short story to tell us about his
life, This is proven since the point of view is in First person, because of the use of the pronoun “I”.
Assuming that this was an event of his life, this was also shown in one of his works “Little Bombings”
the short stories that he made showcases some of the places here in the Philippines and some of his
choice of words are in Tagalog making the story as if he was narrating his experiences.
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B. Psychological Approach

The literary story “Touchmove”, mainly talks about on how every person must be responsible or
should at least do something or speak up on a situation they already saw that happened. By the title,
“Touchmove”, you’re already aware on what you touched but you didn’t do anything. In this story, it
looks like the author wants to let the readers know that everyone must be in focus to achieve
something. Like, Roman he was on his way to win the chess game but with the man’s story he got
distracted. This literary story was made maybe because the author was also telling what he experienced
in real life that was similar to the story. The author must have been distracted in life because of his
own curiosity. He was in his path way of success but because of his inquisitiveness he got sidetrack
and failed the goal he almost attained. This literary work wants s to know that innocence could help
you to walk straightly towards your aim but curiosity could be your distraction.

C. Moral-Philosophical Approach

You are already obliged on what you touched. On the other hand, life is a decision. Everyone must
be in focus to achieve a goal. Innocence could help you to walk straightly towards your aim but
curiosity could be your distraction and when curiosity affects you, she can get what she wants and
maybe she's just spinning your world so she can get you anytime. Meaning that for every action that
you do there is a consequence your mind can tell you yes, but your heart can tell you no, always follow
what is right avoid doing what is right because no matter how distracted you are if your intentions are
clear and pure you will not be distracted by anything at all.

D. Feminist Approach

The short story is about the author telling the story of a woman he meets in August to his playmate
Roman. She was described in the story as shy and quiet at the beginning but at the story goes by, she
became bolder confident, towards the end the woman was presented as someone who experience
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sexual abused based on her bruised and wounded scars. At the very beginning the woman already
shows the signs of abused, the little concerned she show by the small towel given to her that might
refer to how woman back then was used for sexual pleasure. The confidence she presents when they
were alone in the room compared to the attitude in the lobby with the others indicating that the person
who abuses her dominated her causing her to isolate herself to others. The woman's attitude reflects
to the experiences most of the female citizen face in the society back in the day. The author's actions
toward her shows a service of a clueless man because of the absence of woman coming in their hub
it also symbolizes that men only come to the woman for pleasure and for a woman to come there
must show how she doesn't actually receive any pleasure from her partner or someone she is with.

E. Formalism

The language used

The short story was written in the “English language” though there were some Tagalog words that
was used such as maong, this might be the reason why the author is known as a American-Filipino
based author/artist. The narrative techniques that was used is also in english.

Imagery creates visuals for the reader that appeal to our senses and usually involves figurative language:
'The bar was a dark, gloomy eyesore.' This statement appeals to our senses to help us visualize and
feel the negative aspects of this location.
Personification is seen when an inanimate object is given human or animal-like qualities, like: 'The
stars danced in the sky.' We know stars cannot dance. This statement is an attempt to help the reader
have a better picture of how the stars appeared to move in a dancing fashion.
Hyperbole is an over-exaggeration to make a point. You might have heard someone say: 'My purse
weighs a ton.' We know this is not meant to be in the literal sense but is meant to help the reader
understand the excessive weight of the purse.

The type of prose

This is a short story because the characteristics of a short story is present throughout the literary
piece and these are:
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Length: Short stories typically range from 1,600 to 20,000 words.

Although authors and critics have debated the length of the short story throughout literary history,
most agree on a minimum of 1,600 and a maximum of 20,000 words. In his own contribution to the
debate, Edgar Allen Poe suggested that a short story should take 30 minutes to two hours to read.
Subject: Short stories usually focus on a single subject or theme.
Subjects or themes may range from something as mundane as a daily errand or as thrilling as a ghost
tale. A single, easily contained plot is one of the hallmarks of the short story and helps shape its other
characteristics.
'In medias res': Short stories usually take place in a single setting and begin 'in medias res', which means
'into the middle of things' in Latin.
In general, short stories tend to begin and end abruptly, with little to no prior information and no
major lapses in time. As they involve just one plot line and are limited in word length, there is little
room or need for the extended developments we frequently find in novels.
Limited number of characters: Due to the limitations of the genre, short stories typically focus on just
one or a couple characters.
As short stories usually cover such brief periods of time, even a single character may never be fully
developed. However, historical examples, like some of Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales,' may
find interesting ways of involving many different people.

F. Reader-Dependent Approach
The story is very well written and does portray a message, I think that it has achieved Its overall
purpose which is to narrate a story in a way of telling a story within the story itself. The short story is
a game of chess, every action needs to be sure you cannot be distracted on what your opponent is
doing to distract you. This message was portrayed by another story which is about a girl who was wet
from a rain went to a massage, the man being surprised to see a beautiful woman, he got aroused
because of her wet look, he offered her a towel and the woman quickly got to the shower room to
take a bath, without noticing the towel was too short as if it was intentionally given by the man because
of this her private parts was shown such as the genital area. After preparing for her massage she took
off her towel and surprised the man, because of this she asked him to take off her clothes and so he
did, he was surprised to see some marks and bruised in her private area from being a horny man he
got pity to the woman because of what he saw and then his opponent ask him what happened next,
he said nothing but after saying that he noticed that his opponent was fooled and got distracted from
his own plan and intentions.
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Works Cited
“LITTLE BOMBINGS by Peter Zaragoza Mayshle.” Every Day Fiction, 25 Sept. 2012,
https://everydayfiction.com/little-bombings-by-peter-zaragoza-mayshle/.
Carnegie Mellon University. “Peter Zaragoza Mayshle - Department of English - Dietrich College of
Humanities and Social Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University.” Peter Zaragoza Mayshle - Department of
English - Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University,
https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/people/faculty/bios/peter-mayshle.html.
“Touchmove by Peter Mayshle.” Sol's Sanitarium,
http://patientnumber23.proboards.com/thread/50/touchmove-peter-mayshle.
“Short Stories Quotes (390 Quotes).” Goodreads, Goodreads,
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/short-stories.
“Short Stories: Definition, Characteristics & Examples.” Study.com, Study.com,
https://study.com/academy/lesson/short-stories-definition-characteristics-examples.html.
O, Sara. “Narrative Techniques in Writing: Definition, Types & Examples.” Study.com, Study.com, 3
Feb. 2013, https://study.com/academy/lesson/narrative-techniques-in-writing-definition-types-
examples.html.
Kocis, et al. “PDF.” 2014