Jose garcia villa footnote to youth

Dodong wanted to touch her, to push away that stray wisp of hair that touched her lips. But again that feeling of embarrassment came over him, and before his parent, he did not want to be demonstrative. The hilot was wrapping the child Dodong heard him cry. The thin voice touched his heart. He could not control the swelling of happiness in him.

Many more children came. For six successive years, a new child came along. Dodong did not want any more children. But they came. It seemed that the coming of children could not helped. Dodong got angry with himself sometimes. Teang did not complain, but the bearing of children tolled on her. She was shapeless and thin even if she was young.

There was interminable work that kept her tied up. Cooking, laundering. The house. The children. She cried sometimes, wishing she had no married. She did not tell Dodong this, not wishing him to dislike her. Yet, she wished she had not married. Not even Dodong whom she loved. There had neen another suitor, Lucio older than Dodong by nine years and that wasw why she had chosen Dodong.

Young Dodong who was only seventeen. Lucio had married another. Lucio, she wondered, would she have born him children? Maybe not, either. That was a better lot. But she loved Dodong… in the moonlight, tired and querulous. He wanted to ask questions and somebody to answer him. He wanted to be wise about many thins. Why must be so? Why one was forsaken… after love?

Why it must be so. Why one was forsaken… after love. Dodong could not find the answer. Maybe the question was not to be answered. It must be so to make youth. Youth must be dreamfully sweet. Dreamfully sweet. Dodong returned to the house, humiliated by himself. He had wanted to know little wisdom but was denied it. When Blas was eighteen, he came home one night, very flustered and happy.

He watched Blass undress in the dark and lie down softly. Blas was restless on his mat and could not sleep. Dodong called his name and asked why he did not sleep. You better go to sleep. Why it must be so? This literary work is a staple in Philippine literature, delving into the realities of life, love, responsibility, and the complex nature of human decisions.

In this article, we will explore the characters, storyline, theme, setting, plot, exposition, summary, and moral lesson of Footnote to Youth in detail. The story revolves around three main characters, each representing different perspectives on life and the consequences of youthful decisions:. Dodong is the protagonist of the story. At the tender age of 17, he believes he is ready for the responsibilities of adulthood, which leads him to ask for his parents' blessing to marry his girlfriend, Teang.

Dodong is impulsive, driven by his emotions, and like many young people, he is eager to experience life as an adult without fully understanding the weight of his choices. Throughout the story, Dodong struggles with the consequences of his decision to marry young, including the challenges of raising a family while still a child himself in many ways.

Jose garcia villa footnote to youth

Teang is Dodong's girlfriend and eventual wife. Like Dodong, Teang is also young and naive about what it means to enter a lifelong commitment. She willingly marries Dodong, despite the fact that she, too, is not entirely ready for the hardships that follow. Teang represents the innocence of young love and the eventual realization of the burdens of domestic life.

As the years go by, she begins to experience regret, especially when she sees how her life might have turned out differently. Blas is Dodong and Teang's eldest son. His desire to marry at a young age brings back painful memories for Dodong, who now understands the consequences of making such impulsive decisions. Though not a major character, Dodong's father plays an important role in the story.

His silent disapproval of Dodong's decision to marry young reflects the wisdom of experience. His character embodies the parental figure who, though knowing the pitfalls of youth, allows his child to make his own decisions, knowing that some lessons in life must be learned through personal experience. Footnote to Youth is set in rural Philippines and tells the story of Dodong, a young man who, at 17, believes he is ready to take on the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood.

Dodong's father 4. Dodong's mother 5. Lucio - A former suitor of Teang who was nine years older than Dodong. Blas - Dodong's eldest son. Tona - The girlfriend of Blas. Plot and Summary The plot of the story is four-pronged. It has four parts that sweep through two generations from the day Dodong decides to get married to the day his eldest son Blas approaches him to tell him that he himself wants to get married.

Dodong was seventeen when he married Teang. They immediatley conceived Blas sson after. Blas is eighteen when he asks his father permission to marry his sweetheart Tona. That said, the story covers a time span of 17 years. Part I - On a sunny afternoon after a hard day's work in the fields, Dodong decides to tell his father that he wants to marry his sweetheart Teang.

He's only seventeen years old. She wonders if she would have the same fate if she had picked Lucio. But she dismisses such fleeting thought. Both of them are still devoted to each other and their large family. After some years, fate reverses time and now their firstborn, Blas comes to them with the same desire. He, still a teenager wants to marry the girl of his dreams, Tena.

Dudong realizes how history is repeating itself and warns Blas about the consequences of such a massive decision. However, like father like son, he ends up following the same route and marries his sweetheart at 17 years of age.