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, Ghilmar M.

IV- Diamond

Ernesto Rondon High School

August 18, 2010

 

Chapter I

AUTHOR’S PROFILE

 

Manuel Estabillo Arguilla (1911 – 1944) was an Ilokano writer in English, patriot, and

martyr.

He is known for his widely anthologized short story "How My Brother Leon Brought

Home a Wife," the main story in the collection "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife

and Other Short Stories" which won first prize in the Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940.

His stories "Midsummer" and "Heat" was published in the United States by thePrairie

Schooner.

Most of Arguilla's stories depict scenes in Barrio Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Unionwhere he

was born. His bond with his birthplace, forged by his dealings with the peasant folk of Ilocos,

remained strong even after he moved to Manila where he studied at theUniversity of the

Philippines where he finished BS Education in 1933 and where he became a member and later

the president of the U.P. Writer's Club and editor of the university's Literary Apprentice.

He married Lydia Villanueva, another talented writer in English, and they lived inErmita,

Manila. Here, F. Sionil José, another seminal Filipino writer in English, recalls often seeing him

in the National Library, which was then in the basement of what is now the National Museum.

"you couldn't miss him", Jose describes Arguilla, "because he had this black patch on his cheek,

a birthmark or an overgrown mole. He was writing then those famous short stories and essays

which I admired."

He became a creative writing teacher at the University of Manila and later worked at the

Bureau of Public Welfare as managing editor of the bureau's publication Welfare Advocate until

1943. He was later appointed to the Board of Censors. He secretly organized a guerrilla

intelligence unit against the Japanese.

In October 1944, he was captured, tortured and executed by the Japanese armyat Fort

Santiago.

            And because of his great skills in writing stories and novels he earned so many award that

can classify him as an author of the year.

Chapter II

INTRODUCTION

 

            Story is a common term for a description of a sequence of events, or a statement

regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question.The story is the one who signifies the life

of a man or woman here in the world whether it is comedy or tragedy, fantasy or real, happened

in the past of in the near future. The story also serves as the reflection of each person in this very

mysterious world . Others thought that reading a story is a little bit boring and ridiculous but

there are some who find it very interesting .

   

This short story entitled , How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife , is one of the

story written by a professional and famous author named Manuel E. Arguilla . This short story

focused on how the brother of Baldo or simply Leon brought home his wife named Maria. The

story happened at the Nargrebcan, La Union where the author also born and lived. This is a kind

of story that is very typical here in the Philippines especially in some rural areas. This story also

wants to give us knowledge about some other places who keep their tradition. The other thing is

to give lesson on how to taking care your relationship to those people you love and to realize the

importance of friendship in everyone’s life. 

The story, like most of Arguilla’s prose, transpires in Barrio Nagrebcan in La Union, the

birthplace of Manuel E. Arguilla himself. You’ll immediately realize how the writer loves his

hometown by the vivid imagery and sensuality that he offers on the plate. From the shapes and

the sounds to even the scent of the air, Arguilla spares no detail to prove that beauty exists in

Nagrebcan. From the title, you can surmise what type of story this is and how it could develop as

it goes along. Leon is actually the big brother of the main protagonist, the wielder of the mystic

point-of-view, but his wife takes to him as Noel as the latter coinage is presumably a modern

twist of Leon though obviously it is an inversion of the word. Baldo is the little brother and

Maria, Baldo taking traditional names into mind as he hears her name for the first time, is the

wife whom Leon/Noel brought back home.

Maria is actually city bred and Leon/Noel and Baldo are blatantly townsfolk. There’s the

culture clash that serves to be the conflict, though only between the father and the oblivious

Maria. Since Leon/Noel brought Maria to Nagrebcan, it can be presumed that they’ll be staying

there. As a precaution, unbeknownst to even Leon/Noel and Baldo, their father have asked the

younger son to do certain things out of the norm just to see if the wife can really adjust to her

new 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 when someone from the barrio or the city is

transported to the other. The concept is distinctly Filipino but essentially global.

Chapter III

ANALYSIS OF THE STORY

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 Baldo who studied in Manila.

= The lovable husband of Maria.

4. Labang= The Bull whom Baldo consider as his pet.

= Served as the transportation of Leon, Maria and Baldo because of his cart at its back.

5. Norman Tabios=Maria's ex-boyfriend who happened to be a loro.

6. Churita=Labang's girlfriend/fiance