Dalawang Mundo with Literary Analysis

“Rowela, ika’y masyadong maamo sa mata ng nakararami, nais mo bang sumama sa bayan ngayong linggo? Tayo’y sasayaw lamang at titikim ng sinasabi nilang bagong tuba.”

Ito ang kadalasang aking narirrinig pag sumapit ang kasiyahan sa bayan naming puno ng mga ligaw na kabataan. Nais ko mang maranasan ang ibig nilang ipamulat sa aking mata sa realidad, ngunit ang sabi ng nakatatanda, “ika’y maging ehemplo sa mga dalagita sa kapaligiran.” At ang turo ng simbahan ay huwag mo munang ibigay ang iyong sarili sapagka’t wala kang nakikitang tagikaw sa iyong daliri. Gayunman, sinunod ko ito at ako’y nangako na sa hirap at saya, ako’y lalaban sa temptasyon ng tao.

Ako’y nasa tamang edad na, nauna pa nga sa akin ang mga batang aking nakasama sa kalye sa sandaling panahon, mga kababaihang nasa tamang edad pero hindi sa tamang estados ng buhay. Ngunit, batid ko’y hindi na ito ang mundong ginagalawan ng uliran kong imahinasyon, isang mundong puno ng tunay na pag-ibig at hindi kalibugan. Maituturi kang masama kung ika’y naligaw sa landas, nadala ka ng kasakiman ng mundo at ika’y kailangang magdusa, ngunit namulat ako sa katotohanang sila’y biktima lamang nang nakaraan; mga magulang na walang pakialam, mga kaibigang walang pangarap, mga kapamilyang puro pasakit at maling hinala ang dala, mga kasalanang hindi sila ang maygawa. Iilan lamang ito sa mga rason kung bakit kinakaiangan nilang pagdaanan ang landas na sa kanila pinadaan. Unti-unti kong naiintindihan ang tao at ang pangangailangan nito, kaya labis na lamang aking pagkamangha sa mga kabataang hindi nagagalaw, sila’y napaka tapang upang labanan ang maruruming isip na dala ng uri ng mundong kanilang ginagalawan.

Nagdaan ang panahon, akoy patanda ng patanda at gayundin ang pagkawala ng mga taong aking iningat-ingatan. Mga taong aking nakilala at sa aki’y nabighani, ay nasa ibang kamay na ngayon sa kadahilanang hindi ko maibigay ang kanilang hiling, isang hiling na alam kong ikasisira ng aking pangako at pangarap. Araw gabi ipinagdarasal kong ako’y bigyan ng lakas ng loob ng poong maykapal upang maisakatuparan ang aking ninanais. Sa kabila ng sakit na aking naranasan sa kamay ng mga lalaking aking naibigan, hindi ko lubos maisip kung bakit nga ba’y nag-iisa lamang ako sa mundong ganito ang hiling. Minsan ko nang natanong sa aking sarili ,

“Rowela , ikaw ba’y masaya sa landas na ito? Ikasasaya mo ba kung ikay tumiwala? Ikaw ba’y magpapatuloy na mag-isa kapag hindi mo ginawa ang gusto nila?”

Minsan ko naring nabasa ang buhay ng isang magkarelasyon na nagpakasal at siyaka pa lamang nila binahagi ang isat isa ngunit ito’y nauwi rin sa hiwalayan. Duon napagtanto kung hindi sukatan ng iyong birhinidad ang kasiyahan ng iyong hinaharap. Maaring ika’y malinis sa mata ng tao at ng Diyos, ngunit hindi ng iyong buhay na haharapin. Pilit kong nilalabanan ang kathang isip na ayaw tumiwala sa marumi kong utak. Inihiwalay ko ang aking sarili sa mukha ng mga lalaki upang mabigyan ng katiwasayan ang aking imahinasyon.

“Di mo ibig humanap ng kapares?”

Huling tanong aking naalala… sa may bintana ako’y nagpapahinga.

At labis na lamang ang kasiyahang aking nadama ng makita ko ang maginoong niyang mukha, dala – dala ang gitara habang inaawitan ang isang magandang binibini. Ako’y nabuhayan ng loob, at nasabing “nasa mundo na ako ng imahinasyon, mundong pinangarap kong tirahan noon”

At maya-maya’y narining ko ang isang pamilyar na boses, ang anak ng aking kapitbahay

“La, gamot nyo po”

Wakas….

Reader-response Criticism of “The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry"

“Wherever there are people giving gifts, exchanging cards. I believe that Christmas is truly in their hearts.”

Have you heard this song by Jose Marie Chan, especially when Christmas is coming? Have you also experienced giving gift/s but in exchange for something precious to you? These are the questions that relate to the story of O. Henry entitled “The Gift of the Magi”.

Christmas symbolizes the birth of Jesus which also means the sacrificial love of Almighty God to people that he gave his only son to save the people. The same thought as to when we give gifts to show our love to anybody. However, sometimes these gifts cost a lot so you have to sacrifice something valuable to make the gift precious and to make the person you love happy.

At the beginning of the story, it was clearly shown that Della felt so sad that she even cried because she doesn’t have enough money to buy a gift. This simply means that in this world people are becoming materialistic and that they show their love through gifts/material stuff and if they feel like they cannot give something, that would frustrate them for that affect their emotional well-being, and they are afraid that the people they love would not feel that they are being loved.

Then, Della decided to sell her hair just to buy the fob chain for his man. This means that Della can sacrifice everything for her lover. In life, when you truly love the person- you can sacrifice anything for that person, you would make sure that your special one would be happy because you will be happy if he/she is happy. A sacrificial love brings happiness to us as long as our loved ones are happy also.

Moreover, Della hoped that Jim would still like her even if she cut her hair. This reminds us of how we make ourselves pretty in the eyes of the people we love. We wanted to look good of everybody for ourselves and for our loved ones. That is why even if we got into a new look, we wished that we still look good.

In the end, Della and Jim unwrap their gifts for one another and found out that they both give one another special thing but in exchange also the valuable things for them, and so the narrator said that their gifts were wise but the thought of sacrificing their treasures were unwise. However, in today’s time, they were the wisest of all the people who give gifts. They lost one thing they treasured but they are still happy that they brought happiness to one another and that they realize how they love one another.

It is not because of the monetary value of the gifts that we feel loved, but rather because of their sentimental value, knowing that they took time and effort to makes us happy and appreciated.

Literary Study of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry "The Little Prince"

Title: The Little Prince By Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Characters:

• The Narrator | Aviator
• The Little Prince
• The Rose
• The King of Asteroid B-325
• The Vain Man of Asteroid B-326 | The Conceited Man of Asteroid B-326
• The Drunkard of Asteroid B-32
• The Businessman of Asteroid B-328
• The Street Lamp Lighter of Asteroid B-329
• The Geographer of Asteroid B-330
• The Fox
• The Snake

Settings:

• Sahara desert
• Asteroids 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, and 330
• Planet Earth

 Conflict:

• Man vs. man
• Man vs. society

Tone:

Sad, confusing, philosophic  

Point of view:

First-person

Style:

A narrative story in a dialogue form

Theme:

The journey towards the truth from curiosity would cost so much sadness and confusion.  The Importance of looking beneath the surface to find the real truth and meaning of a thing.

 Plot

    The pilot crashes in the Sahara desert. He attempts to fix his engine, knowing that he only has a limited supply of water. As he works on the engine, he later hears a small voice asking him to draw a sheep. The narrator turns around to meet the little prince, and after making several attempts at drawing the sheep, he settles on sketching a box—he tells the little prince that the box contains a sheep, and to the pilot's astonishment, the little prince is delighted. The pilot begins to learn more about the little prince, discovering that he comes from the asteroid known as B-612. Eventually, he begins to learn other details of the little prince's planet as well, including the fact that baobab trees are a major menace and that the object of the little prince's affection is a rose. This rose is very vain, however, and tells lies, making the little prince unhappy. He decides that he cannot trust her anymore and leaves his planet. The little prince first encounters a king who claims to rule over everything, including the stars. He has no subjects on his own planet to rule, however, and the little prince grows bored and leaves. The second person the little prince meets is a conceited man who enjoys applause and admiration. The third is a tippler who says that he drinks to forget that he is ashamed of drinking. The fourth grownup is a businessman who is busy counting the stars so that he may own them.

    At this point, the little prince finds all the grownups very strange, and he continues onto the planet of the lamplighter, who lights a lamp on his planet when night falls and puts it out again when the sun rises. The little prince finds the lamplighter to be the least ridiculous of all the grownups because he thinks of something other than himself. The little prince then comes across a geographer who tells the little prince that his rose is "ephemeral," or in other words, "in danger of speedy disappearance." This alarms the little prince and makes him regret leaving his rose. Nevertheless, he continues on his journey to the planet Earth. The little prince lands in the middle of the Sahara desert, where he encounters a snake. The snake speaks in riddles, hinting that he has a powerful poison that can take the little prince back to his planet. The little prince continues to travel on Earth, however, eventually discovering a bed of roses, all identical to his own rose on asteroid B-612, making him question his own rose's contention that it is unique. He then meets a fox, who teaches the little prince what it means to tame—or to establish ties—with another. The little prince realizes that his rose has tamed him, making her unique in the universe, even if she's outwardly identical to all the other roses on Earth.

    The little prince goes on to meet a railway switchman and a merchant before returning to the Sahara where he meets the pilot. By the end of his story, the little prince and the pilot are both very thirsty, and they decide to walk and find water. They discover a well around daybreak, and they savor the drink as well as their time together.

    The little prince explains that the next day is the anniversary of his descent to Earth. He sends the pilot away to fix his plane and tells him to come to meet him at the same spot the following evening. The pilot fixes his engine and returns the next evening to find the little prince conversing with the poisonous snake. The little prince warns the pilot that he must return to his planet and that it will "look a little as if I were dying." The little prince allows the snake to poison him, and he falls gently to the sand. The narrator is reassured by the fact that the little prince's body is gone the following day and believes that it means he made it back to asteroid B-612. He worries, however, whether the sheep he drew will eat the prince's rose.

Reflection

    “In the course of this life, I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal among grown−ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn't much improved my opinion of them.”

Life is full of journeys that we never expected to find reality from within, the more we see the reality- the more we realize the differences and uniqueness of the people.  However, with one confusion would lead to more confusion and when tried to sum up all of the confusion, we would understand what we are confused about. In these times, we would meet people that would help us to grow in many ways. We fall, cry, and laugh in a world that full of adventures and mystery.      

Gender Criticism of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter "If I were a boy"

  Most women grow old having the desire of just being a man, even at least in a day, because of the idea that a man can do a lot of things that women can’t. For example, wearing sleeveless and not getting sexualized; making out with a lot of women and not getting pregnant; allowed to go out with friends at the bar at night, and so on. These are some of the reasons why most women loved to be a man, which, on the other hand, is shown in one of the songs of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter entitled “If I were a boy.”

    Obviously, the song pertains to a woman stating the things that she would probably do if she is a man, and there is a possibility that the song pertains to the author herself because she's a woman. 

 If I were a boy

Even just for a day

I'd roll outta bed in the morning

And throw on what I wanted and go

Drink beer with the guys

And chase after girls

I'd kick it with who I wanted

And I'd never get confronted for it

'Cause they'd stick up for me

This first stanza shows that if the persona is a man, she would roll out from bed, throw anything, and go wherever she wants, such as drinking with the guys and chase women, kick any of them, yet she would never get any complain because guys will defend her. This actually shows that women cannot do the same thing; women are obliged to be well-organized, to just go wherever is safe for her, to avoid drinking beers/alcoholic beverages because she might be in trouble after, to not chase guys because a woman would look stupid and obsessed, and kick guys or hurt guys physically because they will surely be in danger since no one is with them- only girls and women force is not enough to fight with guys.

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I'd be a better man

I'd listen to her

'Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted

'Cause he's taken you for granted

And everything you had got destroyed 

The second stanza shows that the persona would understand the feelings of loving a girl and that she will be a better man if she would be given a chance to be a man, and she will listen to her because she knows the feeling of being taken for granted by a man, and destroyed everything. The persona in this stanza is telling the story of how she was taken for granted by a man, and that she doesn’t want any other girl to experience such pain that she had undergone. This also means that only a woman can understand the feeling of being a woman.

 If I were a boy

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone it's broken

So they'd think that I was sleepin' alone

I'd put myself first

And make the rules as I go

'Cause I know that she'd be faithful

Waitin' for me to come home

In the third stanza, the persona thinks that if a man will turn off his phone and tell everyone it’s broken, people would not go crazy to find him, as opposed to what others would react if that will happen to a woman. People will just think that he is sleeping alone. The persona also thinks that man can make himself his first priority which means that he has the rules of his own life; of wherever he would go because he is confident that his girl is faithful and is waiting for him, which on the other side, opposite to a woman because it is hard for a girl to make herself a priority since there are a lot of limitations and rules to follow as a woman in the society; as a woman that the people wanted her to become. The last two lines implied that a woman is faithful, and there is nothing a man should be worried about.

It's a little too late for you to come back

Say it's just a mistake

Think I'd forgive you like that

If you thought I would wait for you

You thought wrong 

This stanza shows the power of a woman that the persona was trying to portray. The persona shows that she is not an easy girl, she doesn’t forgive easily and she wouldn’t wait for a man. She stands for being a woman with dignity and confidence.

But you're just a boy

You don't understand

How it feels to love a girl someday

You wish you were a better man

You don't listen to her

You don't care how it hurts

Until you lose the one you wanted

'Cause you've taken her for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

This stanza shows persona’s sadness about the difference between a boy and girl, and that a boy would not understand how it would feel to really love a girl, which a man would wish to be a better man if he loves the woman, but men don’t listen to women because they don’t care the pain a woman feels, not until they would lose them because women were taken for granted, that’s where a man would realize that he destroyed the woman. However, in the last line, the persona realizes that a man will always be a boy who doesn’t care at all. 

In the song, the readers would see how different a man and a woman in many ways, even in a relationship. The persona wanted to express her frustration about not getting the same energy, effort, and vibe she gave to the man of her life, and that she generalizes man’s potential over women. That is why there is part of the song that the persona stands for her right to be treated well, and she will not accept forgiveness over toxicity. 

In today's world, the bravest thing a woman could do is to let go of the things that are not good for her growth. Women can do so much better if no one would limit them to do what makes them happy. Once they find happiness within themselves, they will be free from anything that once broke them.

Ituro Mo Aming Guro

Tagalog Poetry for Teachers

Nilikhang gawain gabay sa kaunlaran,

Nilikhang paraan tungo sa kaalaman

Nilikang antas sa akdang may nilalaman

Nilikang aralin para sa sambayanan

At higit sa lahat

Nilikang hangarin para sa mga gurong may damdamin sa bayan

At sa kabataang nais makamit ang pangarap na walang hanggan.

 

Ituro mo aking guro, ang iyong pagtuturo

Ito’y aking layunin, makamit ang gawaing nilikha para sa akin

Bansang aking nakagisnan,

Kabataang naway sandigan,

Guro’t mag-aaral, sa iisang silid aralan

Tayoy magdiwang, nawa’y makamit ang karunungan,

Kaya’t ituro mo aking guro, ang iyong pagtuturo

Ang mga mahahalagang paksa ng buhay sa mundong matira ang matibay

Ang mga nakagawiang patnubay na kailan ma’y hindi namamatay

Ang mga sumakop sa mga katutubong ating iningat ingatan

At ang kaibahan ng agham sa pilosopiya na gawa sa matinis na kaisipan

 

Kaya’t ituro mo aming guro, ang iyong pagtuturo

Sabay ang dugot pawis na iyong dinuro

Sabay ang mainit at maginaw na pagpapa-unawa

Sabay ang maliliwanag mong mukha

Sabay ang matatamis mong pangaral

Na sa pagtututo mo lamang naramdamang

kami’y may kakayahang gamitin ang tagubilin

sa pagpapalaks ng aming kaisipan at damdamin.

ituro mo aming guro, ang iyong pagtuturo

New Normal sa Larangan ng Edukasyon

Sanaysay 

    Naalala mo pa ba ang mga panahong kayo’y magkakasama pa ng iyong mga kaklase sa silid- aralan?Yung mga panahong nahaharap mo pa ang iyang mga guro? Mga panahong nayayakap mo pa nang mahigpit ang mga taong naging malapit sa paaralan? Mga panahong di kailangan ng internet, laptop o kaya nama’y selpon para lang maka usap sila? Para lang maihayag ng guro ang kanyang nais ituro?

Ito yung mga panahong ninakaw sa atin ng isang nakamamatay at nakahahawang mikrobyo na tinawag na Covid 19, at sa kanyang pagdating sa pinas, kinakailangang baguhin ang sistema ng pagtuturo upang ma protektahan ang mga mag-aaral laban nito. Bgong larangan ng edukasyon ang pinatupad ng pamahalaan. Mula sa personal na pagkikita ay naging sa kompyuter, selpon, at modyul na lamang ang tanging gabay upang maipagpatuloy ang nasimulang edukasyon ng mga kabataan. Masakit at mahirap isiping kailangan natin pagdaanan ang ganitong sitwasyon pero tayo’y lumalaban dahil ang pinoy ay palaban at hanggan ngayon pilit parin nating hinaharap ang Edukasyo sa kabila ng pandemya.

Hindi man nating mapagkakaila na mahirap talaga ang sitwasyong ating hinaharap ngayon. Bilang isang mag-aaral, kailangan kong ibabad ang mga mata ko buong araw sa laptop at selpon upang masagutan ko ang mga aktibidadis na pinasa ng mga guro sa pamamagitan ng email, messenger at FaceBook. Kailangan kong unawain ang mga tagubilin bawat asignatura ng mag-isa. Kailangan kong matutunang isaayos ang mga gawain upang maipasa ko ang nasagutang asignatura sa itinakdang araw na ito’t kailangan makita ng guro.

Gayunpaman, andami kong natutunan sa bagong larangan ng edukasyon at naniniwala akong hindi man naging maayos ang sistema ng edukasyon ngayon, balang araw maibabalik natin ang nakagawiang pag-aaral sa loob ng paaralan. Laban lang tungo sa kaunlaran. 

Mga Tanyag na Maikling Kwento sa Pilipinas

 Sa Bagong Paraiso ni Efren Abueg

Teoryang Pampanitikan: Teoryang Realismo at Romantisismo

Paliwanang: 

    Dahil nangyayari sa kasalukuyan ang mga nangyayari sa kwento na nagpapahiwatig na ang kwento ay isang repleksyon sa tunay na buhay. At, romantisismo din ito sapagkat sinalaysay ng may-akda ang pagmamahalan ng dalawang tauhan.    

Archetypal Criticism of T.S. Eliot "The Journey of Magi"

How far you have had traveled? How long you have been traveling? A traveler is like a lost soul, finding a way towards the destination without any clear idea of the possible danger and challenges he will face. In the journey of Magi, a reader would know the worst side of traveling, the sacrifices it has to make in order for the traveler to arrive at his destination. The poem has three stanzas with 43 lines overall; the first stanza contains twenty lines, the second: eleven, and the third: twelve. 

In the first three lines, the speaker explains that winter was coming and it was the worst time of the year for the travelers and that they will have a long journey. Because of the word “we”, it is assumed that the speaker is not alone in his journey.  Then, the speaker stated “the very dead of winter” which describes how bad the winter, which affected the camels that they used as transportation for undertaking their long and grueling journey. The camels didn’t want to move and just wanted to lie down. The speaker also stated that sometimes they regret the journey.

The winter stops and summer came, they arrive in the city and have seen women bringing dessert, and camel men cursing, grumbling, and taking their women with them while drinking. The travelers don’t have a place/home to stay for a night, because the rooms are so expensive even if it is dirty, and the people don’t let them enter and rest to their homes even just for a night. So, the travelers decided to continue moving and took a nap whenever they can’t hold it, though they think that it was not a good idea.        

In the second stanza, the speaker stated that they arrive in the valley at dawn, and from there they found the small town, but they still got no answer. So, the continued until they found the place, their destination and have seen that the place was not the best yet good enough. 

In the last stanza, the speaker reveals that such a journey happened a long time ago, which he wanted to do it again. He then asked if the journey was for birth or death. However, he stated that there was a birth and that’s for sure, yet asked what was the death, because, through their journey, the speaker has seen both birth and death.  The birth that the speaker mentioned was the birth of Jesus, yet on their journey, the speaker was able to witness how a lot of people have chosen a wrong way to God for being unkind, which symbolizes death, and also a reflection of their journey.

The journey of magi is the reflection of the three wise kings who traveled to find Jesus after it was born.

Literary Study of Leo Tolstoy’s "Anna Karenina"

Title:  “Anna Karenina”

Characters:

• Anna Karenina

• Alexis Karenin

• Count Alexis Vronsky

• Constantine Levin (Levin)

• Koznyshev

• Nicholas Levin

• Kitty Shcherbatskaya

• Dolly Shcherbatskaya Oblonsky

• Seroyzha Karenin

• Prince (Stiva) Oblonsky

• Countess Lydia Ivanovna

• Princess Betsy

• Princess Barbara

• Countess Vronsky

• (elder) Princess Shcherbatskaya

• (elder) Prince Shcherbatskaya

• Varenka

• Madame Stahl

• Mikhailov

• Masha

• Theodore

• Petritsky

• Vasenka Vaslovsky

• Countess Nordston

• Sviyazhsky

Settings

·         Russian Empire.

·         Various locations throughout Russia, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Russian provinces, with brief interludes in Germany and Italy

Conflict:

• Man vs. man
• Man vs. society

Anna struggles between her passion for Vronsky and her desire for independence on the one hand, and her marital duty, social convention, and maternal love on the other; Levin struggles to define his own identity and reach an understanding of faith in an alienating and confusing world.

Tone:

• sympathetic tone
•  horrible
• Restless
• Complex
• Romantic
• Naughty
• Tragedy 

Point of view

Third-person narrator

Style:

Foreshadowing.  A man dies at the train station when Anna first arrives, which where she would also end up.  

Series: 

Divided into 8 parts.  

Theme

Love itself is confusing, we tend to confuse it with human needs and ideal satisfaction we get from it. 

 Plot

Anna meets Vronsky in the train station, initiating an acquaintance that grows into adulterous passion and family upheaval; their consummation of the affair leads to Anna’s abandonment of her husband and son. Meanwhile, Kitty rebuffs Levin’s marriage proposal, prompting him to withdraw to his estate in the country and reflect on the meaning of life.

Anna makes a public appearance at the opera, forcing a confrontation between her desire to live life on her own terms and the hostile opinions of St. Petersburg society, which scorns and rejects her; this episode seals her fate as a social outcast and fallen woman. Meanwhile, Levin’s search for meaning is rewarded by marriage to Kitty, stable family life, and an understanding of faith.

Anna commits suicide, unable to bear her lack of social freedom and the jealousy and suspicion arising from her unstable relationship with Vronsky. Meanwhile, Levin continues his new life as an enlightened husband, father, and landowner.

 Reflection

It is okay to love, but never make any mistakes just for the sake of loving. If that love will hurt and destroy you, then run away from it. There’s no wrong in loving but what we do for it is what makes a mistake. Look, we deserve to love and be loved, but be cautious of the consequences it will bring to you. To prevent the worst thing to happen, make sure we decide with love and truth. We have to assess ourselves if we truly love the person before entering something serious with them, we have to know what we truly want because sometimes we think we love the person because he's ideal for us, but never did we love them because we are happy with them. After all, love isn't enough to live in this world and in the eyes of God, but rather believing that he exists and that we should be good too.

Literary Study of Leo Tolstoy’s “God Sees the Truth, but Waits”

Title: “God Sees the Truth, but Waits”

Characters:

• Ivan Dmitrich Aksionov
• Vanya/Aksionov's Wife
• Makar Semyonich
• The Governor
• The Fellow Merchant
• The Official/Police official

Settings

· A small town in the Russian countryside called Vladimir in the 19th century.

· Jail in Siberia

Conflict:

·         Man vs. man between Aksenov and Makar

·         Man vs. society for judging Aksenov’s innocence.

 Tone:

·         Temperate/Calm

·         Terrible

·         Unjustifiable

 Point of view

Third-person because it focuses on the character of Aksenov.

Style:

• Parable
• Foreshadowing

Vanya dreamed about her husband Aksionov comes home with grey hair, which gives clue that something terrible would happen to the main character.

Theme

No matter how harsh the world is, just keep praying, and God will lead you to the truth.

Plot

Ivan Dmitrich Aksionov was living peacefully in Vladimir, in which he worked as a merchant. One day, his wife dreamed bad about him, but he ignored it and even joke about it, and go to a fair as a business venture. Although Aksionov was prone to drinking, he was not violent, and he was responsible and well-liked by people that knew him. Aksionov meets another merchant on his way, and the two decide to travel together. They check into an inn and have a good time by drinking, then they retire separately. Aksionov wakes early the next morning to get to the fair and leaves without the other merchant. Not far down the road, Aksionov is stopped by some policemen. They explain a merchant was just murdered and robbed, and then they search Aksionov's bag. They found a bloody knife, and despite Aksionov's claims of not being a murderer, he is sentenced and sent to Siberia. After his trial flogging, his wife can finally visit him, and she sees that Aksionov's hair has begun to go gray from the stress. Aksionov spends twenty-six years in Siberia, and, resigned to his fate, he dedicates his life to God. He is well respected by the other prisoners and also guards alike.

One day, Makar Semyonich, one of the new prisoners, is transferred to the prison. After overhearing several conversations, Aksionov is convinced that Makar Semyonich is the man who committed the murder for which Aksionov was blamed. Eventually, Aksionov confronts Makar Semyonich, but he denies committing the murder. One day the guards notice that someone had been strewing dirt around the grounds, and they search the prison and find a tunnel. Aksionov had found out earlier that it was Makar Semyonich that was digging the hole, but after being questioned by the police, Aksionov declares that it is not his place to speak about the matter. Makar Semyonich approaches Aksionov later that day and admits to Aksionov that it was he who killed the merchant. Aksionov forgives Semyonich and he feels as if a terrible weight had been lifted. Makar Semyonich confesses to the authorities, and the process for Aksionov to be cleared is begun. Unfortunately, Aksionov dies before he can go out of prison.

Reflection

No matter how good you are, that never guarantees the fact that you will be surrounded by good people also. So, you have to be careful in any way at any time. In this world full of wrongdoings, protect yourself in the name of God. Let God guides you to wherever you choose to be, and if bad things unfortunately happen, never gave up on God. Let God works on the truth and what is right. Also, don't judge people by their past. Being bad in the past doesn't make them less. Besides, you don't know if their past tells the truth about them. Only God knows about the person, and only He can judge the person, so let God works for him.