The findings reveal that: although in conflict with one another, the main characters of the story both show empathy to women’s issues; the ymbolisms used in the story clues in the reader on its feminist theme; the consistent and extensive use of figurative language create impact and vivid imagery for the reader and captures his attention; Sitoy as a feminist writer with balanced views about both genders is clearly reflected in the theme Of the story; and that the use of a descriptive style of writing clearly conveys the message that the author wants to tell her reader. In conclusion therefore, it has been proven that the writing style of Lakambini Sitoy in the short story Mens Rear effectively conveys the author’s views on feminism.
Consequently, hese recommendations are offered; for the undergraduate or graduate student of Philippine literature, to conduct further studies on the other stories in Sitoys short story anthology, Mens Rea and Other Stories; for the undergraduate or graduate student focusing on feminist literature, to examine their peers’ awareness of contemporary Filipino women writers as compared to foreign ones; and for cause-oriented groups or individuals, to explore how they can use literature by modern Philippine writers to advance causes such as feminism, anti-child trafficking and other present-day social Issues.
In an article entitled, Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men, it is stated that the emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is essential to human progress and the transformation of society. Inequality retards not only the advancement of women but the progress of civilization itself.
Age-old patterns of subordination, reflected in popular culture, literature and art, law, and even religious scriptures, continue to pervade every aspect of women’s lives. Despite the advancement of political and civil rights for women and the widespread acceptance of equality n principle, full equality has not been achieved. The systematic oppression Of women is a conspicuous and tragic fact of history. It is no surprise then that feminism is one of the foremost themes in women’s literature (baha’i. org Bahai Topics). In a Wikipedia entry, it is said that in the Philippines, women writers utilize literature as the living voice of their personal experiences, thoughts, consciousness, concept of themselves, society, politics, and history.
They employed the “power of the pen” and the printed word in order to shatter the so-called “Great Grand Silence of the Centuries” of Filipino female embers, participants, and contributors to the progress and development of the country, and consequently the rest of the world. Filipino women authors have “put pen to paper’ to present, express, and describe their own image and culture to the world, as they see themselves (Filipino women writers). This paper will study Lakambini Sitoys writing style in Mens Rea, and its effectiveness as a tool in conveying her views on feminism. This involves analyzing the main characters of the story, and the impact or effect of the use of symbolisms and figurative language all throughout the story. This literary study examines the writing style of Lakambini Sitoy in the short Story, Mens Rea.
Specifically, it delves into:
- its use of symbolisms and figurative language;
- character analysis;
- its effectiveness in conveying the author’s view on feminism in her writings.
This literary study can be of helpful to the undergraduate or graduate student of Philippine literature focusing on Filipino women writers. This can also be helpful to the graduate or undergraduate student focusing on feminist literature. Lastly, this study may be helpful to cause-oriented individuals or roups who are trying to examine the state of feminism in the Philippines in the context of literature. This literary study assumes that the writing style of Lakambini Sitoy in the short story Mens Rea effectively conveys her views on feminism.
The study will involve character analysis using the five methods of characterization, identifying the writing style, the symbolisms and figurative language used all throughout the story and how it enabled the author to convey what she wished to convey – if it did. The story will be analyzed using four theories of literary criticisms, namely: expressivism, formalism, ffectivism, and feminism. Expressivism considers texts in terms of what its author expressed, stressing the presence of the writer in the text. Thus, the literary text is the expression of the author’s inner being. It is a critical theory that sees literary text as a reflection of the writer’s life and times on the character’s life and times in the work (Adams qtd. in Pesirla).
In a Wikipedia entry, according to Boris Eichenbaum in his essay “The Theory of the ‘Formal Method,’ formalism or objectivism considers included the following ideas; that literature is autonomous from external conditions in he sense that literary language is distinct from ordinary uses of language, not least because it is not entirely communicative.
Further, what a work of literature says cannot be separated from how the literary work says it, and therefore the form and structure of a work, far from being merely the decorative wrapping of an isolable content, is in fact part of the content of the work (Russian formalism). In an article in cnr. edu, it is stated that in the reader-response critical approach or affectivism, the primary focus falls on the reader and the process of reading rather than on the author or the text.
