rLiterary Analysis on Midsummer by Manuel Arguilla
By gaaabilagan | March 2013 * Zoom In * Zoom Out
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Set in a very hot summer day, Manuel Arguilla’s Midsummer is a story with a very short and simple plot. It is basically a story of a man meeting a very beautiful Filipina woman by the well in a sizzling summer day. It starts off with the man and his cart tied to his bull on a long dry road when he suddenly sees a woman who stood unmoving watching the man come towards her. The woman was described from head to toe with such detail as the man looked from a distance. The man followed the woman to the where she went and led him to the well under a big mango tree. He watched her as she filled the jar and placed it on top of her head. The woman leaves and the man goes to the well and gathers water for his bull and himself while still thinking of the woman. The man then eats his dinner under the shade of the tree when the woman comes back to refill her jar. As she fills her jar the man invites the woman referring to her as Ading, to eat with her. The woman then addresses the man as Manong and thankfully refuses his invitation to eat as she herself just ate. They converse and suddenly the woman spills water all over the food and apologizes by getting him water but the Manong insists that he fetch it from the well. Ading notices Manong’s well built muscles and body as he fetches water, showing her how strong he is. He drinks his water as Ading lifts the bucket for him. The story ends with Ading inviting her to their home and Manong follows her with his cart and bull.
The setting of the story was just appropriate showing the intense sexual heat and tension between the man and the woman. It was evident that these two had some attraction towards each other and had an appreciation for each other’s physical traits. Arguilla had made the story so detailed I felt that each description instantly painted a picture for me in my mind and I did not have to imagine much. He described the setting of the sizzling heat through the sensory details available to him. The plot was simple...
Midsummer by Manuel E. Arguilla
The story’s plot (if there is any) was light. It was just about a guy (Manong) who took care of a bull and eventually met a girl (Aning) on the road. It was obvious that Manong was attracted to Aning mainly because of her figure, “The underpart of her arm is while and smooth…And her hair is thick and black.”
The bull in the story served as a connection of the two persons. It was like in Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Pet Dog” (I just realized that I often cite this story in my commentaries. What can I do? I love this story). When Manong was having a meal with the bull on his side, he found the girl fetching water on the well and it was obvious that Manong grew “conscious” in her presence which leads to the idea that he likes the girl. But on my reading, he just likes the girl due to impulsiveness – physical attraction. His noticeable thoughts of the girl’s “breast” was the proof that he was just another normal guy who does this thing. Oh, I’m sounding crappy. XD
Their conversation when they talked about their meals made their official connection toward each other (the one Aning confessed that her meal were just rice and salt), “They laughed and felt more at ease and regarded each other more openly” and “the while he gazed up at her and smiled for no reason.” And when the bucket of water fell they started teasingly blaming themselves. Manong volunteered to fill the empty buket with water because he thought that he was “stronger” than her (I found a sexist tone in this part though). Anyway, when Aning offered him to drink water from his fetched bucket he seemed to be more “conscious” than ever, “A chuckling sound persisted in forming inside his throat at every shallow. It made him self-conscious. He was breathless when though, and red in the face.”
Aning also offered Manong to stay in their house foor some shade and to have some rest. Of course, Aning mentioned the “bull” to at least express a reason for the offer (a very common technique. Lol.) But I stopped when I read the line, “We have no neighbors.” I thought that the ending of the story was somewhat mysterious but it came to tme that maybe I was just over reacting about this one. Anyway, back to the issue, I think there was a great possibility of them being lovers. The closing lines though made me feel a creepy feeling, “He felt strong. He felt that he could follow the slender, lithe figure ahead of him to the ends of the world.” It felt awkward. XD
Between this week’s assigned readings, I like Zita more. XD
Short story: Midsummer (Manuel Arguilla)
Midsummer by Manual Arguilla
The theme of the story is all about attraction and being enamored during the first meeting between two people: Manong and Ading. The story is set in the middle of summer where we can feel the hotness and scorching heat of a relationship that is growing. It is during midsummer when plants are growing just like the growing relationship of the two characters. The story is a not-so-special meeting between a man and woman that might have a promising relationship in the future. The character’s conversation is plain just like the landscape setting but it was filled with passion and emotions. The story is very detailed which let us readers conclude that they both have the same feelings for each other. Although the story is more on portraying the feelings of Manong, we can also say that Ading is attracted to him in the way she observes and approach him. As readers, we can feel the tension between the two people as Manuel Arguilla’s details how the characters look and act; for example: Her lips parted in a half smile and a little dimple appeared high upon her right cheek. Manuel Arguilla might want his readers to capture the possibility of seeing love between two strangers in their first meeting. The story might be described as love at first sight. It’s about the encounter of Manong and Ading at an isolated village well. It is noontime and a very burning day in summer, Manong was carrying his cart towards the well when he saw a young woman named, Ading. At first, Ading didn’t notice Manong and Manong is hesitating to talk or approach her. Even though Manong was unfortunate that Ading didn’t mind him, while he was eating, Ading approached him and stared at him. They had a little conversation, and the bucket of water splashed in his food unintentionally. After that incident, Manong helped Ading in filling the jar again. The sun is almost everywhere, it is then that she invited Manong to her home which made Manong more interested to her. Midsummer closes with Manong, following Ading in the direction of her house where there is a shade of relief from the heat of the day. Midsummer might be read as an illustration that is simple. When we reflect on the story, there is a comparison between the youth and liveliness of the couple. The story is full of emotion that captivates the readers easily. In reality, love at first sight simply opinionated by other people. We can’t really feel love when you first met someone, especially to a stranger, but you may feel attracted to him or her. The story is only after the attraction during the first meeting of the character; therefore readers are kept thinking what might be the ending of their relationship – is it a happy or bad ending? Destiny also works in the story because things were going unexpectedly especially the last part. The last part which is “He felt very strong. He felt that he could follow the slender, lithe figure to the end of the world” struck us the most because that part made us know that there will be something more after that meeting- something unpredictable might happen between the characters. The characters in the story symbolize the Filipino people before particularly the dalagang Filipina and a binata from rural area. The man in the story or Manong is the one striving to look for a work with his pet bull. The woman is hospitable because she invited Manong to their house. The story is describing the typical way of a dalagangFilipina met a binata; which is comparable to our generation where traditional way of meeting someone is different. The faced-paced lifestyle in urban areas is far from the simplicity living in rural areas. Manong treated Ading with respect and kindness. Nowadays, we misinterpret love and attraction. Love is something you will feel for the longest time; while being attracted is the opposite. Life is also full of surprises and you’ll never know what’s waiting for you. Things go unexpectedly just like the story. In the middle of the summer, a man never felt anything like that before when he saw and got a chance to talk with the woman. Comparing the characters, the physical strength of man and their power to captivate women are shown; while women are also trying their best to be strong but then they always have weakness. Manuel Arguilla wrote this openly using the Filipino setting and attributes. The story is really happening. Only Filipinos could relate in the story because it describes Filipino people before- mahinhin and torpe. We think that Arguilla wanted to write the way Filipino acts. Filipino traits like how we eat, how we greet other people, especially strangers, our casualness toward other people, and also our quick acceptance of others are seen it the story. Manuel wrote this story with vivid and understandable descriptions. Manuel Arguilla wrote Midsummer during American colonial period where Filipinos are striving their way to live with new influence and balance it with their traditional way. The overall story is simple and uncomplicated yet bringing us modernized Filipinos to look back on our past and appreciate its simplicit
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Midsummer is an illustration of how setting can reflect the mood and tension between characters as well as provide an appropriate backdrop for their interactions.
Simply put, the setting of the story is hot, a vista of unremitting heat. The heat of a Philippine summer is the backdrop for the same heat of attraction which occurs from a chance encounter between a man and a woman on a rural road.
Both characters are studiously mute at first, neither wants to seem overly forward or fresh. The woman though, not coy, certainly gives the man room to follow if he wishes. She stood straight and still beside the road and regarded him with frank curiosity. Suddenly she turned and disappeared into the dry gorge. The man on the other hand has certainly noticed the woman, so much so that the thoughts of a mundane task invariably turn to her, The twisted bamboo rope bit into his hardened palms, and he thought how the same rope must hurt her.
At this point the attraction of the two, amidst the dry, hot terrain of summer, is implied but not overtly stated. The attraction of the characters is much like the heat of summer, unremitting (as seen in how they both try not to think about it) and inescapable.
So pervasive is the heat (of both the setting and the attraction of the characters) that even water does not cool it down. Ironically, water even intensifies the ardor of the pair. For water in Midsummer is consistently used as a device to allow one character to appreciate the physicality of the other.
Water highlights the intrinsic femininity of the woman for the man, But she staggered a little and water splashed down on her breast. The single bodice instantly clung to her bosom molding the twin hillocks of her breasts warmly brown through the wet cloth. Water as well displays the masculinity of the man to the woman. As he draws water for her, He lowered the bucket with his back to her, and she had time to take in the tallness of him, the breadth of his shoulders, the sinewy strength of his legs. Down below in the small of his back, two parallel ridges of rope-like muscle stuck out against the wet shirt. As he hauled up the bucket, muscles rippled all over his body.
The lines above amply demonstrate how each character is hot and bothered, as it were, by the other.
In the end, both acknowledge the attraction between them. The woman invites the man to visit her, You come. I have told mother about you. The man on the other hand is ennervated as he once again sets off to follow his young lady, He felt strong. He felt very strong. He felt that he could follow the slender, lithe figure to the end of the world.
Arguilla's Midsummer is a sensual story whose passion is transmuted in the heat of the setting and of the palpable attraction between the characters.
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