Directions : Make a Critique paper to the story titled “ Footnote to Youth” by Jose Garcia Villa in a

formalist and structuralist approach. Write it in a whole sheet of intermediate paper.

For this second performance task. You are going to critique based on ELEMENT OF THE STORY not the
poem anymore. Thank u

For the summary, you will just have to state the important events happened in the story as for the plot,
diba there are 5 main section. Just describe each one like the exposition ( what is the exposition of the
story) and so with the rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. No need to have it very
lengthy.

FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH
By José García Villa
Dodong, a farmer’s son, heads home after a hard day’s work in the
fields, working up the courage to tell his father about his plans to marry
Teang, his sweetheart. After eating dinner, he watches with pity as his
mother does the housework alone, while he himself is too tired to help.
Dodong then searches for his father and finds him continuously sucking
on a diseased tooth. Briefly, he considers once again urging his father to
visit the dentist but sympathizes when he realizes that he, too, would
avoid the dentist if he were in the same situation. After his mother goes
out, Dodong tells his father plainly that he plans to marry Teang. This
announcement is met with silence, and Dodong presses the matter
impatiently. His father asks him if he must really marry and reminds
him of how young he still is. However, Dodong feels that at seventeen,
he is already sufficiently mature. His father capitulates but asks Dodong
to tell his mother the news. Dodong refuses to do it himself, and even
in this respect his father helplessly lets him have his way. The story
jumps forward several years, to the moment when Teang, now
Dodong’s wife, is giving birth. Dodong leaves the house out of fear—
fear of what the house has become to him and fear of Teang, whose
agonized cries have begun to sound like a sort of personal criticism of
him. He begins to realize that he is perhaps too young to be a father.
Shortly after, his mother calls out to him to come back, announcing that
the ordeal is over. Looking at her, Dodong is overcome with
embarrassment, as if he had taken something that was not properly his.
His father comes out and informs him that the child is a boy. They call
out repeatedly to Dodong, who stands still in the sun until he has no
choice but to come back. Avoiding his parents’ eyes, Dodong walks
ahead of them gloomily, wishing for some kind of punishment. With
kind voices, Dodong’s mother and father greet him, the latter gripping
Dodong’s hand gently. They lead him into the room where Teang and
the baby are. Dodong observes Teang with pity and a repeating sense
of embarrassment. When he hears his newborn son cry out, however,
Dodong feels a swell of happiness and asks to hold him. His first child is
named Blas. Dodong has many more children over the years, a fact
which angers him, as he did not want any more. However, it did not
seem like something he could stop. These events take a heavier toll on
Teang, who loses her youthful figure. The work she has to do around
the house is endless, and she cries sometimes, wishing that she had not
married. However, she keeps this to herself so as not to upset Dodong.
Nonetheless, she wonders what would have happened if she had
married another suitor from her youth—a man whom she knows
remains childless to this day, despite having also married. Despite all of
this, Teang knows that she loves Dodong. Meanwhile, Dodong wonders
bitterly why so many of his dreams have gone unfulfilled and why he
feels forsaken despite chasing after love. Turning inward, he searches
for the answer but finds none. He thinks that perhaps the absence of an
answer is necessary for making youth “dreamfully sweet.” One night,
the eighteen-year-old Blas comes home, troubled and restless. He is
unable to sleep, and so Dodong asks him what’s wrong. Blas calls out
softly to his father and announces his plan to marry a girl named Tona.
At this news, Dodong lies silent and unmoving. When Blas asks his
father to think about it, Dodong rises from his mat and tells Blas to
follow him outside. In the moonlight, Dodong asks Blas again if he is
sure of marrying and if he must. Blas replies resentfully that he is sure
and asks if Dodong has objections. Even though Dodong replies that he
has none, deep down he wishes to spare his son from the same fate
that has befallen him. He looks at his son helplessly, with a mixture of
regret, sadness, and pity.

INTRODUCTION:

SUMMARY
Exposition: The story begins with Dodong's recognition of his manhood and his
desire to marry his girlfriend, Teang.

Rising action: Dodong comes home, determined to ask his father's permission.
Their conversation is not easy. Dodong's father is not pleased with his son's
decision but feels helpless to change his mind. His one question, "Must you
marry?" implies that Dodong is making a fateful decision, one that the father does
not agree with.
Climax: The climax comes with the birth of Dodong's first child. Dodong has
conflicting feelings about this event. He is in "awe" of becoming a father; he
realizes now that he is "young" and feels shame in front of his parents, perhaps
for insisting on marrying in the first place. But it is his parents' kindness and pride
that makes him able to claim his son and hold him in his arms.

Falling action: Dodong has many more children. Teang is worn down by the
endless work and constant pregnancy of these years. Dodong's youthful
confidence in his manhood changes into an adulthood filled with responsibility.

Resolution: Eventually, Dodong's eldest son, Blas, comes to Dodong, asking