The Dancers
Alberto S. Florenino, Jr.
(Summary)
Tony is a 24-year-old man who helps his family by driving a jeepney. He comes home that night and sees his
brother and sister outside their house. His sister, Nenita, is reading Pilipino Komiks while his brother, Juanito sits in a
wooden chair looking at the children playing near their house. Tony earns five pesos and fifty centavos from driving
the jeepney throughout the day. He hands fifty centavos to Nenita.
“Thank you, Kuya! At least I can buy a new copy. I’ve read this so many times,” Nenita told her brother. She asks
Juanito to join her in buying a new copy of Komiks but Juanito seems to be sick that night and irritated. Nenita gets
mad and leaves home.
Tomas, the father of the family, goes out and sees Tony. He asks how much does he earn that day and asks him
if he can have a peso. Tony likes to give all of his profit to his mother to pay off some debts but because his father tells
him that he will try to find a work, Tony gives him a peso.
He sees his mother coming from the street and he goes to help her in some loads. His mother works in the market
selling fruits. He hands her the remaining four pesos and her mother becomes glad. “Thank you, son,” his mother tells
him. She sees her husband standing in the doorway.
“Oh, so there you are… where were you this afternoon?” She asked her husband. Tomas tries to reason out that
his back is not that strong as before that is why he cannot help her anymore. Tony says that he sees him at the bar so
he counters it by saying that he is there because he is trying to look for a job for Nenita.
“Nenita? To work in that bar? Have you gone crazy?” Tony asked his father. The question follows arguments
between Tomas and his wife and between Tomas and Tony. His wife does not like the idea of letting her daughter
work in the bar since she already has a daughter named Rita dancing in the bar. Tomas insists that if they let Nenita
work in the bar she will earn enough money. The arguments cease when Mother decides to go to church.
Elena, Rita’s friend, who also works in the bar arrives at their house and Tomas sees her. He asks her if she can
teach him how to dance but Elena refuses. Elena sees Juanito sitting on the wooden chair and teases him about the
girl named Norma. Juanito got irritated and shouts at her.
“Stop it, stop it! You harlot!” Elena is appalled of what Juanito has said so she runs away but Rita catches her.
She asks her what happened and Elena whispers in her ear what Juanito has said. Rita is enraged and shakes him
violently. Juanito asks her to stop and tells something about a Chinese who went with her inside the room last night.
Tony responds and defends Juanito. Rita is more enraged of what he did. An argument rises between Rita and Tony.
Juanito runs away and doesn’t want to go with Rita in the bar to be her companion when she goes home. Nenita
who just comes home from buying a Komiks is pulled by his father and is asked to dress up and go with her sister in
the bar. Tony tries to stop his father but he hits him, Tony immediately goes out of the house and his mother sees him
running. Mother enters the house and asks her husband what happened, then she sees her Nenita dressed up and
with Rita.
“Nenita, where are you going?” She asked her daughter.
“Juanito is not well, so Nenita will go with her Ate,” Tomas answered.
Mother tries to hold Nenita but Tomas insists that she should go with Rita. Mother cannot do anything with the
decision so she just cries in the corner, then she calls for Juanito who appears in the house. Juanito falls on his knees,
buries his face into his mother’s lap and cries.
“Oh God, what’s happening? What’s happening to all of us? Oh God, oh God, oh God!” cried Mother.
DEAD STARS
(summary)
by: Paz Marquez Benitez
The story of the short story Dead Stars revolves around a man, Alfred Salazar, and his affairs. Alfred Salazar
believes in true love and optimism to discover ecstasy in its stir. Esperanza is the first woman he falls in love with.
The families of both of them are acquainted with each other and hence they start a loving relationship. Both
get engaged after three years of their relationship. Alfredo is a lawyer who has strong desires and wants warmth and
compassion, however, Esperanza is a compassionate woman having strong will and principles. Alfredo’s love for her
soon fades away when he meets Julia. Julia, now, becomes a new object of his desire.
Julia Salas is the sister in law of the Judge, who is a friend of Alfredo’s father. Julia is an optimistic and
enthusiastic person having her own dreams and desires.
When Alfredo comes across her, he is strongly attracted to her. On his visit to her with his father, he engages
himself in conversation with her and is attracted to her charm. Even he is so passionate that he doesn’t disclose his
engagement to Esperanza.
So as to avoid the discovery of his fiancée, he keeps secrets from Esperanza too. His eyes are doomed when
he learns about Julia’s return to his native town. With the fear of losing her, Alfredo decides to declare his true feeling
for Julia.
When the Church’s function ends, Alfredo goes to meet her, though his fiancé is waiting for him. When he
reaches there, he learns that Julia has already known about his engagement to Esperanza. She wishes him for his
marriage and leaves him.
On his return home, he gets a double blow. He finds Esperanza talking to her friend about loyalty and
faithfulness. Alfredo senses a desire to communicate. He supports the reason for craving and choice over dishonesty.
Esperanza soon confesses that she knew about his affair with Julia. In pursuit of his lust and heart’s content,
she encourages him to cancel the wedding. However, the wedding goes ahead as scheduled and Alfred surrenders to
reason.
Near Julia’s native town, Alfred, after eight years, is sent to some work duty. On his visit, he feels nostalgic and
cannot resist his lust for Julia and soon finds an excuse to meet her.
Julia is still single that forces Alfred to dream about starting a new life with her; however, he soon realizes that
everything is not the same as it were before. Moreover, Julia has also changed and lost something.
PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS:
NAME: ______________________________________________
GENDER: ____________________________________________
AGE: ________________________________________________
YEAR LEVEL AND SECTION: ______________________________
TRACK: ______________________________________________
STRAND: _____________________________________________
QUESTIONNAIRE:
Directions: What values do you see in the following statements from the stories you have read? Check (√) the
letter of your answer. (There are no wrong answers for this.)
(The Dancers)
1. Tony earns five pesos and fifty centavos from driving the jeepney throughout the day. He hands fifty centavos
to Nenita. What values do you see in this situation?
______ a. kindness and love
_____ b. happiness and contentment
______ c. beauty and joy
_____ d. faithfulness and honesty
2. His mother works in the market selling fruits. This is proof that their mother is _____.
______ a. kind
_____ b. hardworking
______ c. generous
_____ d. happy
3. “Nenita? To work in that bar? Have you gone crazy?” Tony asked his father. The question follows arguments
between Tomas and his wife and between Tomas and Tony. This situation shows that _____.
______ a. Nenita is a beautiful girl.
_____ b. Nenita is young.
______ c. Nenita will soon use her body for money
_____ d. Nenita is smart.
4. “Stop it, stop it! You harlot!” Elena is appalled of what Juanito has said so she runs away but Rita catches her.
This statement has touched the ________ state of Elena.
______ a. mental
_____ b. psychological
______ c. physical
_____ d. spiritual
5. Juanito asks her to stop and tells something about a Chinese who went with her inside the room last night.
Tony responds and defends Juanito. Rita is more enraged of what he did. An argument rises between Rita and
Tony. This is a picture that involves the _______ state of a woman is being used.
______ a. mental
______ b. psychological
______ c. physical
______ d. spiritual
(Dead Stars)
6. Esperanza is a compassionate woman having strong will and principles. This statement shows that Esperanza
is _____.
______ a. an ideal woman of society
______ b. a bad woman
______ c. a woman of vices
______ d. a fierce woman
7. Julia Salas is the sister in law of the Judge, who is a friend of Alfredo’s father. Julia is an optimistic and
enthusiastic person having her own dreams and desires. This shows that Julia is ______.
______ a. a woman of vices
______ b. a worldly woman
______ b. a woman of strong decisions
______ d. a boring woman
8. When Alfredo comes across her, he is strongly attracted to her. On his visit to her with his father, he engages
himself in conversation with her and is attracted to her charm. Even he is so passionate that he doesn’t disclose
his engagement to Esperanza. This attraction talks of the _____ state.
______ a. physical
______ b. spiritual
______ c. mental
______ d. psychological
9. Esperanza soon confesses that she knew about his affair with Julia. In pursuit of his lust and heart’s content,
she encourages him to cancel the wedding. However, the wedding goes ahead as scheduled and Alfred
surrenders to reason. This attitude of Esperanza shows _____.
______ a. cowardice
______ b. courage
______ c. happiness
______ d. kindness
10. Julia is still single that forces Alfred to dream about starting a new life with her; however, he soon realizes that
everything is not the same as it were before. This realizations surmises Julia’s ____ to move on.
_____ a. joy
______ b. generosity
_____ c. strength
______ d. gentleness