CREATIVE NONFICTION assignment "choosing to stay home"

"CHOOSING TO STAY HOME"

1. Suspense:

ans: "The hustle and bustle of the barangay is perhaps intensified in the wake of a fire that ravaged the place a week before we arrived." As a reader, this opening sentence made me curious about the fire's impact and what the residents were going through.

2. Showing Instead of Telling:

ans: "Presently, Pasil isn’t allowed to rebuild itself, but the background noise for our conversation with Nay Salbing is the sound of a hammer on metal. A neighbor is putting up a new zinc roofs, defying the explicit rules set by the mayor to not start any rebuilding efforts for now." This scene showed me how determined the residents were to rebuild their homes even when they weren't supposed to.

 

3. Sets Little Scenes:

 ans: "She takes us to her house first, and we are greeted by a three-walled structure, one wall obviously caved in and the other wall made of tarpaulin, as is what makes up the roof. Cartons are on the ground in lieu of a floor." This description made me realize how tough life was for the residents, especially compared to my own life.

 

4. Used dialogue:

ans: "“Unsa man imong na-salbar?” we ask the residents in their homes. They answer, “Wala.”" The question "What did you save?" and the answer "Nothing" made me feel the pain of the residents' losses and how they kept going despite losing everything.

 

5.Used persona:

 ans: "I think, I wish I hadn’t left school. I could do this more. I could have learned more about the struggle. And yet here is Nay Salbing who, amid the hardship that comes with being part of the urban poor, is more intelligent and well read and well versed in history and revolutionary concepts than I am." This passage showed me how the narrator's perspective changed from being distant to wanting to help the community.

6. Shows change in Character:

ans: "Nay Salbing, whose great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother have all lived in Pasil, says, “Mu-laban jud mi, day. Maghiusa jud mi batok ana.”" This quote showed me how Nay Salbing remained strong and determined even when things were tough, inspiring me to be resilient too.

 

7. Hook to Grab Reader's Attention:

ans: "The hustle and bustle of the barangay is perhaps intensified in the wake of a fire that ravaged the place a week before we arrived." This opening sentence immediately made me curious about the story's setting and the challenges the community faced.

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