FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH

BY : JOSE GARCIA VILLA

ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

CHARACTERS:
1.Dodong - main character of the story who got
married at the age of 17
2. Teang - regretted marrying at an early age
3. Lucio - Teang's other suitor who got married
after she did and who's childless until now
4. Blas - Dodong and Teang's oldest son who
followed their footsteps in the end. Blas
contemplated to marry Tona when he was 18
5. Tona - woman whom Blas wants to marry.

ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

SETTINGS:
The primary action takes place on their farm land especially on the field where the crops
areplanted wherein the ground is broken up into many fresh wounds and fragrant with a
sweetish earlysmell. It has many slender soft worms emerged from the furrows and then
burrowed again deeper inthe soil.

The time setting is almost the whole day from the morning until evening. The period of
history on this story is on the 20th-21st century. It is the time of planting season almost June to
August. There is no specific time of the day because it happens almost the whole day.

ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

PLOT :
Dodong wanted to marry Teang and asked his father's permission. Thinking that
since they are young, their love would be short, he allowed them to get married.
After nine months, Teang gave birth to a child named Blas. For six consecutive
years, a new child came along. Teang did not complain even thought she secretly
regretted being married at an early age. Sometimes she even wondered if she would
have the same life if Lucio, her other suitor who was nine years older than Dodong,
was the one she married. Lucio has had no children since the time he married.
When Teang and Dodong were twenty they looked like they were fifty. When Blas
was 18, he told his father that he would marry Tona. Dodong did not object, but
tried to make Blas think twice before rushing to marriage - because Dodong doesn't
want Blas to end up like him. It simply tells the story of an older person who made
a mistake in the past who ended up with a not so pleasurable life. Then he had a son
who is like him when he was young. His son is hasty in making the decision to get
married, just like he was when he was 17. Despite this, Dodong did not - and could
not - stop Blas from marrying Tona. Therefore, he didn't object. Instead, he just
reminded him that Blas is still very young and might as well think twice before
rushing to marriage. But, as the ending goes: "Youth must triumph... now. Love
must triumph... now. As long ago did youth and love triumphed for Dodong. And
then... life.

ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

CONFLICT :
Internal conflict confronts the leading character.
Internalcharacter in a way that he was
struggling if he can managed himself to have a
family because he knows that he is in the legal
age that he can be independent and can
definitely choose the right from wrong. But
because of his foolishness, he had difficult
time meeting the expectations that he must
achieve.

ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

THEME :
TEEN MARRIAGE
TRIUMPH
RUSHING DECISIONS

ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

SUMMARY :
It was a story of a boy who was only 17 when he decides to marry his love one.
He was dodong, and he love teang so much that he could not wait for the right age to
settle down in a relationship that is hard to escape. It's the "marriage". At the age of 17
dodong and teang got married without thinking of the risk being in an uneasy part of
life. They just follow what they feel. They don't think what would happen in their
future. They got a child. Teang realized how hard being a young parent. Her regret of
she had done and think, what would be my life if i marry my other suitors instead of
dodong? Can I have the same life as of now? She regrets so much of!!
Until one day, when their son grow. He follows the footsteps of his parents. He wants to
marry also at the age of 17. He told his parents what his plans. Dodong have nothing to
do but explain how hard and how risky to be in "marriage "at the young age. But like
dodong before, his son also wants to pursue what he wants. The lesson we can learn is
that marriage can wait the right time, if we want to be in this stage of life, we must
prepare ourselves against the risk of it. I know we can all be in to it if we like too but
not at the young age

ELEMENTS OF THE STORY

FACT :
Footnote to youth is the title of the story. It is said
that it is afootnote to youth because it is a brief
reminder for the Filipinosespecially the youth of what
a real life could be today. It also indicatesthe sources
or the causes why youth act this way. It furthermore
addscomment, whether it is a positive or negative, on
todays generation. Yesit is suitable to the story
because it gives a warning for those apatheticyouth
that ones committed mistake because of their
stubbornness.

WRITTER'S BIOGRAPHY

JOSE GARCIA VILLA

(August 5, 1908 February 7, 1997) was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer,
and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in
1973, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken, He is
known to have introduced the "reversed consonance rime scheme" in writing poetry, as
well as the extensive use of punctuation marksespecially commas, which made him
known as the Comma Poet. He used the penname Doveglion (derived from "Dove, Eagle,
Lion"), based on the characters he derived from himself. These animals were also explored
by another poet e.e. cummings in Doveglion, Adventures in Value, a poem dedicated to
Villa.

SUBMITTED BY: PHILIP GLENN T. VILLANUEVA

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. DANILO REYES