A cultural materialist reading of Philippine children's fiction in the collection The Golden Loom

• Main Author: Rivera, Janina Marie Ofiana
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2002
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/1831
• Institution: De La Salle University

This thesis analyzes eight stories from the Palanca Prize winner collection The Golden Loom using Raymond Williams' theory on cultural materialism. The issues of material production, class, race, and gender in the stories are unmasked in this research, exposing the different beliefs and values, practices and distinctions found within Philippine culture. The first section of this thesis focuses on the issue of material production. The stories included here are Dream Weavers and The Blanket. The importance of identity and how this is transmitted through symbols and material production show clearly in the ideologies of tribal societies of the Philippines, as reflected in the stories. The second section of this thesis focuses on the issue of race and class. The stories included here are Chun, Little Bird, Little Fish and the Two Elephants, and Pan de Sal Saves the Day. The ideologies embedded in history concerning the maltreatment of the Chinese race, the silence of those in slavery, and the poor self-attitude of the Filipino race reflect the way the characters and circumstances unfold in these stories of children's literature. Given importance in this section, too, is the say of economic ability of these races and how this influences the beliefs and values in society. The third section of this thesis focuses on the issue of gender. The stories included here are The Gem, Pure Magic, and The Daughter of the Wind. The way women characters are presented and how they go against the trend of stereotypes and expectations of society show how much children's literature and society can treat women and how they can subvert these very ideologies. Children's literature is full of ideologies that children consciously and unconsciously deal with. This thesis brings these ideologies to light and exposes the way that some of these ideologies are contended with and subverted.