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21st- Century- Literature-Q2 Module-1

BS Psychology (Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology)

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11
21st Century
Literature from
the Philippines
and the World
Quarter 2 – Module 1.1:
Representative Texts and
Authors from Asia and Africa

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21st Century Literature – Grade 11

Self-Learning Module (SLM)
Quarter 2 – Module 1.1: Representative Texts and Authors from Asia and Africa
First Edition, 2020

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work of
the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office
wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such
agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties.

Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names,
trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective copyright holders.
Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from their
respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership
over them.

Development Team of the Module

Writers: Seychelle Mae Jugar - Amoguis
Editors: Louie Mark Garvida, Imelda C. Martinez, Jerryl Jean L. Salunayan
Reviewers: Helen J. Ranan, Sally A. Palomo
Layout Artist: Seychelle Mae Jugar - Amoguis
Cover Art Designer: Ian Caesar E. Frondoza
Management Team: Allan G. Farnazo, CESO IV – Regional Director
Fiel Y. Almendra, CESO V – Assistant Regional Director
Romelito G. Flores, CESO V - Schools Division Superintendent
Mario M. Bermudez, CESO VI – Assist. Schools Division Superintendent
Gilbert B. Barrera – Chief, CLMD
Arturo D. Tingson Jr. – REPS, LRMS
Peter Van C. Ang-ug – REPS, ADM
Gerardo Magno – Subject Area Supervisor
Juliet F. Lastimosa - CID Chief
Sally A. Palomo - Division EPS In- Charge of LRMS
Gregorio O. Ruales - Division ADM Coordinator
Ronnie R. Sunggay/ Helen J. Ranan – Subject Area Supervisor /
Coordinator

Printed in the Philippines by Department of Education – SOCCSKSARGEN Region

Office Address: Regional Center, Brgy. Carpenter Hill, City of Koronadal

Telefax: (083) 2288825/ (083) 2281893
E-mail Address: [email protected]

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11
21st Century
Literature from
the Philippines
and the World
Quarter 2 – Module 1.1:
Representative Texts and
Authors from Asia and Africa

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Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
Welcome to 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Grade 11
Self-Learning Module (SLM) on Representative Texts and Authors from Asia and Africa!
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators both
from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming their
personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.
This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of the
module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module. You
also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage their
own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks included in the module.

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For the learner:

Welcome to the 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Grade
11 Self-Learning Module (SLM) on Representative Texts and Authors from Asia and
Africa!
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner is
capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and skills at
your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:
This will give you an idea of the skills or
What I Need to Know competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.
This part includes an activity that aims to
What I Know check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.
This is a brief drill or review to help you link
What’s In the current lesson with the previous one.
In this portion, the new lesson will be
What’s New introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity or a situation.
This section provides a brief discussion of the
What is It lesson. This aims to help you discover and
understand new concepts and skills.
This comprises activities for independent
What’s More practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.
This includes questions or blank
What I Have Learned sentence/paragraph to be filled in to process
what you learned from the lesson.
This section provides an activity which will
What I Can Do help you transfer your new knowledge or skill
into real life situations or concerns.

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This is a task which aims to evaluate your

Assessment level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.
In this portion, another activity will be given
Additional Activities to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the
lesson learned. This also tends retention of
learned concepts.
This contains answers to all activities in the
Answer Key module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate
to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
identify and master the numerous representative texts and authors from the continents
of Asia and Africa.
The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning
situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students. The
lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the order in
which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you are now
using.
In this module, you will be able to:
• Identify representative texts and authors from Asia and Africa
Specifically, you are expected to:
• Recognize representative texts and authors from Asia and Africa
• Write a close analysis or critical interpretation of literary texts
• Appreciate the aesthetic and cultural diversity of the Asian and African
literature

What I Know

Before we begin our lesson, let us check first your background knowledge about
the representative texts and authors from Asia and Africa.

Directions: Read each item carefully. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space
provided before each number.

1. Who is the most famous Chinese poet?

a. Li Po b. Du Fu c. Bai Juyi d. Mao Zedong

2. Who is the traditional Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing
performed in a highly stylized manner?
a. Haiku b. Kabuki c. Noh d. Bugako

3. What is the Korean’s distinctive writing system that gave birth to a new wave of
Korean literature?
a. Hangul b. Haiku c. Sanskrit d. Arabic
4. What is considered as a clear cultural giant in South Asia?
a. Philippines b. India c. Indonesia d. Thailand

5. Which continent has a colossal literary tradition in terms of scope and length of
existence?
a. Europe b. Africa c. Asia d. America

6. Who is considered as the Hindu Shakespeare?

a. Kalidasa b. Tagore c. Javadeva d. Bezbarua

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7. What is the medium of African writers in expressing their cry for freedom from
oppression through their literary works?
a. Books b. Research c. Newspapers d. Scrolls

8. Who an Asian Nobel Prize in Literature winner who wrote the famous novel
entitled the “Red Sorghum Family”?
a. Mo Yan b. Li Po c. Tu Fu d. Chu’u Yuan

9. What is an essential component and the foundation of culture in the Middle

East?
a. Islam b. Christianity c. Judaism d. Buddhism

10. What is the world-renowned short descriptive poem with 17 syllables of the
Japanese literature?
a. Hangul b. Haiku c. Noh d. Kabuki

11. Who is considered the Nightingale of India for his/her beautiful English poems?
a. Sarojini Naidu Subrahmanyam c. Tagore
b. Vallathol d. Bharti

12. What is Chinua Achebe’s novels that concerns with traditional Igbo life at the
time of missionaries and colonial government in his homeland.
a. Arrow of God c. A Man of People
b. Things Fall Apart d. Anthills of the Savannah

13. What is Tagore’s prestigious literary work in the Indian literature?

a. Meghadatu c. Gitanjali or Song Offerings
b. Thunderstorms d. The Recognition of Shakuntala

14. What is a significant factor that shaped African literature from ancient to the
contemporary period?
a. heroic deeds
b. local languages
c. trade and cultural partners
d. colonial and postcolonial experiences

15. Africa is considered the “Cradle of Humankind”. Why did the contemporary
African writers use their literary work as a voice for their new and free
government?
a. To show their gratitude
b. To practice their talent in writing
c. To express their disagreement with constant corruption
d. To convey their happiness to the new and free government

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What’s In

Welcome back, learner! You have already traveled and explored the captivating
literature of the Philippines and its literary history across the regions. You have
witnessed as the majestic diversity of Philippine literature unfolded before your eyes.
This time, you are going to travel around the world and experience the beauty and
discover the diversity of its literary traditions. Get ready as you are going to enjoy the
different flavors of the world literature and appreciate the unique samples of the
excellent literary works of world-renowned authors.

Activity #1: Across the Globe!

Directions: With the use of the world map, determine the continents from the following
jumbled letters. Write the answer in the space provided.

https://www.google.com/search?q=world+map+continents++worksheet+free+download

1. HTNOR ECMIAAR ____________________

2. UROEEP ____________________
3. AASI ____________________
4. SLAARATUI ____________________
5. FCRAIA ____________________
6. TCNAACIATR ____________________
7. HSUTO REAMICA ____________________

There are seven continents on the Earth’s surface which are consisting of various
countries. Are you ready to travel around the globe? Your worldwide journey starts now.

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What’s New

Our first destination is in Asia and Africa, the world’s biggest continent and the
cradle of humankind. We will explore their representative literary texts and recognize
distinguished notable authors.

Activity #2: Four Pics, One Idea!

Directions: With the help of the set of pictures, determine the word then complete the
table below. Write your responses on the space provided.

https://www.google.com/search?q=asian+literature++free+download

A__I__N __I__E__A__U__E

What you know about the What you do not know What you want to know
literature of Asia? about the literature of Asia? about the literature of Asia?

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Activity #3: The Cradle of Humankind!

Directions: Complete the Frayer’s chart to write down what you know about African
literature. Write your responses on the space provided.

African
Literature Authors/Poets
/Composers

What is It

Representative Texts and Authors from Asia

Asia, the largest continent in the world, has a vast literary tradition in terms of scope
and length of existence. Literature in the Eastern hemisphere prospered and mirrored the
developments in religion, war, and politics. It is wise to study the Asian literature by
geographical region.

East Asia
China, one of the world’s cradles of civilization, has started its unbroken literary
tradition in the 14th century BCE. The preservation of the Chinese language (both spoken
and written), has made the immeasurable prolonged existence of their literary traditions
possible. It has retained its reputation by keeping the fundamentals of its identity intact.
Poets like Du Fu, Li Po, and Wang Wei of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the finest era of
Chinese literature, has produced world-renowned literary works. Chinese writers in modern
times are still creative and productive and have kept the Chinese literary tradition
prosperous.
• Du Fu
He is also known as Tu fu. According to many literary critics, he was the
greatest Chinese poet of all time. He wrote the poem “The Ballad of the Army Cats”
which is about conscription—and with hidden satire that speaks of the noticeable
luxury of the court.

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• Li Po
He is also known as Li Bai, a Chinese poet who is a competitor of Du Fu as
China’s greatest poet. He was romantic in his personal life and his poetry. His works
are known for its conversational tone and vivid imagery. He wrote the poem “Alone
and Drinking under the Moon” that deals with the ancient social custom of drinking.
• Wang Wei
He was a poet, painter, musician, and statesman during the Tang dynasty (the
golden ages of the Chinese cultural history). He was the established founder of the
respected Southern school of painter-poets. Many of his best poems were inspired
by the local landscape.
• Mo Yan
He was a fictionist who won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. His
first novel was “Red Sorghum”, and still his best-known work. It tells the story
of the Chinese battling Japanese intruders as well as each other during the 1930s. It
relates the story of a family in a rural area in Shandong Province during this turbulent
time.
• Yu Hua
He was a world-acclaimed short story writer and considered as a
champion for Chinese meta-fictional or postmodernist writing. His widely
acclaimed novel “To Live” describes the struggles endured by the son of a
wealthy land-owner while historical events caused and extended by the
Chinese Revolution are fundamentally altering the nature of Chinese society.
More Essential Texts for Reading:
Thunderstorms (drama) Cao Yu
Family (novel) Pa Jin
Please Don't Call Me Human (novel) Wang Shou
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio Pu Songling
(short story)
On a Gate Tower at Yuzhou (poetry) Zhang Chenzhi
Battle (poem) Chu’u Yuan
Korea’s literary tradition is greatly influenced by China’s cultural dominance. As
early as the 4th century CE, Korean poets wrote literary pieces in Classical Chinese poetry
then transformations happened at the 7th century. Hangul, Korean’s distinct writing system
and national alphabet, is developed in the 15th century that gave new beginnings of Korean
literature. In contemporary times, the Korean War has made a significant mark on Korean
literature. In 1950, the themes present in the literary works are about alienation,
conscience, disintegration, and self- identity.
• Ch’oe Nam-Seon
He was considered a prominent historian, pioneering poet, and publisher in
the Korean literature. He was also a leading member of the modern literary
movement and became notable in pioneering modern Korean poetry. One of his
works, the poem "The Ocean to the Youth” made him a widely acclaimed poet. The
poem aimed to produce cultural reform. He sought to bring modern knowledge about
the world to the youth of Korea.
• Yi Kwang-su
He was also the one who launched the modern literary movement together
with Ch’oe Nam-Seon. He was a novelist and wrote the first Korean novel “The
Heartless” and became well-known because of it. It was a description of the
crossroads at which Korea found itself, stranded between tradition and modernity,
and undergoing conflict between social realities and traditional ideals.

• Kim Ok
He was a Korean poet and included in the early modernism movement of
Korean poetry. He wrote the first Korean collection of translation from Western poetry
“The Dance of Agony”.

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• Yun Hunggil
He was a South Korean novelist who won the 1977 Korean Literature Writers
Award. He wrote the classic novel “Changma” (The Rainy Spell) that on a post-war
family with two grandmothers and their shared grandson.
• Pak Kyongni
She was a South Korean poet and novelist. She wrote the Korean’s
masterpiece and internationally acclaimed 21-volume epic novel T’oji (“The Land”),
wherein she chronicled the violent Korean history from 1897 to 1945.

Japan has a rich and unique literary history even though it has been influenced by
the Chinese language and Chinese literature. It has a world-renowned poetic genre called
haiku ( a short descriptive poem with 17 syllables) and the diverse forms of theatre Noh
(traditional Japanese theatrical form and one of the oldest extant theatrical forms in the
world) and Kabuki (traditional Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing
performed in a highly stylized manner). Japanese literature reflects simple yet complex,
imperfect yet abounding with beauty – the traditional Japanese cultural identity. In
contemporary times, Western influences take part in the Japanese literature, specifically in
the pioneering of modern Japanese novels, translations of the poetry, and reinventions of
traditional Japanese poetic forms like haiku and tanka. Playwrights like Abe Kobo and
Mishima Yukio are Japan’s notable literalists.
• Abe Kobo
He was a Japanese novelist and playwright and also known by the pseudonym
of Abe Kimifusa. He wrote the best-known play "Tomodachi" (Friends) which
is a story, with dark humor, reveals the relationship with the other, and exposes the
peculiarity of human relations in the present age." He also won the 1967
Akutagawa Award. He also won the 1951 Akutagawa Award for his short novel Kabe
(“The Wall”).
• Kimitake Hiraoka
He is also known by the pen name Mishima Yukio, the most important
Japanese novelist of the 20th century. He was one of the finalists of the 1963 Nobel
Prize for Literature and won numerous awards for his works. He wrote the novel “The
Temple of the Golden Pavilion” and won Yomiuri Prize from Yomiuri Newspaper
Corporation for the best novel. “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion”, translated into
the English language by Ivan Morris, based on the burning of the Reliquary (or
Golden Pavilion) of Kinkaku-Ji in Kyoto by a young Buddhist acolyte in 1950.
• Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
He was a Japanese writer and regarded as the Father of the Japanese short
story. He wrote the short story “Rashomon” that recounts the encounter between a
servant and an old woman in the dilapidated Rashōmon, the southern gate of the
then-ruined city of Kyoto, where unclaimed corpses were sometimes dumped. The
Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s premier literary award was named after him to honor his
memory after he died by committing suicide.
• Haruki Murakami
He was a Japanese novelist who won the international award Jerusalem Prize.
He also won the Gunzou Literature Prize for his first novel “Hear the Wind Sing”. It
featured episodes in the life of an unnamed protagonist and his friend, the Rat, who
hang out at a bar. The unnamed protagonist reminisces and muses about life and
intimacy. Murakami’s work has been translated into more than fifty languages.
Middle East
Arabic literary tradition has been flourishing in the Middle East. Islam is the
foundation of culture in this region - an essential component. Its literary tradition has grown
and influenced others like Persian, Byzantine, and Andalusian traditions. In return, Arabic
literature has also been influenced by other literary traditions of different countries. Even
European literature followed and imitated Arabic literature. In contemporary times, Arabic
writers experience difficulties in producing their literary texts due to the issue of freedom of
expression and the tension between religious and secular movements.

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• Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad

He was an Egyptian poet, journalist, and literary critic, an innovator of the
20th-century Arabic poetry and criticism. He became famous for his Abqariyat series,
a seven-book compilation that covers the life of seven of the most important Sahabah
(the disciples and followers of Muhammad).
• Taha Hussein
He was an Egyptian novelist, essayist, critic, and an outstanding figure in
Egyptian literature. His nickname was “The Dean of Arabic Literature”. He wrote the
novelized autobiography “The Days”, one of the most popular works of modern Arabic
literature that deals with his childhood in a small village, then his studies in Egypt
and France.
• Ali Ahmad Said Esber
He is known also as Adonis as his pseudonym. He is an award-winning
Syrian-born Lebanese poet, literary critic, and is a leader of the modernist movement
in contemporary Arabic poetry. He was the recipient of numerous honors, including
the 2011 Goethe Prize and the 2017 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in
International. Some of his famous poems are “First Poems” and “Leaves in the Wind”.
• Etgar Keret
He is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and
scriptwriting for film and television. His 2019 Fly Already (“Glitch at the Edge of the
Galaxy”) published in English won Israel’s prestigious Sapir Prize in Literature.
More Essential Texts for Reading:
Last Simile (poem) Abid B Al-Abras
Lāmiyyāt ‘al-Arab (poem) Al-Shanfarā
Cities of Salt (novel) Abdul Rahman Munif
That Smell and Notes from Prison (novel) Sonallah Ibrahim
The People of the Cave (novel) Tawfiq al-Hakim
A Love Poem (poem) Umm Khalid
Annumairiyya
Bin Barka Ally (novel)
I Am The One Who Saw (Saddam City)(novel) Mahmoud Saeed
A Thousand Splendid Sun (novel) Khaled Hosseini

South and Southeast Asia

India is the cultural giant over South Asia. Hallmark writings such as Veda, the
Brahmanas, and the Upanishads are the roots of Indian literature. As early as 1500 BCE,
the Veda written in the Sanskrit language introduced the birth of Indian literary works.
Around the 16th century, written literature in India appeared. In the succeeding centuries
of British colonization, English literature emerged that happen to be the significant
influence of Indian literary traditions until the 21st century period. Kalidasa is a notable
and famous Indian writer considered to be the Hindu Shakespeare.
The literary traditions of Southeast Asia possess the influences of Buddhist, Thai, and
English cultures, especially in Burma literature. Malaysian and Indonesian literature
reflects a large part of the Sanskrit language and Islam culture.
In contemporary times, India still manifests the impact of colonial rule through the
presence of the English language in literary traditions. Numerous Indian writers like the
Rabindranath Tagore, Prem Chand, Raja Rao, and R.K. Narayan are highly accomplished
and internationally known. Southeast Asia literature presents themes on colonial and
postcolonial experiences in Burmese literature and western literature influences in Thailand
literature.
• Rabindranath Tagore
He was a Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright,
essayist, and painter. He was referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”. He is a towering
figure of world literature and the most famous modern Indian poet. He won the 1913

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Nobel Prize for Literature award for his book The English Gitanjali or Song Offerings.
It is a volume of poetry which is a collection of devotional songs to the supreme.
• Dhanpat Rai Srivastava
Also known by his pseudonym Prem Chand, he is a famous Indian author of
novels and short stories of his modern Hindustani literature. He pioneered in
adapting Indian themes to Western literary styles. He wrote the most popular Hindi
novel “Godaan” (Cow Donation) and considered one of the greatest Hindi novels of
modern Indian literature. Its theme was around the socio-economic deprivation as
well as the exploitation of the village poor.
• Raja Rao
He is an Indian writer of novels and short stories in the English language. His
famous novel “The Serpent and the Rope”, a semi-autobiographical account of the
narrator, a young intellectual Brahman, and his wife seeking spiritual truth in India,
France, and England, recognized him as one of the fines Indian prose Stylists. It won
him the Sahitya Akademi Award. He was also rewarded the Neustadt International
Prize for Literature. His literary works in various genres had a significant
contribution to Indian and to world literature.
• Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (R. K. Narayan)
One of the finest Indian authors in the English language, he wrote the Sahitya
Award-winning novel “The Guide” which was adapted for film and for Broadway. It
was based on the fictional town in South India and describes the transformation of
the protagonist from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and one of the greatest holy
men of India.
• Chart Korbjitti
He is the most successful Thai writer. He was recognized by his publication
of his novel Khamphiphaksa (The Judgment). His novel was named as Book of the
Year by Thailand's Literature Council and won him the S.E.A Write Award. He was
awarded the National Artist in Literature (2004) and was among the honorees of the
inaugural Silpathorn Award, given to Thai contemporary artists.
• Nguyen Du
The best-loved poet and the father of Vietnamese literature, he was most
known for his epic poem “The Tale of Kieu” that recounts the life, trials, and
tribulations of Thuy Kieu, a beautiful and talented young woman, who has to
sacrifice herself to save her family. She sells herself into marriage with a middle-
aged man, not knowing that he is a pimp, and is forced into prostitution.
• Tengku Amir Hamzah
He was an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia. His poem
collection “Nyangi Sunyi” is considered the most developed and shows the theme
of God and His relationship to humanity, fate, dissatisfaction, and escape. Some
literary critics think that the collection is an attempt to address the worldly
problems of Amir. He was the only Indonesian poet recognized internationally.
More Essential Texts for Reading:
In Custody (novel) Anita Desai
The Gods of Small Things (novel) Arundhati Roy
The Folded Earth (novel) Anuradha Roy
The Feather of the Dawn (poety) Sarojini Naidu
Subrahmanyam
(The Nightingale of India)
The Caged Ones (novel) Ludu U Hla
A Crazy Man's Shoulder Bag Hmawbi Saya Thein
(anecdote)
Working Elephants (Essay) Kyi Aye
The General Retires and Other Nguyen Huy Thiep
Stories (short story)

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Central Asia
Central Asian literature has different literary characteristics and political in
culture. In contemporary times, Russian influence continues to be present in Central
Asia literature. Some of the Central Asian writers and their literary works pave their
way to be known worldwide.
• Abdullah Qodiriy
He was known by the pseudonym Julqunboy. He was one of the most
influential Uzbek writers of the 20th century and Soviet playwright, poet, writer,
and literary translator. His most famous work is the historical novel O’tgan
kunlar (Days Gone By), the first Uzbek full-length novel.
• Mukhtar Auez-uli
He was an early Soviet Kazakh writer and won recognition for the long
novel “Abay” which is based on the life and poetry of Kunanbay-uli.
• Chingiz Aytmatov
He was a Soviet and Kyrgyz author and the best-known figure in Kyrgyz
and Russian literature. “Jamila”, his first major novel was told from the viewpoint
of a fictional character that tells the story by looking back on his childhood. The
story recounts the love between his new sister-in-law Jamilya and a local crippled
young man, Daniyar, while Jamilya's husband, Sadyk, is "away at the front" (as
a Soviet soldier during World War II).

Here are some representative literary texts from different Asian countries.

CH'U YUAN (c.343 - c.289 BC)

Chu’u Yuan, or Qu Yuan, was the greatest poet of ancient China and the earliest
known by name.

Battle
Chu’u Yuan
Translated by Arthur Waley

“We grasp our battle-spears: we don our breast-plates of hide.

The axles of our chariots touch: our short sword meet.
Standards obscure the sun: the foe roll up like clouds.
Arrows fall thick: the warriors press forward.
They menace our ranks: they break our line.
The left-hand trace-horse is dead: the one on the right is smitten.
The fallen horses block our wheels: they impede the yoke-horses!”

They grasp their jade drum-sticks: they beat the sounding drums.
Heaven decrees their fall: the dread Powers are angry.

The warriors are all dead: they lie on the moor-field.

They issued but shall not enter: they went but shall not return.
The plains are flat and wide: the way home is long.

Their swords lie beside them: their black bows, in their hand.
Though their limbs were torn, their hearts could not be repressed.
They were more than brave: they were inspired with the spirit of “Wu”.
Steadfast to the end, they could not be daunted.
Their bodies were stricken, but their souls have taken Immortality—
Captains among the ghosts, heroes among the dead.

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Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the

United States in 1980. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers
The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains
Echoed. Hosseini is also a U.S. Goodwill Envoy to the UNHCR, the UN
Refugee Agency, and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a
nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance to the people of
Afghanistan.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

(Excerpt)
By Khaled Hosseini

Mariam had never before worn a burqa. Rasheed had to help her put it on. The
padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull, and it was strange seeing the world
through a mesh screen. She practiced walking around her room in it and kept stepping on
the hem and stumbling. The loss of peripheral vision was unnerving, and she did not like
the suffocating way the pleated cloth kept pressing against her mouth.
“You’ll get used to it,” Rasheed said. “With time, I bet you’ll even like it.”
They took a bus to a place Rasheed called the Shar-e-Nau Park, where children pushed each
other on swings and slapped volleyballs over ragged nets tied to tree trunks. They strolled
together and watched boy fly kites, Mariam walking beside Rasheed, tripping now and then
on the burqa’s hem. For lunch, Rasheed took her to eat in a small kebab house near a
mosque he called the Haji Yaghoub. The floor was sticky and the air smoky. The walls
smelled faintly of raw meat and music, which Rasheed described to her as logari, was loud.
The cooks were thin boys who fanned skewers with one hand and swatted gnats with the
other. Mariam, who had never been inside a restaurant, found it odd at first to sit in a
crowded room with so many strangers, to lift her burqa to put morsels of food into her
mouth. A hint of the same anxiety as the day at the tandoor stirred into her stomach, but
Rasheed’s presence was of some comfort, and, after a while, she did not mind so much the
music, the smoke, even the people. And the burqa, she learned to her surprise, was also
comforting. It was like a one-way window. Inside it, she was an observer, buffered from the
scrutinizing eyes of strangers. She no longer worried that people knew, with a single glance,
all the shameful secrets of the past.
--------
The women in the part of Kabul were a different breed from the women in the poorer
neighbourhoods – like the one where she and Rasheed lived, where so many of the women
covered fully. These women were – what was the word of Rasheed had used? – “modern”.
Yes, modern Afghan women married modern Afghan men who did not mind that their wives
walked among strangers with makeup on their faces and nothing of their heads. Mariam
watched then cantering uninhibited down the street, sometimes with a man, sometimes
alone, sometimes with rosy-cheeked children who wore shiny shoes and watches with
leather bands, who walked bicycles with high-rise handlebars and gold-colored spokes –
unlike the children in Deh-Mazang, who bore sand-fly scars on the cheeks and rolled old
bicycle tires with sticks.

The women were all swinging handbags and rustling skirts. Mariam even spotted one
smoking behind the wheel of a car. Their nails were long, polished pink or orange, their lips
red as tulips. They walked in high heels, and quickly, as if on perpetually urgent business.
They wore dark sunglasses, and, when they breezed by, Mariam caught a whiff of their
perfume. She imagined that they all had university degrees that they worked in office
buildings, behind desks of their own, where they typed and smoked and made important
phone calls to important people. These women mystified Mariam. They made her aware of
her own lowliness, her plain looks, her lack of aspirations, and her ignorance of so many
things.

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Representative Texts and Authors from Africa

Africa, the “Cradle of the humankind” according to scientists, has a literature that is
filled with the human spirit, desiring for freedom and contentment. African literature
consists of oral tradition and written literature ranging from local languages brought by the
colonizers (English, Portuguese, and French). The experiences of the colonization and post-
colonization shape the African literature.
The oral literature of Africa such as myths, stories, riddles, proverbs, and dramas
document the exploits of the heroes of the communities, remind the people about their
culture and traditions, entertain and educate the youth. It flourishes across the continent
in the 15th century CE until the interaction of Africa with Europe and Asia, their trade and
cultural partners, serves as the main contributor to the African literature growth.
In the 19th century, European countries compete for the colonization of the African
territory to gain political and economic edge. The colonization and slave trade has awaken
the African psyche (the soul and mind) incredibly. The literary works are the vehicle,
specifically the newspaper, in exposing the psychological social impact of colonization.
African writers express their cry for freedom from oppression through their poetry and
narrative works. Though they use the European language to produce their literary works,
the cry for independence has reached to the climax, so strong and effective, with the
embodiment of the spirit of nationalism, gained worldwide acclaim. Numerous notable
African writers are Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Kofi Awoonor, Ngungi wa Thiong’o (East
Africa’s leading novelist), Okot p’Bitek, Nadine Gordimer, Dennis Crutus, Es’kia Mphahlele,
and Jacques Rabemananjara.
In the contemporary times, African writers experience new challenges with their new
and sovereign government. They still use their literary works as a vehicle in expressing their
voices against their government with a constant theme of corruption.
• Chinua Achebe
He was a Nigerian novelist, poet, critic, and professor and was honored as
Grand Prix de la Memoir of the 2019 edition of the Grand Prix of Literary
Associations. His first novel and masterpiece, “Things Fall Apart”, is the most widely
read book in modern African literature. It concerns the traditional Igbo life at the
time of the advent of missionaries and the colonial government in his homeland.
• Wole Soyinka
He was the first black African to be awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize for
Literature. One of his famous works is his first important play “A Dance of the
Forests” which was written for the Nigerian independence celebrations. It parodies
the emerging nation by stripping it of romantic legend and by showing that the
present is no more a golden age than it was before.
• Kofi Awoonor
He was a Ghanian novelist and poet who wrote “This Earth, My Brother”, a
cross between a novel and a poem. It was told on two levels each representing a
distinct reality. The first level is a standard narrative which details a day in the life
of an attorney named Amamu. The second level is a symbol-laden mystical journey
filled with biblical and literary allusions. These portions of the text deal with the new
nation of Ghana, which is represented by a baby on a dunghill. The dunghill is a
source of both rot and renewal, and in this way represents the foundations upon
which Ghana was built.
• Ngungi wa Thiong’o
East Africa’s leading novelist, a Kenyan writer who wrote the famous novel
“Weep Not, Child”. It was the first major novel in English by an East African. It deals
with the Mau-Mau Uprising, a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between
the Kenya Land and Freedom Army.
• Okot p’ Bitek
He was a Ugandan poet, novelist, and social anthropologist who wrote the
three verse collections – Song of Lawino (1066), Song of Ocol (1970), and Two Songs
(1971). He achieved international recognition for Song of Lawino, a long poem dealing

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with the tribulations of a rural African wife whose husband has taken up urban life
and wishes everything to be westernized. It was followed by the husband’s reply,
the Song of Ocol.
• Nadine Gordimer
A South African writer and the recipient of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature.
She wrote the joint winner of the Booker - McConnell Prize novel “The
Conservationist”. The story is a character study of a successful South African
industrial executive and, by extension, a critique of South Africa.
• Jacques Rabemananjara
He was a Malagasy playwright and poet and one of Madagascar’s most
prominent writers. He wrote and published his play “Les dieux malgaches”, the first
modern Malagasy play in French. This play dealt with the pre-colonial past and with
the coup that unseated King Radama II in 1863.
• Es’kia Mphahlele
He wrote the South African classic autobiography “Down Second Avenue”
about the story of a young man’s growth into adulthood with penetrating social
criticism of the conditions forced upon black South Africans by a system of
institutionalized racial segregation.
• Thomas Mofolo
He was the greatest writer from the Sotho people in Africa. He created the first
Western-style novels in the Basotho language. His novel “Chaka” became a classic.
It was a historical novel about the story of the rise and fall of the Zulu king Shaka.
Dennis P. Kunene translated the novel from Sotho to English.
More Essential Texts for Reading:
The Invention of Africa : Gnosis,
Philosophy and the Order of Knowledge Valentin-Yves Mudimbe
(essay)
The Cardinals (novel) Bessie Head
Striving for the Wind (novel) Meja Mwangi
The Famished Road (novel) Ben Okri
Season of Migration to the North (novel) Tayeb Salih
To Every Birth its Blood (novel) Mongane Serote
The Palm-Wide Drinkard (novel) Amos Tutuola
Nervous Conditions (novel) Tsitsi Dangarembga
Mission to Kala (novel) Mango Beti
Up in Arms (poetry) Chenjerai Hove
Tales of Amadou Koumba (fiction tales) Birago Diop
Muriel at Metropolitan (novel) Miriam Tlali

Here are some representative literary texts from different African countries.

Chinua Achebe was an Igbo Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first
novel Things Fall Apart, often considered his masterpiece, is the most widely read book in
modern African literature.

Things Fall Apart (A Summary)

By Chinua Achebe

As a young man, Okonkwo becomes one of the greatest wrestlers in the clan.
Okonkwo values strength and aggression, traits he believes are masculine, and his worst
fear is to be thought of as feminine or weak, like his father, Unoka.
Okonkwo's wealth and status within the tribe grow, and he becomes one of the
greatest men in the land, with three wives and a large stock of yams. He treats his family

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with a heavy hand, believing that the only emotion worth showing is anger. Okonkwo is
particularly worried about his eldest son, Nwoye, in whom he sees signs of laziness
reminiscent of Unoka.
One day, the clan settles an argument with a neighboring village by demanding the
sacrifice of a virgin and a 15-year-old boy named Ikemefuna, who lives with Okonkwo's
family for the next three years.
While living with Okonkwo's family, Ikemefuna becomes very close to Nwoye, sharing
folktales and encouraging him to enjoy masculine tasks. Okonkwo approves of his influence
on Nwoye and grows fond of Ikemefuna himself. Ikemefuna soon starts to call Okonkwo
“father.”
After three years, when the oldest man of the tribe, Ezeudu, informs Okonkwo that
Ikemefuna must be killed, he advises him not to participate in the killing, since “the boy
calls you father.” Okonkwo ignores this advice, fearing that others will find him weak or
effeminate, and he proceeds to strike the killing blow when they take Ikemefuna out to be
killed the next day.
Soon, Ezeudu passes away, and his funeral celebration draws the entire clan. During the
burial, Okonkwo's gun explodes, killing Ezeudu's 16-year-old son. Having killed a fellow
clansman, Okonkwo has no choice but to flee the clan with his family. Because the crime is
a “female,” or accidental, crime, they may return in seven years.
During their time in exile, Okonkwo and his family work hard to start a new farm in
Okonkwo's motherland, Mbanta. His mother's kinsmen treat them kindly, but Okonkwo is
extremely discouraged by the circumstances. He plans for the day he can return to his
rightful place in Umuofia.
While he works in Mbanta, the white men begin to appear among neighboring clans,
causing stories to spread about their power and destruction. When they finally arrive in
Mbanta though, the clan is fascinated but finds their religion ridiculous. Nwoye, however,
is captivated by the hymn he hears on the first day, and soon joins the Christians to get
away from his father, who is outraged.
When Okonkwo finally returns to Umuofia, the white men have changed his clan as
well. Mr. Brown, a white missionary who is popular for his patience and understanding
approach, has built a school and hospital, and many clan members are enrolling their
children in the school so that they can one day become clerks or teachers. However, soon
after Okonkwo's return, Mr. Brown leaves the country due to health reasons, and Reverend
Smith replaces him.
Reverend Smith is uncompromising, encouraging acts among the converted clan
members that provoke the rest of the clan. When Enoch, a fanatical convert, rips the mask
off of one of the clan's masked egwugwu during a ceremony, the clan retaliates
by burning down the church. Reverend Smith reports this transgression, and the District
Commissioner tricks the clan's leaders into meeting with him before handcuffing them. The
clan leaders, including Okonkwo, suffer insults and beatings before they are released once
the village pays the fine.
The morning after their release, the clan leaders speak of war before they are
interrupted by the arrival of court messengers. Full of hate, Okonkwo confronts the leader,
who says that the white man commands the meeting to stop. In a flash, Okonkwo strikes
down the messenger with his machete. Seeing that none of his clansmen support him in his
violent action, Okonkwo walks away and hangs himself.
When the District Commissioner comes to fetch Okonkwo the next day, the clansmen
lead him to his hanging body instead, saying that they cannot touch it, since it's an
abomination for a man to take his own life. The District Commissioner finds this custom
interesting, making note of it for his book on Nigeria, which he plans to title The Pacification
of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.

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George Moses Horton (1798 – 1884) is an African American poet who wrote
sentimental love poems and antislavery protests. He was one of the first
professional black writers in America.

On Liberty and Slavery

by George Moses Horton

Alas! and am I born for this,

To wear this slavish chain?
Deprived of all created bliss,
Through hardship, toil and pain!

How long have I in bondage lain,

And languished to be free!
Alas! and must I still complain—
Deprived of liberty.

Oh, Heaven! and is there no relief

This side the silent grave—
To soothe the pain—to quell the grief
And anguish of a slave?

Come Liberty, thou cheerful sound,

Roll through my ravished ears!
Come, let my grief in joys be drowned,
And drive away my fears.

Say unto foul oppression, Cease:

Ye tyrants rage no more,
And let the joyful trump of peace,
Now bid the vassal soar.

Soar on the pinions of that dove

Which long has cooed for thee,
And breathed her notes from Afric’s grove,
The sound of Liberty.
Oh, Liberty! thou golden prize,
So often sought by blood—
We crave thy sacred sun to rise,
The gift of nature’s God!

Bid Slavery hide her haggard face,

And barbarism fly:
I scorn to see the sad disgrace
In which enslaved I lie.
Dear Liberty! upon thy breast,
I languish to respire;
And like the Swan unto her nest,
I’d like to thy smiles retire.

Oh, blest asylum—heavenly balm!

Unto thy boughs I flee—
And in thy shades the storm shall calm,
With songs of Liberty!

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What’s More

There you go, learner. You have explored the Asian and African literature.
You were able to recognize some of the well-known authors and their texts as
well as their inspirations in creating their literary works. Let us practice.

Activity #4: Match, match, and match!

Directions: Match the literary author in column A with their literary work in column
B. Write the letter of the correct answer on the space provided.

A B

________ 1. Thomas Mofolo a. Changma

________ 2. Rabindranath Tagore b. Red Sorghum
________ 3. Chinua Achebe c. Fly Already
________ 4. Li Po d. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
________ 5. Ch’oe Nam-Seon e. Ngayi Sunyi
________ 6. Abe Kobo f. Chaka
________ 7. Tengku Amir Hamzah g. Jamila
________ 8. Prem Chand h. The Ocean to the Youth
________ 9. Yun Hunggil i. The Serpent and the Rope
________ 10. Mo Yan j. Songs Offerings
________ 11. Kimitake Hiraoka k. Things Fall Apart
________ 12. Etgar Keret l. Alone and Drinking under the Moon
________ 13. Raja Rao m. A Dance of the Forests
________ 14. Chingiz Atymatov n. Godaan
________ 15. Wole Soyinka o. Tomodachi
p. Last Simile

Activity #5: I love Lit Works!

Directions: Read the synopsis of each literary piece of the Asian and African authors.
Determine the title of the literary work. Write your answer on the space provided.

_____________________1. It is a Korean poem that deals with the ancient social

custom of drinking.
____________________ 2. This is a Korean epic novel that chronicles the violent
Korean History from 1897 to1945.
____________________ 3. It a Kazakh novel that is based on the life and poetry of
Kunanbay-uli.
____________________ 4. It is an African novel that concerns the traditional Igbo life at
the time of the advent of missionaries and the colonial government in his
homeland.
____________________ 5. It is a historical African novel about the story of the rise and
fall of the Zulu king Shaka.
____________________ 6. It is an African novel which is a character study of a
successful South African industrial executive.
____________________ 7. It is a Korean novel that describes the Korean’s conflict
between social realities and traditional ideals.
____________________ 8. It is an Egyptian book compilation that covers the life of the
seven most important Sahabahor the disciples and followers of Muhammad.

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____________________ 9. It is a Japanese short story that recounts the encounter

between a servant and an old woman in the dilapidated place where
unclaimed corpses were sometimes dumped.
____________________ 10. It is a Russian novel that recounts a story of a sister-in-law
and a local crippled young man.
____________________ 11. It is a Chinese poem that talks about conscription - with
hidden satire that speaks of the noticeable luxury of the court.
____________________ 12. It is a Chinese novel that relates the story of a family in a
rural area in Shandong Province during a turbulent time.
____________________ 13. It is a Korean poem that aims to produce cultural
reform and modern knowledge about the world to the youth.
____________________ 14. It is a Japanese novel based on the burning of the
reliquary of Kinkaku-Ji by a young Buddhist assistant in 1950.
____________________15. It is a Vietnamese poem that recounts the life of a
beautiful young woman who has to sacrifice herself to save her family.

.
Activity #6: Differences!
Directions: Read the “A Thousand Splendid Suns”- An Excerpt written by Khaled
Hosseini (Afghanistan) on page 18 then answer the given questions below. Write your
answer on your answer sheets.

What over –generalized belief about

Afghans and Muslims do we find in
the society? Do you think these
stereotypes are true or false?

Write down your idea here.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Questions to answer:
1. How would you describe a burqa?
2. Would you ever want to wear one? Why or why not?
3. What do you think a burqa symbolizes?
4. What does the burqa reveal about Afghan and/or Muslim Society?
5. What were your expectations of the story, considering that it was set in
Afghanistan? Did it go against your expectations? In what instance did Mariam
feel glad she had a burqa on? Why did she feel this way?
6. Why does Mariam compare herself to other women?
7. What do you feel towards Mariam? Explain your answer.
8. How would you describe Mariam’s relationship with Rasheed? What can you
predict about their relationship in the future?
9. Why is it important to show in the story that there are also modern women in
Afghanistan?

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What I Have Learned

Nice job! We are almost done in our lesson. To sum it up, here is an activity about
representative texts and authors from the Asian and African continents.

Activity #7: I am Lost Without Lit!

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the correct information. Write your answer on the
space provided.

ASIA
East Asia
• The Ballad of the Army Cats by (1)____________
• Alone and Drinking under the Moon by Li Po
• Red Sorghum by (2)_________________________
• To Live by Yu Hua
• The Ocean to the Youth by Ch’oe Nam-Seon
• The Heartless by Yi Kwang-su
• The Dance of Agony by Kim Ok
• Changma by Yun Hunggil
• T’oji (The Land) by Pak Kyongni
• (3)___________________ by Abe Kobo
• The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Kimitake Hiraoka
• (4)_________________________ by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
• Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami

Middle East
• Abqariyat Series by Abba Mahmoud Al-Aqqad
• The Days by Tha Hussein
• First Poems by (5)___________________________
• Fly Already (Glitch at the Edge of the Galaxy by Etgar Keret

South and Southeast Asia

• Gitanjali or Song Offerings by Rabindranath Tagore
• (6)_________________________ by Prem Chand
• The Serpent and the Rope by Raja Rao
• The Guide by R. K. Narayan
• The Judgment by Chart Korbjitti
• (7)_________________________by Nguyen Du
• Nyangi Sunyi by Tengku Amir Hamzah

Central Asia
• Days Gone By by Abdullah Qodiriy
• Abay by Mukhtar Auez-uli
• (8)____________________ by Chingiz Aytmatov

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AFRICA
• Things Fall Apart by (9)_________________________
• A Dance of the Forests by Wole Soyinka
• This Eart, my Brother by Kofi Awoonor
• (10)_________________________ by Ngungi wa Thiong’o

• Three Verse Collections – Song of Lawino, Song of Ocol, and

Two Songs by Okot p’ Bitek
• The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer
• Les Dieux Magaches by Jacques Rabemanajara
• (11)_________________________by Es’kia Mphahele

• Chaka by Thomas Mofolo

• The Invention of Africa : Gnosis, Philosophy and the Order
of Knowledge by (12)_________________________
• The Cardinals by Bessie Head
• Striving for the Wind by Meja Mwangi
• The Famished Road by (13)_________________________
• Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
• To Every Birth its Blood by Mongane Serote
• The Palm-Wide Drinkard by (14)_________________________
• Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
• Mission to Kala by Mango Beti
• Up in Arms by Chenjerai Hove
• Tales of Amadou Koumba by Birago Diop
• (15)_________________________by Miriam Tlali

What I Can Do

Activity #8: My HOMEreading!

Directions: Choose one short story of your choice from the Asian or African literature
then produce a home reading report about your chosen literary piece. Write your
responses on a separate sheet of paper

A. Title of the Selection

B. Author

C. Exposition

D. Conflict

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E. Climax

F. Resolution

G. Characters

H. Setting

I. Point of View

J. Theme

Activity #9: Colors and Letters!

Directions: Read the poem entitled Battle by Chu’u Yuan on page 17. Design a slogan
for the theme or the general idea the poet wants to convey to the reader. Show your
creativity. Use a short bond paper or poster paper.

Criteria for Scoring

5 points – It shows an excellent theme and creativeness.
3- 4 points – It shows better theme and average creativeness.
1-2 points – It shows unappropriate theme and poor creativeness.

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Assessment

Directions: Read and understand each question carefully. Write the letter of the correct
answer on the space provided.
_______1. What refers to the imaginative works of prose and poetry?
a. Art b. Form c. Divisions d. Literature
_______ 2. What refers to the largest continent in the world and has a vast literary
tradition in terms of scope and length of existence?
a. Africa b. Australia c. Europe d. Asia
_______ 3. Who is an Asian Nobel Prize winner in Literature whose famous novel “Red
Sorghum” tells of the story of a family in a rural area in Shandong Province of a
turbulent time?
a. Abe Kobe b. Li Po c. PremChand d. Mo Yan

_______4. The following are literary works of Japanese literature EXCEPT _________:
a. Noh b. Kabuki c. Haiku d. Hangul
_______ 5. What is the Japanese novel written by Haruki Murakami that features an
episode in the life of an unnamed protagonist and his friend rat who hang out a bar?
a. Rashomon b. The Days c. Hear the Wind Sing d. Leaves
_______ 6. What is the finest era of Chinese literature that produced world-renowned
authors?
b. Han Dynasty c. Tang Dynasty
c. Quin Dynasty d. Zhou Dynasty
_______7. _____________ reflects a simple yet complex, imperfect yet abounding with
beauty cultural identity, and has a rich and unique literary history.
a. African literature c. Arabic literature
b. Chinese literature d. Japanese literature
_______ 8. Who was the only Indonesian poet recognized internationally and a National
Hero of India who wrote the collections of the poem “Nyangi Sunyi”?
a. Nguyen Du c. Chart Korbjitti
b. Raja Rao d. Tengku Amir Hamzah
_______ 9. The following authors belong to Central Asian literature EXCEPT ________:
a. Arundhati Roy c. Mukhtar Auez - uli
b. Chingiz Aytmatov d. Abdullah Qodiriy
_______ 10. Who was the first black African who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature
and wrote the famous play “A Dance of the Forests” for the Nigerian independence
celebrations?
a. Chinua Achebe c. Wole Soyinka
b. Kofi Awoonor d. Thomas Mofolo
_______ 11. What is the first novel in English written by an East African which deals
with the Mau-Mau Uprising between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army?
a. Chaka c. Down Second Avenue
b. Song of Ocol d. Weep Not, Child

_______ 12. What is one of the three – verse poetry collection written by Okot p’ Bitek
that deals with the great troubles of a rural African wife whose husband has taken up
urban life and wishes everything to be westernized?
a. Song of Lawino c. The Two Songs
b. Song of Ocol d. The Two Poems

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_______ 13. All of the following statements are true about African literature EXCEPT:
a. It is the cradle of humankind.
b. Its psyche has awakened by colonization and slave trade
c. It has the largest literary traditions in terms of scope and length of
existence.
d. Its literature is filled with the human spirit, desire for freedom, and
contentment.
_______ 14. What is the major reason for the African contemporary writers for using
their literary works towards their government?
a. To express their gratitude
b. To persuade others to write
c. To enhance their talents in writing
d. To express their disagreement with the constant corruption
_______ 15. The novel Chaka written by Thomas Mofolo tells the story of the man who
brought dozens of chiefdoms together in the early nineteenth-century, creating the Zulu
Kingdom in contemporary South Africa. What could be the possible theme?
a. To rule is fun.
b. Long-life brings more power.
c. Power comes with more responsibilities.
d. There is danger in the blind ambition of power.

Additional Activities

Congratulations learner for reaching this far in our lesson!

Identifying the representative texts and authors from Asia and Africa will surely
become an edge as a part of your knowledge of the world literature. Always remember
the authors and their literary texts of the Asian and African literature. To help you with
that matter, a scrapbook will be helpful and fun.

Directions: Choose one Asian or African poet. Construct a creative scrapbook

highlighting the following details:
• Title page (1 page)
• Brief introduction of the poem (1 page)
• Short Biography of the Poet ( 1 page)
• Short interpretation of your chosen poem (1 page)
• Short explanation of why do you like the poem (1 page)

Criteria for Scoring 5 3 1

Content It contains complete It lacks some It lacks most
details. details. details.
Creativity It shows an excellent It shows an average It shows poor
creativity. creativity. creativity.
Timeliness It is submitted upon It is submitted one It is submitted two
retrieval of this week after the to three weeks after
module. retrieval of this the retrieval of this
module. module.

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What I Know Assessment What’s More
1. A 1. D 1. F
2. B 2. D 2. J
3. A 3. D 3. K
4. B 4. D 4. L
5. C 5. C 5. H
6. A 6. C 6. O
7. C 7. D 7. E
8. A 8. D 8. N
9. A 9. A 9. A
10. B 10. C 10. B
11. A 11. D 11. D
12. B 12. A 12. C
13. C 13. C 13. I
14. D 14. D 14. G
15. C 15. D 15. M
What I Know
ACT #5
1. Alone and Drinking What's In Assessment
under the Moon
2. T’oji 1. NORTH 1. A
3. Abay AMERICA 2. B
4. Things Fall Apart 2. EUROPE 3. C
5. Chaka 3. ASIA 4. D
6. The Conservationist 4. AUSTRALIA 5. A
7. The Heartless 5. AFRICA
8. Abqariyat Series
6. ANTARCTICA
9. Rashomon
10. Jamila 7. SOUTH
11. The Ballads of the AMERICA
Army Cats
12. Red Sorghum
13. The Ocean to the
Youth
14. The Temple of the
Golden Pavilion
15. The Tale og Kieu
Answer Key
lOMoARcPSD|23210019
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References
Redoblado, S. V. (2017). Contemporary Literature: 21st Century Literature from the
Philippines and the World, Philippines: Brilliant Creations Publishing, Inc.,
pp.102-107.

Uychoco, M. (2016). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World,
Philippines: REX Book Store, 133-173.

Solmerano, E. et.al (2017). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Second Edition. K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum Senior High School- Core
Subject, Philippines, pp. 211 – 250, 315 – 342.

A Qaṣīdah by â฀˜AbÄ«d ibn al-Abraá¹£. (2013). In Van Gelder G. (Ed.), Classical

Arabic Literature: A Library of Arabic Literature Anthology (pp. 2-3). NYU
Press. Retrieved August 26, 2020, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qfxj6.7

Gabrieli, F., “ʿAbīd b. al-Abraṣ”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, and
Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W.P.
Heinrichs. Consulted online on 26 August 2020
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573- 3912_islam_SIM_0145>

Ed Lake, February 18, 2011. The Folded Earth by Anuradha Roy. Retrieved from the
The National website: https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/the-
folded-earth-by-anuradha-roy-1.597039

Cao, Diana. "Things Fall Apart Plot Summary." LitCharts LLC, November 3, 2013.
Retrieved August 28, 2020. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/things-fall-
apart/summary.

Kohler, David FC, "Submissively Subversive: Mo Yan's Red Sorghum Clan and its
Film Adaptation by Zhang Yimou" (2015). Honors Theses. 143.
https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/143

Byong-Wuk Chong.Former Professor of Korean Literature, Seoul National University.

Author of Essays on Korean Literature; Complete Anthology of Sijo.

Allen, Roger M.A. (2020), Emeritus Professor of Arabic Language and Literature,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Author of The Arabic Literary
Heritage, The Arabic Novel, and others.

Robinson, W. Andrew (2020), Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye; The Art of Rabindranath
Tagore; and many others.

Sample Frayer’s chart template. https://www.sampletemplates.com/business-

templates/frayer-model-template.html

Chinua Achebe. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020), Encyclopædia

Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chinua-Achebe

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DISCLAIMER
This Self-learning Module (SLM) was developed by DepEd SOCCSKSARGEN with
the primary objective of preparing for and addressing the new normal. Contents
of this module were based on DepEd’s Most Essential Learning Competencies
(MELC). This is a supplementary material to be used by all learners of Region
XII in all public schools beginning SY 2020-2021. The process of LR development
was observed in the production of this module. This is version 1.0. We highly
encourage feedback, comments, and recommendations.

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – SOCCSKSARGEN

Learning Resource Management System (LRMS)

Regional Center, Brgy. Carpenter Hill, City of Koronadal

Telefax No.: (083) 2288825/ (083) 2281893

Email Address: [email protected]

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