The Day the Dancers Came Handout

The Day the Dancers Came

be for economic, political, social, or religious reasons -

Filipinos, such as OFWs, are products of the diaspora

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Three contingents/waves of migrants: 1st (1904-1946), 2nd (1946-1964), and 3rd (19651984).

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Fil was part of the first contingent (1904-1906)

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Over half a century of U.S. instruction during their colonization has made many Filipinos entrenched fanatics of the American “Dream of Success”

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Filipinos sought greener pastures aspiring for a better life

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However, they were faced with oppression and were discriminated due both to their race and nationality

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Filipinos mostly served in menial jobs as they were seen as a cultural minority

by Bienvenido Santos Bienvenido Santos - Award-winning Filipino-American author - Born and raised in Tondo, Manila - Has a Bachelor of Arts degree from UP where he studied creative writing under Paz Marquez Benitez - Was a government’s pensionado (scholar) to the United States - “The Day the Dancers Came” is considered a literary classic of the Filipino diaspora

I. SETTING  Chicago, USA -

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it is set in the United States of America where Filipinos play the principal characters in order to show contrasting cultures Winter-time it is set during winter, around end of November or early December snow being something foreign to Filipinos

 Diaspora -

the dispersion/scattering/migration of a large group of people from their home country, whether it

II. CHARACTER  Character Comparison FIL

similari ties

TONY

50 years old

Both Filipinos living abroad Live together in the same

Older than Fil, but looks younger

Former corporal in the US Army

Retired Pullman Porter

apartmen t Went to America for greener pastures

 No family - “Now they were all gone... all of Has worked Has been them he had loved” (183) many small bedridden; no more connection to the jobs suffers from a including a disease that Philippines brief stint in causes his skin  Longs to be a part of something the hospital to peel and after being an outsider and a turn white cultural minority in America for Insecure Pleasant about his - looking so many years looks  Despises time (“mug” face) - thinks time has cheated him Better in the Have Better in dialect recorded English - “Time was the villain” (184) debates - “... but all of a sudden, too Excited Apathetic young became too old, too late. about the about the What happened in between?” dancers dancers (184) - time simply passed him by  Filemon Acayan (“Fil”) - did not get the chance to live his  representative of the Filipinos life to the fullest living abroad - thinks of what could have been  self conscious or insecure  Afraid of forgetting/nostalgic - “this mug says, Ugly Filipino...” sees memory as a villain (184) keeps a magic sound mirror and - “Gosh, I wish I had your looks, replays it to relive the memories even with those spots I of the recordings could face... them” (184) Antonio Bataller (“Tony”)  Poor  more realistic than Fil - had menial jobs - “living on loose change all your - doubtful of the dancers life and now on a treasury warrant so small and full of - knew Fil had a slim chance of holes” (184) success  Old-timer  Fatalistic - first wave of Filipinos who migrated to the United States - expected death to take him soon - stereotype: “bums” who are dangerous - awaiting death - deprived of social networks and the technology of “I’ll be dead before that…” communication that makes living (184), “One day I’m just gonna abroad easier today die…” (183) - Filipinos who are “in between” (stuck in limbo); do not belong with either Americans or Filipinos

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Served as a foil character in order to highlight and contrast Fil’s characteristics

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possible that it was Fil’s looks that kept them away

III. LANGUAGE 

Fil and Tony

 “Silence is the richest sound” – irony

 Personalities are contrasting but they complement each other  -

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Fil was dependent on Tony

“…worshipped, for all the things the man had that Fil knew he lacked” (186) “…wished Tony had been with him…” (187)

 They needed each other to “keep afloat” -

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 “Giant plant with its thorny branches around him like arms in a loving embrace” – irony  “Time is a villain” – metaphor 

Symbolism  Whiteness (white snow, Tony’s white spots, “I’m becoming a white man”) -

implied in Fil’s dream In the dream, Tony was sort of preparing Fil to “keep afloat” on his own because he knew he would not be around for long

 Magic sound mirror -

a portable tape recorder with recordings of songs and speeches both in the dialect and in English

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a means for Fil to hold on to the past and Filipino culture as well as relive important memories

The Dancers  Polite, but not warm or friendly  Not sincere à their goodbye wave  Mocking à they laughed, possibly at Fil  Their rejection of Fil’s

 “Giant plant with its thorny branches around him like arms in a loving embrace -

invitation was justifiable -

Fil believed they have been instructed not to talk to strangers

being American/foreign; Tony is almost like part of the Americans while Fil does not fit in with them

ironic: comfort that isn’t sincere; a form of mockery 

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Dream of “keeping afloat”

trying to survive in a foreign land

 Increasing pace of the bamboos in the Tinikling dance increases the chance of getting caught in between -

Filipinos abroad trying to escape certain pain and humiliation but it’s getting harder and harder

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keeping up with the pace of life abroad; they are caught in the middle

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bamboos as the forces and pressures they face (discrimination, etc.) 

Reflection

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motif, “You don’t have to look at your face in a mirror to know that you are old…”(184), “magic sound mirror”, “reflection on the glass door…” (188)

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reveals Fil’s self-consciousness or insecurity 

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capturing memories of youth and time Erasing of sounds

it is an eye-opener for Fil that it was time to stop living/holding on to the past and move forward with life (without Tony)

Tolling of bell

symbolizes death or the end (of Tony, or Fil’s memories and fantasies) “I’ve lost them all.”

IV. POINT OF VIEW -

Third- person limited omniscient

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focuses on Fil and his thoughts

V. THEME  Cultural Identity and Belongingness -

Pictures

Fil in the way of dancers taking pictures at hotel, “taking pictures of the mist…”, “still taking pictures of Chicago’s gray skyscrapers…”

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Fil feels like he does not quite belong with the Americans, despite being an American citizen and having lived there for so long, and he does not belong with the Filipinos either, because he has lost the connection with them after having been away for so long

Time and Memory -

Fil is afraid of not having enough time, getting old and forgetting all his memories, which is why he needs a “magic sound recorder” to help him remember

Overall theme: