The Conversion by J. Neil C.

Garcia

A.

Why did you choose this text?

We chose this text to help us turn the tools of our literary analysis on a poem
written by a Filipino, in order to allow us to use the same tools of understanding
we have used on others on our own country. Also because we thought it would
be nice to put in some local color (evident in our poem proposals).
B.
What are the three most striking points about the text you would like to
focus on? Why?
1. We would like to focus on the setting of the poem, as the level of
detail placed in the poem reminds us of the short story, possibly in
order to ground the poem in real-life contexts.
2. We would also like to look at the very sentence-like construction of
this poem. This stands in contrast to the poems weve already taken
up, which did not necessarily consistently follow the sentential
structure.
3. The events in the poem, as unambiguously described as they
were, lean towards a style of interpretation closer to a short story. It is
hoped that with attention to the plot of the poem, it will be clear what
the author intended.
C.
Which literary element/s of the text do you want to highlight in your
report? What critical approach will you use primarily for your interpretation?
Why?
We would like to highlight, as said, the sentence construction and the
image/plot presented. However, in relation to this, we would most like to
highlight the setting and the strong societal message embedded in the poem,
as well as the highly social nature of the events in it. With this in mind, the
main critical approach we will take is the sociological one, dealing mostly with
the vents and setting of the poem. To help broaden the discussion, Readerresponse and gender-based critical methods (e.g. discussing masculinity and
the idea of nonconventional genders) will also be used, in order to generate
more ideas.
D. What are some sample (meaning, you can have more) questions you will
be asking the class during the discussion?

1. What happened in this poem? (reminiscent of short story discussions;

poem is very narrative and similar to short stories in that sense. Insert joke
about Throwback Thursday here.)
2. Where and when do you think the poem was set? (Continuing the
Throwback Thursday joke from above).
3. Did you notice anything unusual about how the poem was written?
(Leading into the very unique writing of the poem.)
4. Do you think the message of the poem is still relevant/appropriate
today? How so? (Sociological question)
5. What do you think of the ending of the poem, and how the characters
turned out? What message is the poem trying to send?
6. Describe the persona of the poem. How does the persona of the poem
tie into the events of the poems plot.
E.
What are some activities you plan to have in the class to make the
discussion more interesting?
1. As much biographical information on the author as we can get. More
food for discussion is always better.
2. Linking to other works of art, such as Sirena by Gloc-9, which deals
with similar topics in a similar manner.
3. A discussion on waterboarding, an enhanced interrogation
technique used in Guantanamo. This form of torture bears resemblance to
the personas experiences.

F.
How can you say this text is relevant to you now? Why should it be
interesting for your peers?
The text is relevant to us because we live in a time where gender issues
are becoming very important, as evidenced by the large number of openly
gay people. The poem itself is useful to spark discussion on these issues
and hopefully give us a more enlightened viewpoint.