Short Stories Footnote to Youth Summary Themes, Analysis & Characters
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Themes
Family
The story depicts how the family makes a decision after consultation and deliberation. It speaks about young people discussing their wishes with their elders and asking for permission and guidance. This tradition is also under assault as every individual wants to follow his/her own desire and that happens both in the case of Duding and Blas.
Love and Desire
The characters highlight the strength of l0nging that can alter our perceptions of reality. We all need companionship and love and end up making emotional decisions to acquire the same. Irrespective of age and maturity, we end making decisions governed by our need for love and desire than based on reason.
Responsibilities
The characters learn that discharging one's responsibilities at various phases of life is not as easy as it may seem at first. As young people we may overlook this fact but we cannot escape such responsibilities when we become part of a family and have children.
The same happened with Teang and Dudong who realize that their decision was rushed and immature. They both recognize the enormity of a marital decision and that one should reach a particular age to consider taking up such a huge responsibility.
Trust
Even in tough situations what people count upon is the trust of their loved ones. The same is true for Teang and Dudong. They experience a complete transformation of life together as they build a family together.
Both of them carry certain regrets and in the case of Teang, she even considers the prospect of marrying Lucio. However, even when they have doubts, they remain loyal and committed to each other. They always find their way back to each other no matter how trying the situations.
Youth
The central theme of the story is around the excitement of youthful age. Dudong, Teang, Tena and Blas, all are driven by youthful energy and are captivated by such desires. They are oblivious to the serious side of life as they think marriage is all find and play.
The reality is that when we are young we often lack the maturity and patience to think deeply about our decisions. Such haste often ends up becoming regrets which we have to endure for the rest of our lives. Hence, the big lesson is to be patient and reflect on our choices before make life long or long term decisions like marriage etc.
Analysis
Setting
The story is set in a regular Filipina family with traditional value system and beliefs. The characters are representative of the culture of the place and the relationships stay honest to the authentic reality of the time and place.
Symbolism
The story symbolizes youth as overzealous and emotional. It is an age of rash decisions and unstoppable desires. On the other hand, marriage and middle age are symbolized with responsibilities, anxiety and regrets. The family structure is designed to alleviate such anxiety and build a platform for mutual understanding and care.
Conflict
There is friction between two generations: the old traditions and young aspirations. This conflict is heightened because of lack of clear communication and understanding.
The story depicts the same between Dudong and his father and later between Dudong and his son. The obstinacy of youth and the resolution of the past generations are shown to confront each other at various points in the story.
Message
The clear message of the story is the need for calm and patience before making life-altering decisions. It encourages the young to not let hormones and emotions get the better of them and then rue the consequences.
It calls attention to the longevity of life and not letting youthful mistakes become the burden of old age. It also speaks about the trials of marriage and that it demands sacrifices which one should be willing to offer if the marriage is based on trust and love.
Point of View
The main point of the old generation of Filipinos who adhere to the traditions and norms is explained both through Dudong's father and later Dudong. It values the institution of marriage and accords it respect.
From the point of view of the young like Blas, marriage is all fun and play which can often turn out be superficial and unsatisfying. However, the story is faithful to the reasons why youth act that way and does not try to sermonize the same.
Characters
The various characters of the story Footnote to Youth go through different phases of youth, marriage and maturity. This gives a unique perspective to characters like Dudong and Teang to understand how each phase has different challenges.
Dudong
He is the mal lead of the story. He is young and confident. He feels independent enough to marry the love of his life at the tender age of 17 years. He convinces his father for the same and gets married.
However, seven years down the line and with seven children and a weary wife, he starts to questions his impatience as a young man. When his own son wants to get married young he advises him to not let hormones and young love dictate the rest of his life, which is hard.
Teang
She is the muse of Dudong and loves him immensely. She chooses him over another suitor Lucio who is a lot older than her. They both bear seven kids and feel that they made a mistake by marrying so young.
When she hears about Lucio being childless (even years after his wedding) she wonders what would have happened if she picked him, instead of Dudong. However, in-spite of her doubts, she is love with her husband and committed to their family.
Blas
He is the first born of the married couple. When he turns 18, he also wants to marry young but is advised by his father to weigh all the pros and cons. However, he does not feel that he would repeat the mistakes of his parents.
Lucio
He is the suitor of Teang and wants to marry her. He is almost 190 years older than her and a lot mature. But once she rejects him, he marries another girl but is unable to have children.
Tena
She is the love interest of Blas and loves him dearly.
Dudong's Father
He is the one who advises Dudong to think hard before jumping into a commitment like marriage.
Summary
Introduction
This is a simple but poignant story that compels the reader to value love and desire. Sometimes what we desire and love may not be the best thing to do. Sometimes we make decisions which are emotional and lack proper understanding and they end up defining and shaping our whole life.
This is particularly true when people are in their youth. They are young and hopeful and want to follow their every whim without giving it a deeper thought.
Dudong and Teang
In this story, we come across such a young pair of Dudong and Teang. They are completely enamoured with each other and want to tie the wedding knot even though they are still teenagers.
Dudong is adamant in his pursuit of Teang who happens to have another suitor, Lucio. He is much older and well settled in his life. But Teang follows her heart and chooses Dudong.
Dudong has a hard time convincing his father about his decision to marry. He wants his son to weigh all the pros and cons and then make an informed decision. However, Dudong is not to be moved from his resolution.
Marriage
In the end, they both get married and begin a hopeful journey together. The next year Teang gives birth to their first child. This reality hits them hard. They are teen parents and realize the enormity of their responsibility. Taking care of children and building a family is a serious thing. In the next seven years, their family grows to a total of nine with seven kids.
Regret
Teang now regrets her decision especially looking at Lucio who is still childless (after marrying another girl). She wonders if she would have the same fate if she had picked Lucio. But she dismisses such fleeting thought. Both of them are still devoted to each other and their large family.
History Repeats Itself
After some years, fate reverses time and now their firstborn, Blas comes to them with the same desire. He, still a teenager wants to marry the girl of his dreams, Tena.
Dudong realizes how history is repeating itself and warns Blas about the consequences of such a massive decision. However, like father like son, he ends up following the same route and marries his sweetheart at 17 years of age.
