107 International Peer Reviewed Journal Francisco Sionil Jose: A Multicritique on His Select Short Fictions MA. ASUNCION G. DESALES http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5423-1758 sionygirayd6@gmail.com University of Eastern Philippines Laoang Campus Laoang, Northern Samar Originality: 100% • Grammar Check: 100% • Plagiarism: 0% ABSTRACT Genres of literature depict ideas and feelings which are universally felt by everyone, therefore, reading them by heart and comprehending them deeply lead the readers to have wider horizons and understanding on the different cultures of people. This study scrutinizes the textuality of Jose’s three short fictions titled: The God Stealer, The Refugee, and The Forest through a dimensional critique. It used the different critical theories of literature such as mimetic, expressivist, formalistic and affectivist. Through analysis, a reader is encouraged to envision and reflect on his real-life situation. The findings conclude that the short fictions of Jose are exemplary and should be meticulously read and studied since they contribute lots of knowledge in understanding oneself and the world he lives in. Also, this study recommends every student to develop the passion of reading and get acquainted with the different theories of literature, to fully understand the meaning of each story and for them to build a strong and better understanding on the perplexing events happening these days. Consequently, the multi critique applied on the fictions helped students to comprehend each selection well, so with the supervision of the researcher her students were able to develop translational outputs namely one-act-play, soliloquy, spoken poetry, storytelling, poem and dance drama. Vol. 37 · July 2019 https://doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v37i1.704 Print ISSN 2012-3981 Online ISSN 2244-0445 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. http://orcid.org https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 108 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Keywords— Literature, Multi critique on Short Fictions, Qualitative design, Philippines INTRODUCTION Fiction is a well-crafted work of art of a playwright that inspires and challenges every reader to see a clearer reflection of his life by knowing his culture and traditions, by deepening his beliefs, as well as by identifying his history and idiosyncrasies. According to Lacia et al. (2015) analyzing every part of a literary text helps students to see the human being as an integral person living in both a national and global community. In like manner, evaluating any work of literature requires paying more attention to one of the several aspects such as language and structure, its intended purpose, the information and worldview it transports or its effect on an audience. All of these could be achieved through reading, coupled with critical analysis since this helps every reader to go beyond the surface meanings of the text and delve more into its underlying meanings. Demetrio (2012) asserts that once short fictions are understood, they serve as the perfect vehicle to help understand worldviews about the different cultures of people. Nevertheless, with the onset of the new media, such as television shows, online series, movies, and various social media platforms, students’ interest and enjoyment in reading fictions and other literary pieces have visibly deteriorated. Additionally, Mckeown et al. (2011) stressed that reports from research and the larger educational community demonstrate that too many students have limited interest in reading and in comprehending literary texts. Furthermore, Cost (2016) pointed out that the research completed by De Naeghel and Keer has identified that there is a declining trend of reading motivation among students. In like manner, from the unstructured interview of the researcher with a number of faculty handling literature subjects, they verbalized that some students become disinterested in reading the text assigned to them, especially if they are tasked to do the critical analysis of a certain story because they never know how to do it. This scenario had encouraged the researcher to find some interventions as regards to the reading and appreciation of literary pieces because it is a must to inspire students to love, appreciate and critically analyze the literary craftsmanship of brilliant authors such as Allan Poe, Emerson, Faulkner, Hemingway, and other prolific writers around the world. Moreover, Cost (2016) stressed that reading fiction had been referred to as the “heartbeat” of classroom life since it helps create a shared bond of experiences and emotions among classroom students. 109 International Peer Reviewed Journal In the Philippines, there are also a number of great storytellers namely Joaquin, Gonzales, Tuvera, Alfon, Napkil, Roces, Brillantes, Benitez, the Tiempo couple and many more. One of them who was awarded the national artist for literature was Francisco Sionil Jose who founded the PEN International, Philippine Chapter, and whose write-ups had been translated into 22 languages. Jose’s written works are so prodigious and at present, he is the oldest living national artist for literature. However, it is ironic to know that not all Filipinos, especially the young ones are familiar with Francisco Sionil Jose’s great works. This paper is a multi-critique on the literary craftsmanship of Francisco Sionil Jose applying the four theories of literature such as mimetic, expressivist, formalistic, and the affectivist theory. The purpose of this qualitative research is to encourage every reader around the world to explore and discover the remarkable written works of a Filipino artist named Francisco Sionil Jose through critical analysis on the well-expressed thoughts and emotional state transported to them by the author. In like manner, to do away from traditional literature teaching, genre-crossing was applied and translational outputs had been formulated such as one-act-play, soliloquy, spoken poetry, storytelling, poem and dance drama. FRAMEWORK This thesis uses the three short fictions of Francisco Sionil Jose namely The God Stealer, The Refugee, and The Forest. Persistent readings of the literary texts were done which included the appraisal of Sionil Jose’s biography and history to be able to comprehend all the features found in the texts. After reading the fictions, the critical analysis was done on each of the fiction. This is known to be as multi critique since some criticisms are applied using the theories of literature which are the mimesis of reality, the writer’s presence, the dominant formalistic elements, and the significant human experience. Mimetic theory is a theory that places primary importance on how well a literary work of art imitates life while Expressivism or the Writer’s Presence pertains to the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it--- a context that necessarily includes the artist’s biography and milieu through dialogues, time, names, addresses or things that would stress the presence of the writer. The Formalistic approach which is also called pure or literary approach pertains to the elements such as symbols, form, style, structure, tone, imagery, point of view, while the reader-response or impressionistic approach allows every reader to give his/her original expression of the author’s craftsmanship Kennedy & Gioia (2010). 110 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This study investigates and analyzes the textuality of the three short fictions of Francisco Sionil Jose which are The God Stealer, The Refugee, and The Forest. (1) This focuses on the aspects of the literary theories which are mimesis of reality, the writer’s presence, the dominant formalistic elements, and the significant human experience. (2) It tried to find out the realities signified in the three fictions of Jose, as well as the writer’s presence, the dominant formalistic elements, and the significant human experience or affectivist or reader-response theory. (3) It attempted to encourage every reader around the world to explore and discover the remarkable written works of a Filipino artist named Francisco Sionil Jose by applying critical analysis on the well-expressed thoughts and emotional state transported to them by the author. (4) It tried to come up with translational outputs done through genre- crossing, after applying the multidimensional criticism. METHODOLOGY This paper uses the descriptive form of research in scrutinizing the textuality of F. Sionil Jose’s short fiction titled: The God Stealer, The Refugee and The Forest. This was conducted after several interviews from teachers teaching literature subjects with regard to the attitudes of students in the classroom whenever literary works were discussed. Also, a group of students taking up English as their specialization was also interviewed by the researcher pertaining to their difficulty in comprehending literary works particularly short fictions. So from the responses gathered during the interviews, this study was framed. This was done upon the approval of some experts in literature during the in-house review as regards the choice of the study. Persistent readings of the texts were done which included the appraisal of Sionil Jose’s biography and history to be able to comprehend all the facets of analyses on the short fictions in applying the theories of literature. Also, this research made use of some other references to amplify better understanding to come up with accurate analyses. Finally, after the multi critique, translational outputs were done by the students aided by the researcher herself which were made as proofs of their comprehension on the fictions being studied. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Signification of Reality makes use of Mimetic theory of literary criticism places primary importance on how well a literary work imitates life, how it conveys 111 International Peer Reviewed Journal universal truths and teaches the reader positive moral values and modes of personal contact, Kennedy and Gioia (2010). Doing the critical reading on F. Sionil Jose’s stories namely The God Stealer, The Refugee and The Forest, the mimesis of reality being signified in the three stories are: First, is concealed hatred towards a loved one. In The God Stealer, after a hard-long- day travel of Sam Cristie and Phillip Latak, finally they reached Latak’s village near the terraces and while taking a rest in a small hut, Sadek, Phillip’s elder brother came and he said; “You decided to visit us after all. I thought the city had won you so completely that you have forgotten this humble place and its humble people.” Then turning to Sam, Sadek said, “I must apologize, sir for my brother, for bringing you to this poor house. His deed embarrasses us….” The sarcastic greeting of Sadek expresses a mantled grudge to Philip Latak. This kind of attitude shown by Sadek is very familiar among rural folks and natives. People in the barrios mostly in far-flung barangays, especially among the elderly, feel insecure and hurt every time a member of their family or clan leaves their place and chooses to stay in the city, for they feel, that their culture, tradition and native place are disowned. This is common among the minorities all over the Philippines including some small and developing barangays. Another incident was when Philip Latak watched the children in the village as they scrambled over Sam Christie while giving candies to them. Sadek commented “You see, now that even your relatives do not know you, Ip-pig. You speak our tongue, you have our blood –but you are a stranger nevertheless.” The attitude of Sadek imitates the intricacy and misfortune of Filipino families and their relationships as brothers or sisters because of some reasons. One reason is, villagers are too fraternal that they don’t want to terminate their clan. Every time a member of their clan leaves the village to seek for greener pasture, other members of the clan are hurt with the decision made, while the rest have their reasons hidden deep down their heart. Another incident which suggests hatred of Philip’s grandfather was the revelation of Philip Latak to Sam Christie when the former said,, “He never likes strangers, because they took everything away from him, tranquility, including me.” Said emotional states and reactions are common to all, not only among Filipinos but to all men on earth. To the Filipinos, concealed hatred is present because good relationships among family members become complex and chaotic. In The Refugee, camouflaged hatred is seen in the actions of the two women who became the girlfriends of the protagonist who was unnamed. First, when 112 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Ligaya, the first girlfriend of the protagonist silently leaves him because of his unceasing taking of drugs. Ligaya’s anger is read on these lines.“Why did you do it?” she asks, but he couldn’t answer her, could only mumble, “I love you”, and because he could not tell her why, she said,” You really don’t care and you will always be what you are because it is in your blood.” The unspoken hatred of Ligaya to her lover is revealed in the statements above. Disgust which remained concealed and the solution is a silent exit. This is entirely true to all people because nowadays there are broken relationships in which the cause is the excessive taking of drugs by the husband, boyfriend, partner or vice-versa which is unstoppable, thereby leading to miscommunication, quarrel and finally separation. While, on the part of Sueh Ching, the second girlfriend of the protagonist, it is on the event which is revealed in the secreted conversation between the protagonist and his visitor which was overheard by Sueh Ching. The secreted dialogue runs this way, “She is bright and young, and it is possible that she may yet be the mistress of the rich businessman- if she just learns to use more lipstick.” The protagonist in The Refugee seems evasive and in denial of the relationship he is in. This occurrence is still happening today especially among those men who are proud and egoistic. Men who maintain their machismo and do not want to show to the girls that they are in love. As a result, women leave them because they are uncertain whether the man they love is ready to sacrifice and ready to suffer for their relationship. Such kind of attitude develops pain and bitterness deep down the innermost being of Sueh Ching thus making her leave her man silently. The concealed hatred of the women in The Refugee becomes more hurting since there was no shouting, no cruel words, only unspilled and burning rage within. Another incident in The Forest which shows concealed hatred from a woman who gets pregnant from a lieutenant and the man does not want to marry her because their marriage would be an obstruction to the officer’s social position and career. Instead, the soldier tries to pay the doctor to do the abortion and even convinces the woman to yield with his plan, but the pregnant lady did not agree rather she prefers to jump off a cliff and dies. These lines substantiate the incidents: “The lieutenant left for the lowlands today,” he, the doctor went on, “no civilian is allowed in army trades. He didn’t want her along…. He offered me a handsome price if I did the abortion”, the doctor continued thoughtfully. But, the doctor did not do that. The woman had waited for a few hours more. 113 International Peer Reviewed Journal This event portrays ulterior hatred of the woman against the lieutenant who impregnated her, whose promises were not true. Her disgust, frustration, and self- pity on what had happened to her made her insecure and hopeless and finally caused her death. This scenario is supported with the theory of mimesis since in real-life there are people who commit suicide when they feel that nobody loves and cares for them in the midst of their misery, more if they feel that hope is nowhere to find and everything is unbearable. In like manner, abortion is rampant today due to so many reasons such as shame, irresponsibility, fear, social status and many more. Second mimesis of reality is superstitious beliefs. In The God Stealer, ritual practices and superstitions are revealed in the stories of Philip Latak and the actions of the old man, Philip Latak’s grandfather. “I was taken ill when I was young- something I ate perhaps, I had to go to the mission hospital and that evening he came and right there in the ward, he danced to drive away from the evil spirit that had gotten hold of me.” This occurrence is still being practiced today by some people especially among the rural folks, who instead of going to the doctor for a consultation, they go to the quack doctors who perform rituals to drive away evil spirits hovering the sick person. Another happening was when the merrymaking was about to start and part of the event there was a task performed by the old man. The old man kneels slowly while pouring the living, frothy blood on the idol’s head and blood washed down the ugly head to its arms and legs, to its very feet and as he poured the blood, he recited a prayer in his cracked voice. Such ceremonial practices are still common among the minorities and even among people in the rural areas until today because usually, folks, especially the uneducated ones believe that if a member of their family gets ill, a bad spirit must have made fun of him/her. Also, they believe that spirits eventually stay in their created idols which later on could heal diseases since they believed that the idols are endowed with certain powers. Such a scenario is supported with the theory of mimesis since in real-life there are still people who practice rituals and believe in the existence of spirits. Third, the mimesis of reality being signified is the feeling of insecurity. In the story The Refugee, what is shown in the persona of the protagonist is the feeling of insecurity, he moves from one woman to another, yet, he has not chosen to marry any of his girlfriends. The central character has no permanent relationship because he was afraid that sooner or later his girl would leave him due to his puzzling attitude. This is supported by the statement: 114 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research “He feels inadequate and insecure and fears that all the good he had been would be taken away not by any man but by the time itself.” This is true to all, some people are refugees themselves like the protagonist who seeks refuge. In like manner, he is insecure and insecurity results in nothingness and loss of loved ones. Additionally, the mimesis of reality being expressed in, are violence, hostility, the brutality which are evident in war, these incidents are seen in the story The Forest, given are some attestations, “The man they brought-the enemy –lay in a ghastly heap, his eyes shut. Scrutiny of his bloody face revealed that his ears were shorn, his mouth was slit and some of his teeth pulled. When the two soldiers spread the blanket with which they had wrapped him, we saw that all his fingers had also been mutilated. Dried blood was thick all over him, and it was a surprise to see him alive after so the loss of blood.” The Forest expresses violence for the reason that enmity and killing exist in war. In like manner in The Forest, war has no peace, everything is chaotic; everything is a disaster. The lines below give a clearer vision. “I have the unspeaking lips of the dying drop and the eyes grow pale. I have heard the final, punctuated gasping and the life flowing out of the fatigued, pain- wrecked body, and I knew what he meant. But how was I to know then that this doctor skilled with the scalpel which was the nearest to death would ask for no second chance? How was I to know why one woman who was shattered by the lust of men whom they brought from the hills soaked with blood and with a shabby voice asking if she would live. And one enemy with a bloody face, ears shorn, mouth slit, and some teeth pulled, fingers all mutilated with dried thick blood all over him and was so dedicated to death.” The scenario above is apparent in the war zone; this is mimetic because like what happened in Jose’s The Forest, soldiers, all the same, enemy or not suffer a similar fate. One true and similar event was on what happened to the Fallen 44 during the Mamasapano encounter, there were some who did not die on the spot but were just wounded since there was no back-up from the government forces, they were tortured before they were killed. In like manner, the characters in the story thirst for peace because of the dilemma caused by war. These lines further support it. “I love the wilderness with a zeal that was almost fanatical. The forest gave me a sense of being nearer myself ”. Added to it is the situation of the pregnant woman whose baby in her womb was disclaimed by the father soldier, more the father even wanted to abort the baby 115 International Peer Reviewed Journal by paying the doctor with a handsome price. These incidents give the events a vivid description “The lieutenant left for the lowlands today,” the doctor went on, “no civilian is allowed in army trades. He didn’t want her along…. He offered me a handsome price if I did the abortion”, the doctor continued thoughtfully. But, the doctor did not do that. The woman had waited for a few hours more.” This event depicts violence against an unborn child who is innocent of the things happening around him/her. This occurrence is still common today especially to those people who are not ready for commitment and who love their career, wealth and prosperity rather than facing their responsibilities. Applying the mimetic analysis in which concealed hatred was found in the God Stealer, The Refugee and The Forest, concealed hatred is also found in the other works of Jose such Rosales Saga, My Brother, My Executioner, The Mass Viajero, Sin and in other works of Jose which were instigated by racial discrimination, class struggle, oppression of the poor and colonialism. Said conditions triggered too much hatred but remained hidden due to some reasons. Lastly, the action in the story that expresses the mimesis of reality in the fictions, The God Stealer, The Refugee, and The Forest is true love. In The God Stealer, true love is shown by the grandfather to his grandson, Philip Latak, as revealed in Latak’s stories: “The day I left he followed me to the town, to the bus, pleading with me to stay and at the same time scolding me. He said I’d get all his terraces.” The old man wants a feast tomorrow night, my Bienvenida of course! Another one is from the comment of the Sadek, Philip’s elder brother: “My grandfather always loves Ip-pig-Phillip-more than anyone of us. He wanted to see Ip-pig before he died. He died in Ip-pig’s arms.” In The Refugee, love is shown by the girls of the protagonist by showing their concern and trying to stay with the leading man in the fiction, even if he doesn’t deserve their love. In The Forest, true love is shown by the dedication of the doctor to the patients, even if the place is not good, it lacks amenities, and it was a war zone; still, he did not leave, rather he continuously worked on his job. True love is seen in the studied fictions of Jose, that in spite of the difficulty and hardships, love still blossoms. This can also be compared to F. Sionil Jose’s other written works such as Gangrene, The Graduation, and Waywaya which speak of love in spite of the odds. Love is the most unexplained thing this world ever possesses, people when in love show deep concern even if their love and care may not be reciprocated. A man who is in love does not complain and is ready to accept everything. This universal 116 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research feeling expressed in the fictions of F. Sionil Jose is true ever since and it never will tarnish nor vanish. Jose supports this mimetic theory through his remarks which state that “All the issues about life – death philosophy had been discussed 3,000 years ago. And we are still discussing them now. We are giving them new labels and names. The human dilemmas have not changed, but technology has changed a lot.” Also, C. S. Lewis (2013) approves the mimesis of reality; this is evident in his remarks “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides, and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” Writer’s Presence seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it--- a context that necessarily includes the artist’s biography and milieu through dialogues, time, names, addresses or things that would stress the presence of the writer, Kenndey and Gioia (2010). F. Sionil Jose’s The God Stealer The critical reading assumes that F. Sionil Jose’s The God Stealer shows glorification of cultural traditions expressed by them. The God Stealer talks about colonialism concealed in the friendship between a Filipino and an American, personified by Phillip Latak and Sam Cristie. F. Sionil Jose expresses his own experiences on American colonial rule that though he abhors colonialism, nevertheless he gives gratitude to it because had it not through the Americans who introduced the public school system, he should have remained an illiterate-poor fellow. However, his being educated remained ironic because, like Phillip Latak, something in him was gone, his identity, and his being, a true Filipino. This is expressed in the incidents below. His gratitude to the Americans is evident in the friendship of Sam Christie and Philip Latak in the incidents below. Sam, an American and Philip, a Filipino became the best of friends since they both were young and imbued with freshness in their outlook. Some narrations support incidents such as; “Phil, I must not leave Ifugao without that god. It’s more than just a souvenir. It will remind me of you, of this place. Philip laughed. “Let’s not be bull-headed about this. It’s the least I can do for you. You made this vacation possible and that raise. Do you know that I have been in the agency for four years and I never got a raise until you came?” The writer is seen in the fiction The God Stealer where he is encouraged by “good purposes” like expressing some gratefulness. Rodriguez (2014) comments that in the Philippines expressing gratitude for provided assistance is also followed 117 International Peer Reviewed Journal by an expression of debt as one of the pillars of the relationship among Filipino society. In The God Stealer of F. Sionil Jose, there is the presence of the god of harvest, the mentioning of Reverend Father Doone and Christianity. All these already explain that he, the author is a Christian and he believes in God. F. Sionil Jose gives importance to Filipino culture. He often presents a rural place with cogon, bushes, and fragrant flowers. In his work The God Stealer, he gives importance to Ifugao culture where he too is familiar with, considering that he is from Rosales, Pangasinan situated in the Northern part of Luzon. This could be correlated with Jose’s The Pretenders where he describes the grandeur and simplicity of his native place along with the happiness that he experienced. Writer’s Presence: F. Sionil Jose’s The Forest In F.Sionil Jose’s The Forest, the incidents were based on his experiences when he served in the medical unit of the US first corporation in Laguna. Also, his being a medical attendant prompted him to study medicine at UST, but he did not make it. In his fiction, The Forest, he describes very clearly the war zone, the casualties, the assistance given by the doctors especially the services and dedication of Dr. Goddard. According to A.G. Roseburg, his descriptions were based on his personal experiences; he must have seen the gory side of the war as a medical student. He was a witness to the multiple faces of the dying that alternate between the serene and the writhing, the brave and the cowardly, the resigned and the struggling. The writer, Sionil Jose, together with his experiences during wartime is truly present in most of his fictions such as Viajero, Rosales Saga, The Forest, and others wherein events and important characters perceived in war, such as Japanese war, soldiers and military officials are mentioned. The Dominant Formalistic Element is having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text. The three short fictions of F. Sionil Jose use symbolism signified by the titles of the selections. The God Stealer symbolizes irony and disaster within the relationship of a Filipino family. The person who caused the conflict in the family was the favorite and ever-loved grandson of the old man. On the other hand, the most treasured and adored idol owned by the leader of the tribe was the one being stolen. 118 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research In like manner name callings are also considered symbols as signified by the name Philip Latak which stands for the Filipino or the Philippines, and Sam Christie means, Uncle Sam or the United States of America. F. Sionil Jose uses third person omniscient or panoramic point of view in the stories The God Stealer exemplified in the line, Sam Christie realized that there were many he did not know about Philip Latak. In the fiction The Forest, the author uses the grass in the forest as a symbol of trouble, chaos and serenity, when it is dirty there is a difficulty where to trek and wild beasts are presently ready to devour anybody who dares enter the forest but somehow if the forest is denuded it goes back to its being serene and clean again, like war, liberation triumphs in the end and peace is achieved. The title, The Refugee, symbolizes a weak and troubled person who doesn’t know what to do for himself. He is afraid of what will happen the next day ahead. He does not know how to love because he doesn’t love himself too. More, he is a victim of a problematic family and a depraved environment. Conflict in The Refugee does not fall on Ligaya, SuehChing or Shinae nor any other characters in the fiction but the real conflict is himself, he himself is the refugee. it is man against himself. Significant Human Experience Affective Critical Theory is the theory in which the audience or reader of literary work finds the freedom to assess the work of the writer and interprets based on his own experience and attitude toward the world Kennedy and Gioia (2010). F. Sionil Jose’s The God Stealer, The Refugee and The Forest This critical reading implies that premises of moral betterment are present in the works of F. Sionil Jose: The God Stealer carefully and vividly describes the feeling of remorse felt by Philip Latak, which is being signified by his wearing of G-strings again, their traditional costumes and by trying to chisel a new Ifugao idol. Moral betterment is perceived through the actions of Philip Latak. That feeling sorry and asking for forgiveness, cleans a person’s guilty mind. In like manner, family feuds should be solved and ancient culture and tradition should be loved and preserved. The Hedonistic pleasure on self-discipline is evident in the story The God Stealer, the grandfather of Philip Latak still tries to welcome his lost grandson even if he knew that his beloved grandson disowned their custom, tradition, and heritage. As a reader, I hated Latak’s attend, but in then I commend on his being 119 International Peer Reviewed Journal remorseful on what he had done. In F. Sionil Jose’s The Refugee, the protagonist should have been opened about the way he felt especially on his insecurities so that real refuge would come on his life and he will be happy. While The Forest speaks about scientific learning, they inform every reader that everything is normal when it comes to the issue of man, his life together with his biological and emotional needs. The Forest is a complete revelation that everybody dies; everybody has his end, even if he/she is a soldier, a politician or a specialist in the field of medicine. Lastly, the critical reading theorizes that The Refugee speaks about the catharsis of unpleasant emotion—the problems of the protagonist center on their feelings which were hidden. The characters should have been true to themselves, about what they liked and disliked, what they didn’t want and what they wanted, for them to achieve true happiness. CONCLUSIONS Literary works of art particularly short fictions inspire and challenge every reader to reflect on his life, his feelings, culture, traditions, beliefs, history and his idiosyncrasies. Demetrio (2012) explains that once short fictions are understood, they serve as the perfect vehicle to understand worldviews. Reading Sionil Jose’s short fictions; The God Stealer, The Refugee and The Forest gives every reader the thought that indeed literary works imitate the reality of life. They convey the general truth that every person needs to respect and understand one another to refrain from keeping a concealed hatred towards a loved one. In The God Stealer, Sionil Jose focuses on the culture, tradition and beliefs of a certain place and its people, that no matter how long was the stay in some other places a certain native had, he has to revere the traditions and beliefs of his native place to avoid intricacy, misfortune and heartache among the people of their own kind. In The Refugee, the reader is taught that in going into a relationship, one has to avoid being evasive and denial of what he feels. He or she has to be certain with his/her feelings, if he/she is in love then love must be shown to avoid pain and bitterness. In The Forest the mimetic theory is still being signified. The author reminds the readers especially the men in uniform on how to react when facing death in the rearmost positions during encounters with the enemies. F. Sionil Jose enables to picture out in his story on how is it to desire to continue life amidst the fatigue, pain-wracked and unspeaking lips of the dying. 120 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Lacia et al. (2015) assertion are accurate that analyzing every part of a literary text helps students to see the human being as an integral person living in both a national and global community. Moreover, Sarabia’s thesis (2015) confirms with this study when he articulated that a fictional text is not entirely divorced from reality, it is just that it does not necessarily speak to it. Finally, Cost (2016) is indeed correct in his affirmation that fictions do create a shared bond among students, since after the doing the critical analysis using the mimetic, expressivist, formalistic and affectivist theories, students were empowered to speed up and enhance their comprehension skill. They participated actively in the different classroom activities and genre-crossing was done to come up with translational outputs such as one-act-play, soliloquy, spoken poetry, storytelling, poem and dance drama. They were formulated by the students assisted by the researcher herself which served as proofs of the students’ comprehension of the fictions being studied. TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH The three short fictions written by F. Sionil Jose were genre- crossed into a one-act- play, spoken poetry, storytelling, soliloquy, poem and dance drama. The students were able to understand well the fictions through critical analysis using the four theories of literature. It was easy for them to come up with the mentioned translational researches. One example of this is one-act-play with four scenes, in The God Stealer. Scene 1,is the meeting of Sam Christie and Philip Latak in the agency where they work and they become close friends until one time they decided to visit Latak’s hometown in Ifugao. Scene 2, is the arrival of the two and the mode of acceptance of the villagers, the old folks, the children, Sadek and the old grandfather, Scene 3, include the celebration as some sort of welcoming Latak, along with the rituals, the planning of stealing the idol and the way of stealing it and finally, Scene 4 is the death of the old man and the remorse of Philip Latak. LITERATURE CITED Cost, G. P. (2016). 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