Myth in selected works of Nick Joaquin

Abstract

A true lover of literature needs to examine the works of a writer so that he may better understand and appreciate the writer's works and so that he may see the artistry and greatness of the works. This study seeks to discover the answers to the following questions? 1. How does nick Joaquin employ myth in "The Summer Solstice, "May Day Eve and "A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino?" 2. How does he handle myth in these literary works? Does he succeed in using a mythical framework? 3. Does handling of myth contribute to the enhancement of the literary value of his works? Nick Joaquin as a writer emphasizes the past. He believes that the productivity of the present is backed by the achievements of the past, and that the past waters the present so that without the past, the present will eventually wither on the vine. Consequently, Nick Joaquin suggests that our writer should not completely disown or forget our glorious and illustrious Spanish heritage, for the Spanish past is indispensable to our country’s cultural survival and identity as a nation. As an indication of his emphasis on the past, Nick Joaquin has exploited the past for fiction material as seen in his works, “The Summer Solstice,” “May Day Eve,” and “a Portrait of the Artist.” In one of the essays written by Laura S. Oloroso, Nick Joaquin is referred to as a writer who uses a mythic framework that creates a world in which his characters, his themes, and his images acquire a unity, a universal significance and an immediately which he and that by means of this mythic framework he establishes with his audience a common ground of understanding that enables his readers to enter into an intelligent of the truths of human experience dramatized within the myth. Nick Joaquin belongs to those writers whom Rev. Ignatius Melito referred to, when he said: The writer, whether by refashioning extant materials or by creating a completely new universe, fulfills his traditional role as a maker and within his mythic framework his details become symbols which carry meanings. In one literary creation he can fuse the ancient and the modern, the near and far, or the pagan or profane to the Christian, and give to his writings the sweep of a symphony. Even when he works with the scared materials he is not debasing them, but giving them an immediacy in terms of modern ideas, problems and institutions. The ability of fusing the past with the resent makes a writer historically significant. This is particularly true of a writer who uses traditional material like Mr. Nick Joaquin. In this study, the thesis writer finds it very important to show that Nick Joquin did not fail in handling myth in his works; on the contrary, he effectively put the myth to use. His artistic way of handling myth contributed much to the literary success of his literary works. His undeniable artistic way of handling myth makes his works powerful and meaningful. This study them is important: first, because its findings will bring out the significance of myth in the works of writer; second, because this study will clear doubts regarding the manner of how the myths are handles -- thus giving the work just evaluation; and third, because this study brings out the greatness of Nick Joaquin’s literacy Works. As a consequence, this will stimulate a greater number of readings to become interested in the important writers of the Philippine literature.