Short Story Review: The Mats

“A Short Story Review”

Zacarias Eugene Francisco Quino Arcellana also known as Francisco Arcellana or Frank V. Sta Cruz (September 6, 1916 – August 1, 2002) was a writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and a teacher. He is a National Artist in Literature who wrote several short stories like The Man Who Would Be Poe, Death in a Factory, Lina, A Clown Remembers, Divided by Two, The Mats. Some of the books he wrote are The State of Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977), The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990) and his poems The Other Woman, This Being the Third Poem This Poem is for Mathilda,To Touch You and I Touched Her. He is one of the most important progenitors of the modern Filipino short story in English.

The Mats

(A short story written by Francisco Arcellana)

Characters:

Mr. Angeles                          Head of the family, Husband of Nana Emilia, Worker

Nana Emilia                         Mother, Wife of Mr. Angeles

Marcelina                             Oldest child, pianist

Jose                                      Eldest son, Second child, Medical Student

Antonio                                 Third Child

Susanna                               Fifth child

Alfonso                                 Youngest boy

Antonia

Juan                                        Other children

Jesus

Josefina

Victoria                                  Dead family members

Conception

Synopsis:

            Mr. Angeles wrote a letter to his family. It is written in his letter that he brought mats for his wife and to his children. The children were very excited because they know that these are not just an ordinary mat but it is a very special one just like what their mother has. When Mr. Angeles came back from his trip from south, they ate dinner together. They shared stories and experiences; as usual dinner is a long affair. After finishing dinner, Mr. Angeles presented the mats to his family and gave each and every family member a mat and said "You are not to use these mats until you go to the University." But then, Nana Emilia saw something. She saw that there are several mats unfolded so he then asked her husband Mr. Angeles. Then he suddenly stopped talking and said “Yes, Emilia there are three more mats to unfold. The others who aren't here..." Nana Emilia caught her breath; there was a swift constriction in her throat; her face paled and she could not say anything. The conversation of the children died when their father showed the remaining mats. They knew the names but somehow the name, the letters spelling the name, seemed strange to them. Nana Emilia founded her voice and it sounds hurt and frightened. Mr. Angeles begins to cry and they began to throw back words and in the end the remaining mats are unfolded in silence and The names which were with infinite slowness revealed, seemed strange and stranger still; the colors not bright but deathly dull; the separate letters, spelling out the names of the dead among them, did not seem to glow or shine with a festive sheen as did the other living names.

Interpretation / Anaysis:

            The title of the short story is “The mats” because it is the whole focus of the story itself. The Mats has a strong attachment to the family and it tells an untold story. The main characters are Mr. Jaime Angeles and Nana Emilia. They are the parents of 11 children. The story revolves on the mat. There are some hidden messages in the story that are not discussed in the end. They left a thought hanging. Just like Nana Emilia’s reaction to the mats. Well, in my own view it seems that there is a hidden conflict between the two, Nana Emilia and Mr. Angeles. It is like Mr. Angeles is blaming Nana Emilia for what happened to their children. That he uses those mats just so his voices shall be heard because as you can see in the beginning Nana Emilia’s reaction is epic. It’s like she’s not happy to see those mats. She begins to silent when she saw those Mats. So, that’s what really is in my mind that is my perspective about the story but I really don’t know what happened in the end but all I can say is it is very interesting and it made me think not just twice but thrice.   

The meaning or message of the story is very simple. It tackles about us Filipinos. That we have a strong family ties. We really care too much about our family. That even some family members are dead we still give or find time just to remember them and it seems like they’re alive even though they’re not. It also shows how close Filipino family is not just like in other country in America that when their child turns eighteen they left them behind on their own. They live independently that may lead to a wrong way. It made me realize that our family members are the ones who we can lean on to who we can talk with.