Portrait of a Great Man

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Title: Portrait of a Great Man
Author: Manuel A. Viray
Author's Background: (1917-1995?) has compiled poetry anthologies, essays on Philippine literature, and was editor in chief of Archipelago Quarterly. He worked in the foreign service corp of the Philippine Government until his retirement. source
 *the author is not too well-known because he spent the better part of his life in overseas assignments. source
Vocabulary: 
  • Capricious - given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behaviour.
  • Chauffeur - a person employed to drive a private or hired car.
  • Stern - strict and severe.
  • Compulsion - the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something; constraint.
  • Baffled - totally bewilder or perplex.
  • Pudgy - (of a person or part of their body) rather fat.
  • Meticulous - showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.
  • Kaywoodie - brand of a smoking pipe.
  • Unceremoniously - with a lack of courtesy; roughly or abruptly
  • Retain - continue to have (something); keep possession of. 
  • Decried - publicly denounce.
  • Acceded - agree to a demand, request, or treaty.
Characters:
  • Dr. Rufino T. Ventanilla - Deputy Comissioner
  • Serafin - Dr. Ventanilla's Chauffeur
  • Juan Tuviera y Sibulsibul -  Assemblyman
  • Zabala - Dr. Ventanilla's stenotypist
  • Adriano Perez - prepared Dr. Ventanilla's treatise
  • Del Mundo and Estabillo - assistants in mechanizations
  • Esperanza - a woman that Dr. Ventanilla met at a musicale
Setting: House of Commons, Mabini Avenue
Exposition: 
  • The story began when it introduced Dr. Ventanilla, an independent man and perfectionist that doesn't trust his work mates and tries to do everything by himself. goes to work with so much in mind.
Rising Action:
  • Dr. Ventanilla enters his office and found himself barricaded by the hill of papers on his desk and was dismofited to find that the papers and bundles of previous records were scattered as far as the edge of the table. 
  • He wishes that he could sweep all these blasted correspondence aside
Climax:
  • He is stressed with all the paper work while trying to remember the 3rd item that Lita wanted him to bring
Falling Action:
  • After two weeks, Perez was appointed Deputy Commissioner to succeed Dr. Ventanilla
Ending:
  • Dr. Ventanilla was now relaxing luxuriously in the car as serafin drove slowly towards mabini avenue, running his fingers delicately accross a smooth cellophane box containing a corsage saying that esperanza will like it.
  • He asks Serafin to deliver the flower right away and return because he has an appointment with the chairman of planning comission.
Symbolisms: 
  • Adriano Perez compared Dr. Ventanilla to a  Poor Farmer because of how pitiful he was being unable to finish all his paperwork in a day, and doing all the hardwork instead of distributing the work to his subordinates.
  • The Sun, Intruder of Sleep was mentioned in the story showing how restless Dr. Ventanilla is because of all the stress that he is handling, and showing his need of sleep.
Theme: Trust and Cooperation
Lesson: Learn how to cooperate and trust your office-mates to suffer less and make work easier.

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