Sounds of Sundays - [DOCX Document] (2024)

A Formalistic Analysis of the Short Story The Sounds of SundayMarriage is the social

union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is strengthen by love,

devotion and passion. But what happens what all those nice words fade? The story: The

Sounds ofSunday by Kerima Polotan Tuvera portrayed the possibility of the existence

of this event and the events that trigger more events. It has also taken on a new form as

it was told leaning towards the wife’s views unfolding flashback and present events.

This paper will use the formalistic style of criticism as the critic scrutinizes the basic

elements of the story that are connected to those events.The formalistic approach

believes that a literary work exists separately from its maker. So, in analyzing, It is done

simply by examining all the elements of a literary piece not involving the author’s

biography. The formalist critic examines the plot, characterization, theme, and style to

show how these elements contribute to the structure, effectiveness, and aesthetic

quality of the work. Poe’s principle indicates that the elements produce a formal unity

tying everything together. These are the most important aspects of a literary work.

These parts make up a whole which is a new life detached from the author. T. S. Eliot,

a major proponent in formalistic criticism, also states that moral, historical and other

concerns that are like the two are considered to be extrinsic and second only to the

elements. Consequently, it is believed that a literary piece is an objective high form of

art rather an expression of a particular issue or idea. So, this analysis will study the

elements of the theme,conflict, and characters -protagonists and antagonists.Kerima

Tuvera’s story revolved around the concept of a failing marriage. It accentuated the fact

that a deteriorating love in a couple existsand can take form in many ways.The story

was about Domingo Gorrez who replaced his wife with his job. Although this was the

case, the critic believes that this circ*mstance was just layering the portrayal of

Domingo’s already failing love towards his wife, Emma Gorrez. The fact was that he

was leaning closer and closer to dropping his affection for his wife. And when he

happened to get an immoral job, this gave him the reason to further go down and

destroy his marriage. The story also showed that though the first party will let go the

bonds in a marriage, the other party may not necessarily do the same thing, even if he/

she may be tempted to do so. Domingo’s failing love and dwindling strength to maintain

his marriage gave Emma lots of reasons to leave but these did not give her the reasons

to let go completely causing her to find Domingo’s love in the most unconventional of

ways.A conflict is sometimes described as the situation where the protagonist battles

the antagonist. In The Sounds of Sunday, the conflict, a man versus man type, is

twisted in a sense that it is manifested into a curious

form. This is exhibited on the fact that though the story settles on a typical domestic

dispute between the husband, Domingo and the antagonist, and wife, Emma who is the

protagonist, and centers on the conventional abuses she gets from him, Emma does not

entirely acknowledge this. Instead, she was trying to get closer to her husband and was

ready to put his abuses behind them. Instead of pulling away, she wanted to get closer

to him even by means of leaving and hoping that he would miss her. That, if only her

husband would submit to it. So, basically, the conflict exists but was molded by the

feelings the protagonist possessed for the antagonist.The story focuses mainly on two

people: Domingo and Emma. Rene Rividad is also a vital character but is only important

during the latter part of the story. Domingo plays as the husband who has been led

astray because of power and position. He wanted to be somebody so much that he

gave up his family to be that’s omebody. Emma was portrayed as a typical wife who

worries about her husband. So typical in fact that she was like every wife who is

submissive to her husband- a wife who cannot go against his wishes. Instead ofdoing

something about the immoral job her husband has, all shecould do was just ask

around. The Inthe end, although she did manage to go against Domingo’s will, she was

still unable to escape his grasped and the past they shared. Yes, Emma wasn’t under

Domingo’s arms anymore but she was still under his curse. The dilemma Emma faced

while rethinking her past, wishing it was not like that and desperately finding Domingo’s

warmth again were part of this curse. Although she wasmarried, her character, the critic

imagines, would besomeone who has the fragility of a high school girl. The author

probably made her to be the complete opposite of her husband who would act as a

conscience while possessing adelicate but tormented life. Her femininityacted asa

springboard to catapult the bitter characteristics of her husband and everyone around

her there by amplifying their personalities even more. Then, her character was distorted

to bemore human than ever. Evena good person can be tainted by corruption. The

appearance of Rene Rividad tested that. His character only appeared at the later parts

of the story, strengthening what was going to be a trial period for Emma. Emma was

perplexed by the repetition of events because by then, Rene was likened to and even

mirroring Domingo. She has faced many problems with Domingo but will she be able to

face an even greater problem rooting from the bottom most part of her hunger for the

love she once knew.Thus, Kerima Polotan Tuvera s story, the Sounds of Sunday, is a

story about the failing love of a husband, Domingo Gorrez, and a wife, Emma Gorrez,

who struggled to make sense of it all. Emma, the main character, had problems about

her husband thereby showing the conflict of the story. Simply stating, the husband was

the antagonist and the wife was the protagonist. And although this was the case, her

emotions towards Domingo oddly twisted the conflict and made it more compelling.

Also, the story was a succession of flashbacks and present events that were unified by

the ending. The twists and turns of the events led to a single moment questioning the

integrity the main character and her love towards a husband who let her go because of

his line of work.

"The joys of Sunday seemed far away now. The licit sounds of happiness had

slid past her. She had loved Domingo Gorrez with everything that she had

been but they had been careless, and one paid for carelessness like this -

sipping coffee in exile, vulnerable and tremulous because, in this way-ward

inn, someone had said a warm and tender thing."

-Sounds of Sunday, Kerima Polotan Tuvera

"Human beings meet for a moment in the reaches of time and space, trailing

sparks like comet's hair, butwe belong to ourselves.

-Michael Drury