Paz Marquez had shown the readers about how human can be so irrational and irresponsible at times.

He had a good picture of how we can be careless at choosing relationships. We choose a person so
quickly without analyzing if we really love them and will be happy with them for the rest of our lives.
Then we see that time is running so fast and we are being left behind. Colors of the past will fade and we
could not do anything to repaint it. We will wish that we could bring back our youth but we realize that
we only have one life to spend.

Pazs short story showed some Filipino traits like marrying at a certain age. In the first part of the story,
his sister and father was talking about Alfredo who has not married yet at his age of 30. Its as if he
should be bothered a lot if hes not yet marrying at his age. In the Philippines, as I could see, a lot of
people marry at a young age. A Filipino or Filipina should marry and have children before turning 30
years old. While in western countries, 30 is the start of their best years, just like what the movie 13
going on 30 had shown. It does not matter if they still dont have fianc at the age of 30. It doesnt
bother them a lot if they have not married yet. It also showed also some Filipino traditions like
celebration of the Holy week. Paz showed how families spend time together in the church.

The story was written in the year 1925, when people less accepted broken engagement, marriages and
families. In my opinion, the reason why Alfredo did not choose to go after Julia was because it was
unacceptable at his time. In the 20th century, Filipinos have already learned to accept broken marriages
or engagements; and I think if Paz had written this story in the 20th century, he would have written a
different ending, and perhaps with a different title.

She is considered as the first modern English language short story writer.
Her short story, Dead Stars, is considered the first modern Philippine short story.

THEME OF STORIES

things are not always as they appear to be

Why did she wrote Dead stars?

It is to show how she considers breaking how the society sees only the men as rational beings in
line with logic while women are seen as the emotional ones.

The two women in the story Julia and Esperanza present 2 kinds of love.

The love of Julia for Alfredo is just an infatuation while the love of Esperanza is sacrifice.

For the love month, my favorite book club picked this short story as book of the month. Published in
1925, Dead Stars is considered as the short story that gave birth to modern Philippine writing in
English. The author, Paz Marquez Benitez, was among the first generation of Filipinos trained in the
American education system which used English as the medium of instruction.
This particular fact can actually be gleaned in the first few pages of the story. Filled with deep, big, at
times unnecessary, English words, I cannot help but feel that too much effort has been put in making use
of every English word that the author has learned. Still, putting into context that this story was written at a
time when Filipinos have started to learn the American language, the adeptness of the author in applying
what she has learned is at least worthy of appreciation. Of course, literary styles have evolved since then
and the verbose style in Dead Stars might not be that attractive anymore to contemporary readers.

The story evolves around Alfredo, Esperanza, and Julia, and the complications of love and feelings, old
and new, that surround them. Alfredo is soon to wed his long-time fiancee, Esperanza. He meets Julia and
immediately believes he has fallen in love with her. But conventions require him to restrain such
unwelcome emotions and so he proceeded to marry Esperanza. For eight years, Alfredo yearned for Julia
and his long-lost love for her. Told in the point of view of Alfredo, Dead Stars is not a difficult read. It is
straightforward and honest, and though I do not entirely agree with what Alfredo did (and did not do), I
am quite familiar with the confusions surrounding love and relationships. After all, who can fully
understand ones feelings?

[I am of the belief that Alfredo is suffering from cold feet that certain feeling of indecision common
among would-be married couples. But I do not believe that he is in love with Julia. Infatuation, yes. The
momentary excitement of meeting someone new. A longing for something (or someone) he cannot have. I
am a staunch believer in love strengthened and nurtured by time and that is what Alfredo and Esperanza
have. Whatever feelings Julia might have stirred in him, I can not, will not, call it love.

Too much time and effort were wasted by Alfredo in thinking about Julia all these time he was married to
Esperanza. And even though it might not be outright cheating, or unfaithfulness, on his part, I have every
reason to believe that Esperanza knew about Julia, and for that, I feel sorry for her. And angry on Alfredo.
This man just can not make up his mind! He has a lot of what-ifs!

And the ending is just right. I cannot help but give a snort of laughter at Alfredo. Serves him right for
pining over a woman he should not have any business dealing with in the first place. DUH. (hide
spoiler)].

I just learned that "Dead Stars" was the first feminist text in the Philippines.
As the readers would notice, it broke the notion of patriarchal system as the society sees men as
rational type or in line with logic while women are the emotional kind.

The protagonist Alfredo was very vulnerable in love. He was trapped in deciding what his heart
desires. But in the end, he found himself merely infatuated (view spoiler) after he deliberately made
a decision (view spoiler).

I did not much like the story because of Alfredo's unfaithfulness. What does he want, a reserve or
back up? Oh please. If he truly loves a girl, he wouldn't hesitate a bit (well, just my opinion).

Benitez may have overused the words for embellishments but I like it that way, I like her own style.
I also like how she made it by the perspective of a man. If it will be of a woman (Esperanza), it would
be the same old martyr kind of story, and it will be the usual woman longing for her lover. (less)
Benitez is a master poet. She throws in a thesaurus of adjectives into her prose and they fall perfectly
on top of each other, allowing the narrative to flow forward...though I have to admit that some will
find her style rather annoying. The exchanges were unnatural but I didn't care. :) The plot is
believable. Fact that the author was able to tell the story from a man's perspective deserves praise.

That being said, I wish I could write like Ms. Benitez but with a little less fancy-schmancy synonyms.
Frank Herbert, author of Dune, mastered this art. Not too many writers have the flair or the guts to
come up with a piece like this. The 4-star rating goes out to flamboyant writing that's obviously
periodical. The story, and the telling of it, will have a challenging time keeping up with today's fast-
paced, distracting (and perhaps "idealistic") demands.

"Dead Stars" is actually a short story written by Paz Marquez Benitez in 1925, which ushered in an
era of Philippine writing in English.

The story is mainly about three people: Esperanza, Alfredo Salazar, and Julia Salas. Esperanza and
Alfredo are engaged to be married, and during this period, Alfredo met Julia who he grew very fond
of to the point where he almost "unwished" his inevitable marriage to Esperanza. It didn't quite end
like most Filipino readers would expect today, though, which I'm glad because it not only cut through
the mundane predictability of modern day local tellings that bore me to tears but it also gave the
story a great sense of believability. It's never bad to have something like that every once in a while.

I saw myself in the shoes of the said female characters; the story, a section of an old romantic life
the untold and the denied. I was once an Esperanza and a Julia at certain "phases" in that
relationship, maybe even an Alfredo upon realizing and seeing only dead stars. Perhaps I was him
first.

I can go on and on about what's niggling in my head right now, but I don't want to bother you with
that closed chapter of my life.

So going back

One might find this short story a bit difficult to read and comprehend due to the number of
highfaluting words in them. I found it annoying that I had to stop reading to look up the meaning of
a word almost every 15 seconds only to find out that the word has a more simple synonym that the
author could have used but didn't. Such were the "writings of old", I guess.

Anyway, I'm giving this three stars because I like the story. And, yes, I think I just gave my grey
matter its much needed nourishment by knowing new words.

Excerpt: "The golden streamer was withdrawing, shortening, until it looked no more than a pool
far away at the rim of the world. Stillness, a vibrant quiet that affects the senses as does solemn
harmony; a peace that is not contentment but a cessation of tumult when all violence of feeling
tones down to the wistful serenity of regret. She turned and looked into his face, in her dark eyes a
ghost of sunset sadness."
(less)
 Anyone who has read Dead Stars may see it as a typical love story with conflicts, but still ended in
the proper way. But as I reread it, I took interest on its importance as a foundation of Philippine
short stories. First thing that captured my mind is the colorful background on the life of the author.
Being one of the students who learned under American Education, Paz had this advantage among
other writers who writes using the Filipino Language. By that fact I have discovered that the short
story, "Dead Stars" was written during the American Colonization of the Philippines, a time when the
modern short story, critical essay, and free verse poetry were introduced. English was the medium of
learning, and became, as well, the language of the learned. This was also the time when utilitarian
literature was slowly being overshadowed by the individualistic, modern view of creating "art for
art's sake". (Mascarinas)
Pazs way of writing is unremarkable, especially her style on Dead Stars, for me even it is the start of
modern literature, it is considered one of the Philippine Literary classics. It is written in old
fashioned way, the short story is divided into three chapter-like parts. The words used are profound
and some may already be considered dead nowadays. The setting maybe the present time during her
days, streets are called Calles and elder characters are addressed as Don and Doa, names used are
like Spanish names. Through this, we can take a clearer view, that the author lived in the time
influenced by the Spanish Colonization and afterwards wrote the Dead Stars in her elder years
during the American Colonization. Dead Stars may have hints of Spanish influences but is written in
the English Language.
The story shows the time when girls are modest and give major importance in courtship. For
instance the major character in the story, Alfredo, made every effort to make Esperanza fall in love
with him. Sundays are spent having leisure, time for friends and family. It caused Alfredo to meet the
girl he has learned to love even though he is already engaged. It shows the time when societys view is
well appreciated, in every act, decision or words you say or do, each one should consider everything
first, specifically what the society will say. This could be the cause, why Alfredo cannot leave
Esperanza to continue his affair with Julia. And it also affects Julias decision of going away after she
knew that Alfredo is already engaged.
Dead Stars is also during the time when people highly value the church. All people in town are
willing to go to Catholic Church and participate in every activity it holds. Unlike now that people
have their own will in choosing their religion and their beliefs. And families during that time have
strong relationships. One instance is in choosing a career, the son will consider what his family wants
him to be and even follow the steps of the father.
Paz Marquez-Benitez has a very big contribution in the formation of modern literature specifically
short stories. Because of her writings and because she became a teacher, she had been able to share
her experiences in her writing career, share her knowledge and most importantly inspire writers to
write. In fact she has influenced many Filipino writers. One thing is for sure, Dead Stars is the start
of the growth of Philippine Literature that uses English Language.

Summary Dead Stars a story of pain and sorrow that love can give to an everlasting life of
happiness.

Theme:
Love, what it is, what it can be, what people perceive it to be. If a man can only find love as
something that will get him excited, then he is in for disappointment. He will never find true love
if he doesn't know how to love somebody else other than himself.
Discontent-people often display lack of contentment with what they have. They usually struggle
in life looking for things that will satisfy their urge for excitement, hedonistic pursuits and the like.

Metaphor:
Dead Stars- are for all intents and purposes, dead or nonexistent. But because of the sheer
distance that the light has to travel, we still see the light that came from it, even if it already
faded away. So disilusionment, reminiscent of the past that doesn't exist anymore can be
what dead stars symbolize.