1.

PLOT
 Exposition: At Don Julian’s house Carmen was asking Don Julian about Alfredo and
Esperanza. Alfredo reminiscence how he met Julia Salas.
 Rising action: He had gone neighboring with Don Julian to Judge Del Valle’s house. He met
Julia Salas. All the time he was calling her Mrs. Del Valle which led him to embarrassment.
Coming to the judge’s house became often. Then he realized he was in love with Julia in
spite his engagement with Esperanza.
 Climax: After the procession for The Lady of Sorrows Alfredo caught up with Julia. It was
when Julia found out about Alfredo’s wedding so he congratulated him. Alfredo needs to
make a very difficult situation. Would he choose what he WANTS to? Or would he choose
what he HAS to?
 Falling Action: Julia didn’t want Alfredo not to honor his understanding with Esperanza. She
said goodbye. He went home to Esperanza. And there, the last word has been said.
 Denouement/Resolution: Alfredo and Esperanza got married. After eight years, he was
searching for a lady named Brigida Samuy-a lady important for his defense in the court-in
Sta. Cruz, Julia’s hometown. He went to Julia’s house and he found her there. Still
unmarried. And he realized that his love for Julia was like a Dead Star. It was nonexistent.

2. CHARACTERS:
 ALFREDO SALAZAR: He is the son of Don Julian. He is over thirty years old bachelor. Alfred
Salazar believes in true love and optimism to discover ecstasy in its stir. Esperanza is the
first woman he falls in love with. After their engagement, he falls in love with Julia Salas.
 ESPERANZA: She is the wife of Alfredo Salazar. Esperanza is an impassionate woman having
strong will and principles. A homely woman, she is also among the lucky women who have
the aptitude of consistent beauty.
 JULIA SALAS: She is the sister in law of Judge Dal Valle, a friend of Alfredo’s father. She is the
second woman with whom Alfredo falls in love with. She remains single for her entire life.
 DON JULIAN: He is the father of Alfredo Salazar.
 CARMEN: She is the only sister of Alfredo Salas.
 JUDGE DEL VALLE: He is Julia’s brother in law.
 DONNA ADELLA: She is Julia’s sister. A pretty, small, plump woman with baby complexion.
 CALIXTA: He is a note-carrier of Esperanza and Alfredo Salazar.
 DIONISIO: Donna’s husband.
 VICENTE: Carmen’s husband.
 BRIGIDA SAMUY: The elusive woman whom Alfredo is searching for.

3. SETTING:
 The setting of the short story Dead star are various:

 Calle Real,

 House of Judge Del Valle,

 Sta. Cruz,

 House of Don Julian in Tanda,

 House of Don Julian,

4. THEME:
 FORBIDDEN LOVE: Dead Stars expresses the subject of forbidden love. Forbidden love is
only apparent and curses and disturbs the person until a person realizes his or her faults.
 RESPONSIBILITY: Responsibility is another underlying theme of the story. Alfred is engaged
to his beloved to get married, yet, he distracts himself with another woman Julia. He forgets
his responsibility towards his to-be wife, even after eight years he still thinks of Julia until he
realizes that Julia has changed herself.

5. STRUCTURE:
Dead Stars is the masterpiece of Paz Marque Benitez. In this short story, he didn’t only talk
about love. His writing is significant as it reflects the spirit of the time. It depicts the
language, norms and the manners of the people during that time. The readers are enabled
to understand how marriage, fidelity, and courtship were viewed during the early twentieth
century. This serves as a mode to compare the past and the present, and the fading
traditional culture and the predominating modern culture.

The short story also illustrates the rising conjunction of sociopolitical feminism. In this story,
women are represented as meek and dependent on men. Men are considered to be
superior to women. Women are faithful who easily falls in love while the male is shown as
uncertain, inconsistent and rational. However, the story also ruined the concept of
patriarchal society as it sees the man rational and logical while woman as emotional and
kind.
6. POINT OF VIEW:

 “Dead stars” was a narrative story and it was written in third person point of view. The author
tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc.).

7. CONFLICT:Man vs. Circumstances, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Himself.

In the story, Alfredo struggles against his fate and the circumstances of life and love facing him.
He needs to face problems in choosing between difficult choices of his life. The story is basically
a compilation of the complicated circumstances that every man has to go through in life.

Man vs. Society

In the story, Alfredo struggles against the society because he was afraid to the reaction of the
people around him especially during the time of the story. People oftentimes give high regard
to the society in which they belong. They try to adhere to the norms, traditions and culture of
their society, though sometimes the conformity would require them to sacrifice a part of
themselves – an opinion, an emotion or a decision.

 Man vs. Himself

In the story, Alfredo was uncertain and confused by his decisions. He was torn between doing
what is right and what is in his heart.

8. USE OF LANGUAGE OR DICTION

“Dead Stars” is the 1925 short story that gave birth to modern Philippine writing in
English. English was still a young language in the Philippines, and many of the writers using the
language were still struggling with it.

            Paz Marquez-Benitez, in her masterpiece Dead Stars, did not only write about a love
story. Most importantly, her writing reflects the time in which the literary work was written
along with the language, the norms and the way people think. It serves as a literary time
machine for readers as it enables them to understand how courtship, marriage and fidelity
were viewed through the early 1900 standards. It renders a sound comparison between the
past and the present, the existing modern culture and the fading, almost obsolete tradition.

9. FORESHADOWING:
10. SYMBOLISM:

Dead stars symbolize things that are present but are left unspoken of. The love between
Alfredo and Julia seemed to be real but, as time goes by the love they had lost and fades like a
dead star so disillusionment, reminiscent of the past that doesn't exist anymore. No, not
because of lost youth, he finds her to be different from that person he perceived her to be all
these years. And he is disenchanted. The illusion he harbored all these years are nothing but
dead stars, long dead but emits light that seems real for the distance it has to travel, light being
seen even if the source has lost its own brightness or died.
Esperanza's devotion to Alfredo also resembles love, but since she believes in the
"regenerative virtue of institution" more than true love, it is safe to say that she is in the
relationship, because of moral obligation.