THE birth of the Philippine Commonwealth with its first president, Manuel Luis Quezon marked a change in the literature of the period, The stories m essays, poems, and plays showed social consciousness and focussed on the common Tao, the less fortunate, but hopeful individuals, and the forgotten but struggling men and women of the slums, "Go for growth" seemed to be the goal of the Filipino writers of the period. They became more skillful in the use of the English language.

 They tried out their own forms and conventions to match the mood of the times. They projected in their writings a new sense of freedom in the choice of subject matter, style, and language. The writers experimented with a great variety of literary forms and employed both classical and modern styles in expressing their liberal ideas. Soon, the literary output showed marked improvements. Filipino writers were no longer satisfied with ordinary, hackneyed, and stereotyped forms. Augusto C. Catanjal, the author of The Oil Lamp devoted time and interest to the study and production of the drama. Manuel Arguilla, who wrote The Long Vacation proved that the Filipino short story was no longer bookish, stillted, or melodramatic.

In his short story vividly showed the use of local color whose beginning was done in the period of expansion. The selections of both writers are included in this lesson to give you an idea of the quality of works during the period. You can also mirror in both selections that the writers considered also the fact that readers should grow and let the readers look into the selections in terms of its significance to their day-to-day life. Would you say that the best thing you are enjoying now is your freedom? Woul you also say that this freedom given to you on a silver platter is the greatest legacy that our forefathers fought for? Have you heard or read of stories saying that we Filipinos will always fight to preserve our freedom? The Filipino writers' view of life suffered a change when the Japanese occupied the country from 1942 to 1945.

The spontaneity of the writers in expressing their ideas was curtailed for there was no freedom of speech and of the press. All forms of writing were censored. Whatever literary output there was showed a pessimistic and bitter tone. The only contact with the outside world was done through the underground radio program called Voice of Freedom. The underground movement created spontaneous songs to sustain the guerillas' struggle for freedom. The war years saw a scarcity of poems, but the experience of war served to widen the visions and sharpen perceptions. The poets were more conscious of their environment and wrote on themes of injustice and oppression. Patriotic fervor rose to a high level. The only Filipino writers who could write freely were thos who were living in the United States. These included Carlos P. Romulo who wrote I See the Philippines Rise, I Saw the Fall of the Philippines among others and President Manuel L. Quezon whose autobiography, The Good Fight appeared after his death.