Date of Publication
11-2025
Document Type
Bachelor's Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in Literature major in Creative Writing
Subject Categories
Creative Writing | Fiction
College
College of Liberal Arts
Department/Unit
Literature, Department of
Thesis Advisor
Timothy R. Montes
Defense Panel Member
Mark Adrian Crisostomo Ho
Mary Harmony I. Guevarra
Abstract (English)
Private Lives is a fiction novella in seven chapters centered on the themes of elitism and classism. The story follows Adam Narciso, an 11th-grader from a lower middle-class family who attends a prestigious private Catholic school, St. Bellarmine Prep. He is under the school’s highly selective scholarship program, which puts him at a disadvantage socially because most of his classmates belong to elite families in politics, showbiz, and expatriates from the world of multinational companies; they do not recognize him or his other scholar friends unless they need help for their academics. His life changes when a popular classmate, Salma Garza, from a political family, accidentally sends him her explicit photo by mistake. To prevent him from spreading the photo around school or the public, she bribes him by inviting him to a party with her circle of friends—Metro Manila’s most wealthy and influential kids. At first, Adam and Salma’s relationship starts off rocky, but they get closer through a mutual experience. However, as he begins to indulge in the luxurious lifestyle his new circle of friends enjoys, he changes into a different person.
This project intends to serve as a commentary on how money and power can corrupt people, changing them for the worse. Private Lives expounds on the kinds of affluent lifestyles and problems that wealthy Filipino students encounter—emphasizing how they can be detached from society. As a Young Adult story, Private Lives intends to act as a device that teaches its young audience the social realities that make the class dynamics disconnected from one another. Along with this, Private Lives features themes that they may relate to as teenagers: friendship, struggle for belongingness, adolescent loneliness, and even betrayal. Young readers shall be presented with a challenge on the perceptions of morality, especially when something as attractive as an ascent up the high school ladder and the luxury that comes with it is on the table.
Abstract Format
html
Abstract (Filipino)
Isang nobeletang piksiyong may pitong kabanata ang Private Lives na nakasentro sa mga tema ng elitismo at klasismo. Patungkol ang kuwento kay Adam Narciso, isang Grade 11 na estudyanteng mulâ mababang gitnang uring pamilya, na pumapasok sa St. Bellarmine Prep, isang prestihiyosong Katolikong paaralan. Napasailalim siyá sa pihikang programang pang-scholarship ng paaralan, na nagpapadehado sa kaniya sa lipunan dahil karamihan sa mga kaklase niya ay nanggagáling sa mga altang pamilya sa politika, showbiz, at expat sa mundo ng mga multinasyonal na kompanya; hindi nila kinikilála siyá o mga kapwa iskolar niya maliban na lámang kung nangangailangan ng tulong sa pag-aaral. Nagbago ang kaniyang búhay nang aksidenteng ipadala sa kaniya ni Salma Garza, na nagmumula sa isang dinastiya, ang hubád niyang larawan. Upang hindi ipakalat ang larawang ito sa paaralan o publiko, sinuhulan siyá ni Salma sa pamamagitan ng pag-imbita sa kaniya sa isang piging ng mga barkada niya—mga higit na maimpluwensiya at mariwasang batà ng Metro Manila. Sa umpisa, magulo-gulo ang ugnayan nina Adam at Salma, subalit naging malapít silá dahil sa magkaparehong karanasan nila. Gayumpaman, paunti-unti siyáng nagbabago nang lasapin niya ang maluhong pamumuhay na kinahihiligan ng mga bago niyang barkada.
Nilalayon ng proyektong itong magsilbing komentaryo sa kung paano kinokorap ng pera at kapangyarihan ang mga tao, na lubhang nagpapalalâ sa kanila. Ipinapaliwanag ng Private Lives ang iba’t ibang uri ng yayamaning pamumuhay at suliranin na hinaharap ng mga mayayaman na estudyanteng Filipino—nagbibigay-diin sa kung paano silá nawawalay sa lipunan. Bílang isang istoryang Young Adult, binabalak nitóng turuan ang kabataan ukol sa mga panlipunang realidad na hadlang sa pagbubuklod ng mga alalahanin ng mga uri. Kasabay nitó, nagtatampok ang Private Lives ng mga temang nagsasalamin sa danas ng mga tinedyer: pagkakaibígan, paghihirap makisáma, adolesenteng pangungulila, at maging ang pagkakanulo. Mabibigyan ng hámon ang mga mambabasáng may murang gulang sa kanilang pagsuri sa moralidad, lalò na kung katumbas sa pagsíkat sa ganitong hayskul at ang taglay nitóng luho.
Abstract Format
html
Language
English
Format
Electronic
Keywords
Young adult fiction, Philippine (English)
Recommended Citation
Aromin, M. R. (2025). Private lives. Retrieved from https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdb_lit/2
Upload Full Text
wf_yes
Embargo Period
12-3-2026
