CARLOS BULOSAN

CARLOS BULOSAN

- Born in the Village of Mangusmana near the town of Binalonan

- Because of his determination to help his family he decide to go in
America specifically in Seattle on July 22 1930 at the age of 17
- Because he only finished 3 years of education from the Philippines, Carlos spoke little English .
- During his hardships in finding employment, Carlos experienced economic difficulty and
racial brutality that significantly damaged his health and eventually changed his perception of
America.
- He underwent operations because of having tuberculosis where he lost most of the right side of
his ribs and the function of one lung.
- Because of discrimination experienced in America he became a self-educated and prolific
writer determined to voice the struggles he had undergone as a Filipino coming to America and
the struggles he had witnessed of other people.

TWO FACES OF AMERICA

by: Carlos Bulosan
CHARACTERS:

1.) Millar- The one who sent out the disturbing communication to Carl and Jose to go to San
Jose. She was an activist, a Filipino who was brutally beaten by Jake and Lester and the one who
alerted Carl that he has a knife on his shoe to cut them lose.

2.) Jose- an activist, a Filipino who spoke fluent Spanish, talked to the Mexican laborers and also
beaten by Jake and Lester in the woods.

3.) Carl- an activist who wanted an all out strike with the workers for their justice and rights. He
was also beaten by Jake and Lester.

4.) Jake and Lester- Americans who abducted Millar, Jose and, Carl and brutally beaten them.

5.) Marian- an American who cleaned and clothed Carl, helped, accommodated and escaped
him to Los Angeles.

SETTING:
1.) Santa Maria- the location of Jose and Carl at the beginning of the story.

2.) San Luis Obispo- the first location checked by Jose and Carl to check up on the opposition
progression of Ganzo

3.) San Jose- the place alarmed by Millar for Jose and Carl to talk to the workers as the labor
wages dropped down from thirty to twenty cents

4.) Mexico District- the place where Jake and Lester came to abduct Jose, Carl and Millar

5.) In the woods- the place where the three Filipino activists where brutally beaten

POINT OF VIEW: First Person

CONFLICT: External: Man vs. Society

THEME:

- Fight against injustices and racial discrimination

- One must not be fooled by what they see on the outside because the inside often tells a different
story

PLOT:

Millar notifies Carl and Jose that there are problems in San Jose. They went to San Jose but
cannot find Millar so they went to Ganzo to check up on how the oppositions were progressing.
Carl, on his end, went to the lettuce fields to talk about their rights and justice wanting an all out
strike with the workers but Jose convinced Carl not to carry out rebellion for there was still hope.

At night, Carl and Jose were suddenly carries by two big men named Jake and Lester. Inside the
cad was the unconscious Millar bleeding on the floor. Carl was eager to escape but there was no
other chances seen. They entere the woods and the American men pulled them out and brutally
beaten and demoralized them.

Millar remembered that there was a knife in his left shoe. Carl got the knife, cut himself free
from the ropes and gave it back to Millar. He told him to roll away then Carl quickly went to the
forest. Carl was then staggered to San Jose. He found himself in a room with dolls and a poor
radio on the table. Marian, a white woman came by, and started to ask questions. After that, she
gave Carl a clean shirt, a basin of water and food. In her good company, she surprised Carl in the
morning and told him that they will go to Los Angeles.

I LEARNED TO LOVED MANILA AFTER LEAVING HER

by: Christine Montilla Dorffi

SUMMARY

• She needed to sacrifice her traits like being sensitive, modesty and not to take things
personally.

• She sacrifices a lot of hours of work.

• She also learned that time equals money. Because if you're willing to put in the hours, you can
generally get ahead.

• After eight years in the US, she feels more of an Asian ever.

• She was grateful because it helped her to clarify what is important to life.

• Then called Filipinos the new breed of internationalists.

WHO IS CHRISTINE MONTILLA DORFFI

• She is a Filipino writer and editor who is based on San Francisco, California.

• For the first five years, Christine never felt sick for the Philippines at all.

• One morning, she was awakened and felt certain longing to be home.

• She was unhappy over many things.

• She went to America with 700$ in savings.

• Because she is too picky, it took her over three months to find a job.

The story is about

• Advantage and disadvantage of the fortunes of Filipinos working abroad.

• Make adjustments to the things that they not used to.

• What Filipinos think as they lived and worked abroad.

• Hardships and sacrifices of the Filipinos while they were miles away from their loved ones.

LESSON

Enjoy little things in life because one day you will look back and realize they were big things.

VALUES

 Patience
 Perseverance
 Nationalism

THEME

• We don't know what we have until it is gone.

Character

• Christine ( author )

Settings

• One morning

POINT OF VIEW

• First person point of view wherein the main character is also the author of the story.

CONFLICT

• She missed her hometown Manila

PLOT

In the first five year that Christine lived in the U.S, She doesn't felt homesick for the
Philippines. One morning Christine awake by an awful,fat sobbing in the heart,a terrible logging
to be home where the night air was warm and kind.When Christine left in 1977, she felt unhappy
over many things just like finances and many more but most hurtable moment when Christine
discovered that her partner is lying and never been faithful to her.
SCENT OF APPLES
by: Bienvinido Santos

 Winner of the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award

 Scent of Apples contains work from the 1940s to the 1970s. Although
many of Santos' writings have been published in the Philippines, Scent
of Apples is his only book published in the United States.
 The short story "Scent of Apples" is one out of many small pieces of
personal events that Santos has experienced.
 This story was written during the Rebirth of Freedom.

CHARACTERS:

 Bienvenido N. Santos
 Celestino Fabia – fellow Filipino who owns an apple farm. Has been away from the
Philippines for over 20 years.
 Ruth Fabia – Celestino’s wife
- Described as worn out, tired looking
 Roger Fabia – son of Ruth and Celestino

SETTING:

 The story happened in Kalamazoo, Michigan and it was on October

 The main setting was in Mr. Fabia’s place wherein he invited Mr. Santos to come by and
eat dinner.

THEME OF THE STORY:

 "The Scent of Apples" is about how first generation immigrants experience a sense of
loss and seek connection to their past life even if they had created a life for them in the
new world.
 The piece focuses on the main theme of immigrant blues and how Philippine Americans
feel left out of American culture and how they miss being part of the culture in the
Philippines.

SYMBOLS:

Scent of apples - nostalgia, exile, sadness, and memories.

"How many times did lonely mind take unpleasant detours away from the familiar winding lanes
towards home for fear of this, the remembered hurt, the long lost youth, the grim shadows of the
years; how many times indeed, only the exile knows."

 The title itself also symbolizes how immigrants from the Philippines took low paying
jobs in America. Such as being an agricultural worker who works on farms or fields. The
scent of apples reflects this as the workers smell the fruit.

SUMMARY:

The author, Mr. Santos, was asked to speak before an audience in Kalamazoo, Michigan
one October when the war was still on. On the same night he met another Filipino – Celestino
Fabia, a farmer. Mr. Santos was surprised to see a man who traveled really long just to hear him
talk. In the course of the discussion, the man asked, in sporadically incorrect English, how the
Filipino women of today were different from the stereotype he was familiar with. Mr. Santos
replied that although they differ in the exterior, both women of different eras bear the heart and
soul of a modest Filipina. Mr. Fabia was pleased.

After the lecture, Mr. Fabia told Mr. Santos about his farm and his family and invited him
over to his house, repeatedly saying that his wife, Ruth, will be pleased to meet “a first class
Filipino”. He also told him about his son, Roger, with pride. Mr. Fabia picked Mr. Santos up the
next day and during the course of what seemed to be an endless journey to the distant farm; Mr.
Santos became aware of Mr. Fabia’s life in the Philippines. He was a spoiled brat and the black
sheep of the family. He lived in an old Visayan town where there are no apples. But there are
coconut trees and roosters cooing early in the morning, and there was his family.

They finally arrived in the farm, the fragrance of apples diffusing all over the place. Mr.
Santos noticed how Ruth’s hospitality and kind-heartedness was almost Filipino and how
adorable Roger really was. In their humble home, he also found a picture of an anonymous
Filipina wearing a traditional costume – another manifestation of how dire Mr. Fabia’s nostalgia
is. He bade farewell to the family and Mr. Fabia took him back to the hotel. He offered to send
news to his family when he got back to the Philippines but Mr. Fabia refused, saying that they
might have already forgotten him. They shook each other’s hand and said goodbye.

PLOT OF THE STORY

EXPOSITION

The story opened with a brief introduction of where the author was. The author, Mr. Santos, was
asked to speak before an audience. He met Celestino Fabia ("just a Filipino farmer" as he called
himself) the night Mr. Santos left his hotel.

RISING ACTION
In the course of the Mr. Santos' discussion, Mr. Fabia asked how the Filipino women of today
were differ from the stereotype he was familiar with. After the lecture, Mr. Fabia told Mr. Santos
about his farm and his family and invited him over to his house.

CLIMAX

They finally arrived in the farm, the fragrance of apples diffusing all over the place

FALLING ACTION

Mr. Santos finally met the wife of Mr. Fabia and his son, Roger. They invited Mr. Santos to their
humble home and catered him with food. The author found a picture of an anonymous Filipina
wearing a traditional costume - another manifestation of how Mr. Fabia's nostalgia is.

CONCLUSION

He bade farewell to the family and Mr. Fabia took him back to the hotel. He offered to send
news to his family when he got back to the Philippines but Mr. Fabia refused, saying that they
might have already forgotten him.

They shook each other's hand and said goodbye.

REFERENCES

Information:
https://prezi.com/ivonjwk_qvse/scent-of-apples/
https://prezi.com/yw_0hsickioo/two-faces-of-america-by-carlos-bulosan/
https://prezi.com/i-1is3fsbiog/i-learned-to-loved-manila-after-leaving-her/
https://prezi.com/qws4wpy4i86v/i-learned-to-love-manila-after-leaving-her/

Videos:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7QTUc4rzpM0
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p8GPxHLeDWw&t=87s
University of San Jose – Recoletos
Corner P. Lopez and Magallanes Sts.,
Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines

OVERSEA
WRITERS
Submitted by:
 Mae Rose Villamor
Kimberly Daan
Erika Jean Cabigas

Submitted to:

Dr. Marietta Bongcales

Date of Report:
March 18, 2019