IP 362: Final Exam Paper

Rachelle M. Aurellano

IP 362: Philippine Drama: Art, History, Culture

Final Exam

9. Cite dramatics works you have studied that depicts social, cultural, and political conditions of the Philippines.

Upon taking this course, I have come across many dramatic works that led me to the exploration of Philippine theater, as a history, art, and culture. Blessed Are the Grafters (Wilfredo Ma. Guerrero), Wanted: A Chaperon, and But Not My Sons Any Longer (Severino Montano), are works that I chose to discuss, particularly because I studied these works, enjoyed it, and made these my favorites. I chose these specific dramatic works because they depict social, cultural, and political conditions of the Philippines. All aspects of Philippine theatre are found in these plays.

In Blessed Are the Grafters, it represents the political conditions of the Philippines. Although the play is imaginary, in a way, it actually resembles actual situations seen in the Philippines today, as drama is an element of real life situations. The scene takes place in the office of Salsipuedes & Co. Several characters are introduced, but each character has a significant role in this play. Throughout the story, its obvious how corrupt people can be and how money-hungry many of them are. In many of these characters, especially the characters that pay a visit to Mr. Salsipuedes, “personally profit,” as they manipulate the system due to their high positions. This manipulation is an example of a political condition of the Philippines. These grafters can be found in all areas of powerful positions, whether it be the government (i.e. President), judicial system (i.e. judges), police officers, etc., they are able to manipulate their respective systems and extort tons of money from the government. A good example would be the former President of the Philippines, Estrada, who used government funds to benefit himself.

In Wanted: A Chaperon, it represents the social and cultural conditions of the Philippines. It is a play about a wealthy family in the Philippines. The social condition is obvious, as the mother of the family, prohibits her children, who are almost adults, from going out at night with friends without a chaperon. The purpose of the “chaperone” is to make sure the children don’t go out and do anything stupid. Although the parents have two children, a son and daughter, the mother put more emphasis on their daughter, because of the cultural aspect of being Filipinos. Filipino girls, like myself, have been sheltered to experience life outside the home, because of that certain idea that they will get themselves into something they weren’t ready for (i.e. pregnancy). And so parents, are overprotective over their daughters. The reason being, as it is much of a social as it is a cultural aspect of Filipinos, that when a girl is seen in public with a boy, say for instance holding hands, it’s kind of like “taboo,” as these things are meant only for the “married couple.” And so when that is seen, these children are almost “forced” to become married, for the idea that it might bring “shame” to the family, regardless if they didn’t even have intercourse. Holding hands, or even being near a boy, sends mixed messages.

But Not My Sons Any Longer is one of my favorite works written by Severino Montano. It reflects the social, cultural, and political condition of the Philippines. The play is a portrayal of old Filipino values versus new Filipino values and unbiased presentation of Filipino-American relationships. Socially, the characters of the Reyes family are almost torn in two, as the two eldest children have taken American views and the youngest child, along with their father has kept their old Filipino views in tact. This story is a clash between traditional Filipinos and Americanized Filipinos, and throughout the story, every character has their reasons of why they chose to view the world in that way. It’s a tragic story, but there are lessons to be learned, especially from the view of the father. Socially, culturally, and politically, you cannot change the views of a Filipino who is too busy becoming an American. This is quite evident in the play, as the loneliness of a father to a young man in love, cannot help a person realize what is in fact more valuable than just money, or progress. The idea of a close-knit family is broken in this play as the very end, a tragedy is experienced.

All the works that I have studied portrayed a kind of reflection to the conditions of the Philippines. However, there are so much more dramatic works to discuss, but these three plays are my favorites. After taking this course, I have a different view about Philippine drama. The experiences of surveying Philippine drama from pre-colonial to contemporary period has given me a better understanding of Philippine drama, as a history, art and culture. I appreciate even more my Filipino history, art and culture, by having more appreciation of Philippine society and multicultural and artistic diversity. Critically, I think I have a better understanding of culture and artistic diversity of the Philippines.

IP 411: Final Exam Paper

Rachelle M. Aurellano

IP 411: Ilokano Literature in Translation/English

Final Exam

3. To ‘remember’ in Ilokano literature is always to become a ‘member again’ (re+member) and such a remembering is a resistance to forgetting as is evident in many stories on returning to one’s birthplace.

I believe that to ‘remember’ in Ilokano literature is always to become a ‘member again’ and such a remembering is a resistance to forgetting. In many of the stories in Module III, I found that this thesis statement is true. Every Ilokano, who has left their homeland, have always longed for returning to their roots, the very place of remembrance. And this kind of “remembrance” is to become part of the aesthetic landscape, the culture, the language, of remembering childhood memories to painful experiences, encounters and (mis)encounters, and/or historical references to acts of resistance. All these and more, of such a remembering is a resistance of forgetting, depending upon the experience of the Ilokano.

The Avocado Tree, by Marcelino A. Foronda, Jr., is wonderful example of such a remembering that is a resistance to forgetting. It is a story of sad memory of a women who reminiscing about a wonderful, but horrible, tragic past. Upon arriving at a house that brought sorrow and pain, a woman in her late fifties stared absentmindedly into the distance, past the fence which separates the yard from the road fronting the house. Standing there, her eyes gazed at the avocado tree and began the narration of her past. She spoke of love and death, as if they had no meaning years ago and the narration began with the history of that avocado tree, which was now thin and bleak-looking. The woman explains how the avocado tree in that very yard, was planted by her husband, to be grown together with their only son. Despite the good intentions of the husband, their son did grow up as they expected him to grow up, and this led to a tragedy of a father killing his own son, and eventually killing himself.

In Sing, Cicada, Sing, by Gregorio C. Laconsay, is about a longing for home and upon returning, the characters remember what it was they have forgotten after moving away. Upon returning home, Dr. Pete Ringor and his nurse wife, reminisced about their childhood days, when life seemed so much simpler then. Dr. Ringor recalls the days he used to chase the singing cicada, but could never do it. He remembers everything form his childhood, that he once enjoyed doing, and somehow tries imitates what he did in his older age. And its interesting because by remembering, he becomes a ‘member’ again as he reminisces throughout the entire story. However, this remembering is also a resistance to forgetting, because back then, life wasn’t so busy. This busy-ness that he experienced after becoming a doctor and having a nurse for a wife led him to forgetting the values about life itself. As a doctor and a nurse, they became caught up with their work, although it didn’t bother either of them as their career was also important, they both forgot what being married was like. And at the very end, becoming a “member again” led them to enjoying what they have forgotten—and that is to make life worth living for while you’re still alive, and that’s exactly what they did, but more.


4. There is a certain mystical quality and sacredness of the Ilocos landscape as the Ilokano characters go back to the Ilocos as if it were a temple of some sort, idealizing it in many ways, and yet propping up the kind of psychic health that every exile needs as he comes to terms with the unfamiliar and the uncertain.

I think this thesis statement goes hand in hand with the previous, as the remembrance of one’s birthplace reflects the mystical quality and sacredness of the Ilocos landscape, as if it were a temple of some sort, idealizing it in many ways, and yet propping up the kind of psychic health that every exile needs as he comes to terms with the unfamiliar and the uncertain. In the stories that I’ve read, returning home became a sort of uncertainty, as the characters of these stories have been gone for long. There is one story, in particular, that I would like to discuss as the Ilocos landscape somehow had a certain mystical quality and sacredness, as it led them to come to terms with the “uncertain.”

Sing, Cicada, Sing is a beautiful story, written by Gregorio C. Laconsay, as mentioned in the previous response. I say beautiful because the depiction of the Ilocos, its landscape, is so mystic and serene, that even a person who’s too busy in life can take a moment of thinking, and enjoy the wonderful scenery. Just imagine, “The twilight green by lush mountains, the flowing fields of corn and mongo beans, rows of short white banana sheaths that sheltered eggplant and tomato seedlings from the sun, a dirt road, and talahib bunches near the roadside that lined the streams of both sides of the road,” upon entering this landscape. Isn’t that a wonderful laid-back country feeling? This is a brief description of the Ilocos landscape, as the character of Sing, Cicada Sing arrived. It is a description that is sacred because it gives way to remembrance. As the main character of the story returns home, he reminisces about his childhood memories and the Ilocos becomes some kind of temple. It puts him into this frame of mind, and he finds himself imitating the very actions he once did when he was younger. This moment of reminiscing props up the kind of psychic health that this man, an exile, needs to come to terms with the unfamiliar and the uncertain. The unfamiliarity is something that won’t be revealed until the very end. Since the main character, who is a doctor in the city, along with his wife, are too busy with their careers, they lose sight of their values and the importance of enjoying life. They forget the very reason why they were married, although either of them didn’t mind not spending time with one another due to work, they never found that time to enjoy one’s company, until returning home to Ilocos. This returning became very important, as the both of them, husband and wife, finally had the time to enjoy one’s company. Returning home was a kind of vacation for them, to get their minds off of work, visit the family, and sort of remembers what it was like when life was simpler. After seeing many of the villagers in his hometown, he and his wife began to wonder about their life as well. Seeing that many of the couples had children after children, people questioned why they weren’t already expecting—since the wife was very beautiful. This kind of questioning became that uncertainty, as they finally came to terms with it and realized, what it is that they needed. And the until the very end of the story, which is beautifully said, the husband and wife were both glad they returned home, as it brought them to enjoying each other’s company and also, finally expecting.

IP 411 - Final Exam

IP 411 - Fall 2007
Final Examinations
Daniel-Jay Pascual

Choose two thesis questions provided and prove/disprove them by using examples from the readings or other literary pieces you have read.

4. There is a certain mystical quality and sacredness of the Ilocos landscape as the Ilokano characters go back to the Ilocos as if it were a temple of some sort, idealizing it in many ways, and yet propping up the kind of psychic health that every exile needs as he comes to terms with the unfamiliar and the uncertain.

I find the thesis statement preceding this sentence to be true. The concept of returning home is a strong practice in the Ilokano culture. Majority of the Ilokano people who have journeyed here from the Philippines feel that it is their duty to succeed in the “foreign land” and return to the motherland to share their wealth and knowledge.

In the story, Sing, Cicada, Sing!, by Gregorio C. Laconsay, the main character, Dr. Pete Ringor/Idot, travels with his wife back to his home in the Philippines. Although Dr. Pete had been born in the Philippines, he was given an opportunity to move to America and establish himself as a successful practitioner of the medical field. Initially, the reasons as to why he chose to travel back to the Philippines are unclear. However, toward the end of the story, we learn that he plans to produce his offspring there in the Philippines, rather than America. In this case, the mystical quality and sacredness of Dr. Pete returning home to his homeland is the notion of returning home and producing children. Whether he chooses to remain in his native land and raise his children there is unclear, although I believe he would like to allow his children to be raised in the environment afforded by his homeland.

In a botanical approach to this situation, we can produce the idea of “up-rooting” and “re-rooting.” In this case, Dr. Pete’s “roots” are originally planted in the Philippines, his homeland. When he journeys to America, he is “up-rooted” and “re-rooted” into new soil, a soil which does not necessarily allow him to bear “fruit.” As a result, he chooses to “re-root” himself back to his homeland, back into native soil, which then allows him to produce an abundance of “ripe fruit.”

In the story, Selmo Returns Home, by Benjamin M. Pascual, the main character, Selmo, returns home to his town, San Miguel, after living in various parts of America for thirty years. The reason for his return home is similar to that of modern Ilokano immigrants who are working as hotel housekeepers so that a few dollars a month can be sent back to their loved ones in the Philippines. In the story, the author writes, “To return to the town of one’s birth was a yearning that had fitted through his mind and never quite died during his thirty years’ stay...,” this describes the psychological effects experienced by Selmo, and shared amongst majority of the Ilokano immigrants scattered across the world. It is without reason for some to choose to return home, although for many, it is a decision that has been pre-defined.

In the end, the return home is seen by many as a sacred journey. Essentially, it is a journey which is aimed at gaining knowledge and sharing that knowledge with others in the motherland so that the current society may prosper and develop a new and improved foundation for living. The sanctity of the return home provides people with a type of motivation to make the trip back to the motherland so that the motherland itself may flourish.

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2. The term Ilokano is a term for a people, a culture, a language, a memory, an act of resistance and insistence, a claim, a history, and a poetics that is largely build upon the Ilokano language as a form of social practice in the Philippines and in the Diaspora.

The above thesis statement is entirely true. The term Ilokano represents an extensive array of various concepts representing the northern people of the Philippines. In fact, if you take the word, “Ilokano,” and analyze it, you will find that “i” means from, and “looc” represents bay, essentially producing, “people of the bay.” Therefore, the term itself contains a description of the people who label themselves as Ilokano.

Additionally, an assortment of stories exists to help describe the Ilokano culture. From stories about traditional customs, to poems about oppression and labor movements, the Ilokano ethos can be explored in various methods. For example, Rice for the Moon, by Manuel S. Diaz, is a story which describes a traditional Ilokano custom of rolling a ball of rice and throwing it to the moon in hopes for good blessings. In The Bladed Poem, by Jose Ma. Sison, the author uses a poem to describe a labor movement involving the Ilokano people. In If You Want to Know What We Are, by Carlos Bulosan, the author describes a poem depicting the hardships of the working class and the privileges of the politics. In this particular poem, Bulosan describes the various characteristics of a revolution. In the epic, Biag ni Lam-ang, we can read a great deal about Ilokano culture and historical events. The epic describes people of the Ilokano civilization as well as geographic descriptions and customs such as the dallot. In Metaphorman and Migrant, I, we can observe the personal life experiences of a migrant from the Philippines, and his transition to the United States. In The Strangers, by Jeremias A. Calixto, we can see the bonding of the Ilokano people in times of an emergency. On the contrary, we can also observe the isolation the Ilokano people are capable of generating.

Ilokano culture can also be accumulated through the classroom. The Ilokano classes offered at the University of Hawaii at Manoa focus on the language aspects of Ilokano, although a variety of cultural notes can be obtained through these classes and the instructors. For example, in my Ilokano 301 class this semester, we were able to conduct an interview with immigrants of the Philippines. Through my interview, I was able to learn a lot about the Ilokano culture. Though my interview focused on the process of migration to the United States, I was able to learn that many Ilokano people during the 1950’s were able to gain U.S. citizenship through the petition process, a process which is still utilized today.

In addition, the culture can be learned through songs. During our entertainment contribution to the 2007 International Conference on Ilokano and Amianan Literatures & Cultures, we were able to dress in the formal Ilokano attire and sing “Idiay Baybay.” The song is a popular song of the Ilokano culture. Our participation alone in this event, allowed us to learn of the various Ilokano writers in the community as well as their work.

Ultimately, we can observe the culture through these various representations of the term, Ilokano. We can see that there exist numerous methods of obtaining the information needed to portray the various aspects of the Ilokano culture. Whether it be through reading a piece of literature to the next generation of Ilokano people, to sharing a life experience with an audience across the World Wide Web, these events illustrate a small portion of the multiple interpretations of the term, Ilokano.

IP Final Paper #2

Eric Dulay
IP 411
12-6-07

I was about half of a year old when I migrated to Hawaii in 1983. I guess that I wasn’t old enough to remember the sites and the smell of the Philippines. So my exile to Hawaii wasn’t so big. It isn’t till now that I realize that my exile from the Philippines left me out of what my culture really is. I agree that the diasporic Ilokano literature reveals the pain and gain of exile.
I have read the chapter that describes the Writing the dispora and writing the exile. I believe that it is personal experience in being in a land that is different in thought and ideas. It is getting accustom to the life styles. Dr Aurelio Agcaoili basically describes the uneasiness that he experienced in his writing Letter to a Firstborn. He is a teacher, a father, and a writer as well as many other points. The whole idea is having roots in a ground and then suddenly taken out and being stunned because it was in a sense violent and then put into a new unfamiliar ground that has a different flavor. He is in the modern age as a welcomed foreigner to embrace a dream and realize that he has left his land physically, but not mentally.
I would also have to say that even though he is not in this chapter he is still a very important person to look at because he is actually telling his pain and understanding of the new land. He is Carlos Bulosan. Even though he lived in a different time he still has relevance to the topic. In his Personal writing on My Education he does state the movement of his self from the Philippines to America. He describes himself looking for his roots and his goals in this land. He is a passionate man that is being oppressed and not able to express his true identity. He finds his calling as a writer and his observance of the people in this land and how they treat foreigners. I would have to say that his exile is the reference that he is not as free as he wants to be for his ideas, but still wants to stay and describe his pain to others.
Lastly, Dr. Aurelio Agcaoili wrote a piece called Metaphorman and Migrant, I it really describe the situation of a man that is putting himself in land that is unfamiliar, but is now getting accustom to the timely habits. In his third stanza he speaks of a former student asking him, “Why? Why did you leave?” and his response was that of a double whammy. In a sense to Dr. Agcaoili it sounds like, “I learned my metaphors from you and now you abandon us.” To me this is a very strong statement of pain of exile. He goes on telling of his actual tail of being in the Philippines and the struggles in the after of teaching. The worries of the domestic struggles of getting gas, getting little sleep, and getting food on the table were on the mind of Dr Agcaoili. He also worries about the outside struggle of the world.
Overall the diasporic Ilokano literature reveals the pain and gain of exile due to these writing that Dr. Agcaoili and Carlos Buloson has described in their personal account of Migrating to America. I guess for me my roots are in Hawaii, but I still believe that my roots can also grow in the Philippines where I was born. I just need my education.

IP Final Paper #1

Eric Dulay
IP 411
12-6-07

When the need of workers to work the fields of America business, the Ilokano people from the Philippines were one of the many that they looked at. They knew that these people were hard workers and dedicated to the land. As the people came, the lifestyles and culture came along with it. Granted, the Ilokano people needed to adapt to the new land. So, Ilokano writing has its place in American writing in general, and in Hawaii writing in particular.
Most of the experiences of people coming over to work the fields of Hawaii and California were from the writings of Carlos Bulosan. He is for the people and has a Marxist type of view and later into communism. His writing called If You Want To Know Who We Are describes the situation during the plantation era and the harsh treatment that the workers had to endure. He describes the working men of this poem as the people that are hard working men that dream of great riches and achieving their goals. In the second part of the poem he is telling of the unfairness that the owners are giving to the people. He is very frank about his causes in this poem because he states, “if you want to know who we are --------- WE ARE THE REVOLUTION!”
I would say that that My Education by Carlos Bulosan is a very good account of his experience in America and finding his roots. In the reading he is very expressive that the hopes that are presented by the American dream aren’t a reality. He was working in a farm land before coming to the country and when he came he was force to do it again. He worked the fields of the grapes and other fruit fields. He also worked in the canneries. He noticed that that the way Americans looked at immigrants was that they were second rate and not to be taken seriously. And yet he was still trying to find his roots. It wasn’t until he realized that he needed to understand the America and its own ideas. He started reading the books of famous American writers like Falkner and Hemmingway but found he did not like the readings as much. He then started to read up on the Russian history and the Marxist readings and the socialist points of views that were presented. He then started to realize that the American dream was something that was present but not seen in every eye. He writes in his diary something that was very strong and it went, “’ Now I believe that all of us in America must be bound together by a common faith and work towards one goal…’”
Overall I believe that the Ilokano writing has it’s place in American writing in general, and in Hawaii writing in particular because of the immigration that was brought to America and the historical part of that makes it engraved in stone. It also affects the history in Hawaii because in our society today we have a good percentage of Filipinos here and we have a great amount of writers.

Final Exam Questions

Mark Barba
IP 411: Final Examination
Coverage: Modules 5-8
December 7, 2007

“To ‘remember’ in Ilokano literature is always to become a ‘member again’ (re+member) and such a remembering is a resistance to forgetting as is evident in the many stories on returning to one’s birthplace.”

I firmly believe that this statement holds a lot of meaning to it because there has been so much history and assets lost that belonged to the people in the Ilocos. There have been quite a few readings this semester that exhibit characters that go back to their birthplace and try to “remember” what they have detached themselves with. I feel that most of these stories are about personal losses of their own culture, family, and values. This might be the result of becoming Americanized or being colonized. These stories particularly are resolved by assessing ones own awareness of their birthplace and what it means to them. Many of these characters who are looking to be a “member again” and find reestablishment are inspirational in that they realize the things that never should be forgotten.

One story that frequently comes to mind is “Sing, Cicada Sing!”. This piece is precise when explaining how much a person can forget about his home but once exposed to it again, can re-associate themselves and retain their new insight. In this story, the main character Pete is married man who comes from the Iloccos but finds his success in America. He is living the American dream by attaining wealth and status but when he comes home to the Philippines, he finds himself feeling unadjusted to where he had come from, his homeland. Pete might have appeared to be living the ideal life but underneath the wealth and success is the unfulfilled relationship he had with this wife. In the Philippines, you will hear over and over again that wealth is not measured by your income but the number of kids you have. In this story, the relationship between Pete and Erling was full of business that it appeared that he two had no intimate connections while being in America. In this story, there is a noticeable transition of the two from the beginning of the story. The connection between them grew deeper as they connected more with the land. As the couple began to hang out with one another, they began to share their stories growing up in the Philippines. A newly obvious connection seemed to arise because of this.
This story was great because it goes to show how much one’s home can bring out the best of them. It blossomed the relationship of Pete and Erling and made them truly wealthy in their hearts. His experience of seeing the happiness that his family had for him provided great development for him. But the unawareness that the “American dream” can shadow on a person is quite easy to occur but there exist an everlasting attachment when one goes back to the homeland. For Pete’s case he had undergone the lows of disconnecting himself with his past. He says, “Perhaps what we see in life like the imaginary arrow are our dreams and where they fall because we hurl them far off into the future…we can’t even find them sometimes…and we come back to find them. But the truth is, we haven’t gone far enough.” The context of this quote might have been different within the story but it does hold a lot of truth. When we put too much ahead of ourselves we forget what is right in front of us. For Pete, he dealt with readjusting his values and associated himself to what he loves: his people and land.


While the colonial experience brought a lot of ‘damage’ to the indigenous cultural expressions of the Ilokanos, there remains the palimpsest on a culture—as is the case of the epic ‘Lam-ang’—through which we can trace the ‘indigenous’ by removing the layers and layers of colonial experience.

The colonial damage that exists in the Philippines is like the graffiti on the walls of a building. Though the two were never meant to be put together it was inevitable that the two will meet. In the context of Ilokano Literature, many pieces are written on the damage or layers of different historical changes that colonization has done to the Philippines. Most of these stories are personal, citing the impact that colonization has done to their loss of identity and land. If you read text of Ilokos Literature many pieces seem to have the ambiance of pain and suffering that colonization has had. I do believe that there remains a thick layer palimpsest on the Philippine culture. There are so many things that the Ilokos are trying to be claim as their own. The effects of colonization are very extensive in the Philippines and it is an obvious problem for those who want to claim what is indigenous.
So much of what this thesis statement explains can be specifically made an example of with the “Story of Lam-ang” but there are many more pieces of Iluko writing that can make a point. One piece that speaks of the cultural damage done by colonization is called the 13th Disciple. This short piece was about the declaration of reclaiming ones identity after being molded into something that wasn’t meant to be. The piece specifically talks about the uncertainties about not knowing who you are and the connection you have to your land. One line that I enjoyed was, “ah, bloody was the way to self-discovery and the blue devils of the keeper stained the kidskins and the scrolls.” I feel that this piece of writing is an obvious way of trying to rid the many layers of the colonial experience. The search for ones self-identity is an experience everyone must go through.
A second piece that comes to mind about this thesis is the piece called the “Clearing”. This piece is for people who are trying to overcome the unjust. It is a movement that is about to erupt and change the circumstances that the Philippines is going through with colonization. In the second stanza it quotes, “We have come as second learners. The breeze sends an easy chill to my blood. Below us a rice field expertly engineered.” This quote portrays a sense of great influence that is on the rise. I feel like that is an important attitude that Ilokos writers must establish themselves by in order to induce change from colonization. The “Clearing” has this urge of excitement built around it that you can feel. The lines such as “climbing over hills” transitioning into “already to this mountain” have made it creatively written with an dramatic appeal.
Lastly, “The Flickering Stars of Escopa” is quite the different type of writing that a reader might not understand the first time around. I personally had a difficult time reading it and had to read sentences over and over again. This story is about a family who consists of Kosep, Dalen, and Djona who are in the world of Escopa. This story is very magical and mystical in every way possible. There is this feeling where you are in another atmosphere. In this story, I feel that there were a lot of subtle references to the issues going on in the Ilokos region of the Philippines. I feel that this was represented well in the loss of their daughter Djona. She was someone who represented the preciousness in the world and she had been supposedly taken away. Another representation that was made was the fiery of the burning lands. This represented the anger, sadness, and distraught that Kosep had with his loss. The representations of this story were quite difficult to interpret but I feel that the descriptions and the magical world that this story was based on can derive a lot of emotions that victims of colonization feel as well.

Final - IP 411

by Michael Schulze-Oechtering

7. An aspect of Ilokano writing is its clear social commitment to causes that have something to do with human liberation, social justice, and linguistic and cultural democracy.

An essential aspect of Ilokano writing is social commitment. As people who have experienced oppression first hand, Ilokano writers have the ability to not only write about social problems, but also express their own personal pain, anger, and desires for a better future. It is through these actions that the Ilokano artist’s work becomes a weapon for justice. Through looking at Carlos Bulosan’s “If You Want to Know Who we Are” we can see how the Ilokano artist positions himself or herself as critical members of a revolutionary movement.

In Bulosan’s “If You Want to Know Who we Are” he uses an ambiguous term “we” throughout the poem. Each stanza the term we can mean something completely different from the last stanza. It is not until the last line where Bulosan gives a clear definition to the term we, that definition is revolution. What defining we as revolution in the end of his poem does is it allows Bulosan to explain the many facets and players in a revolution with all his prior stanzas. I will look at three stanzas in particular.

One stanza discussed the responsibility of those outside the working-class to the revolution. “Reaching for the future, nourished in the heart; we are doctors scientists chemists discovering eliminating disease and hunger and antagonisms.” (Bulosan, 191) By placing doctors, scientists, and chemists as participants in a revolution movement shows that all people in society have a role in creating a better world. This passage also eliminates social hierarchies. By saying scientists are members of a revolution just as a factory workers or farmers Bulosan is saying that people in different social ranks are brothers and sisters in the struggle, but the social hierarchy in our society that separates them is corrupt.

Another stanza depicts the struggle against state and mob repression. “If you want to know what we are, observe the bloody club smashing heads, the bayonet penetrating hollowed breasts, giving no mercy; watch the bullet crashing upon armorless citizens; look at the tear gas choking the weakened lungs.” (Bulosan, 191) This violence in this stanza is exactly what the revolution is responding to. In a society where true freedom exists no one would have to experience the violence that Bulosan speaks of.

The last stanza I want to look at explained revolution as an ideal that cannot be killed. “We are the living dream of dead men everywhere, the unquenchable truth that class memories create to stagger the infamous world with prophecies of unlimited happiness – a deathless humanity; we are the living and the dead men everywhere…” (Bulosan, 191) The importance of this message is it allows us to understand the many unfortunate deaths in revolutionary movements. Even though our comrades may die no firing squad can kill justice or freedom. Justice and freedom are ideas. Ideas do not bleed; they live forever through our collective memory and our efforts to create a truly just society.

In this poem Bulosan is able to discuss an oppressive reality and also provide a message of hope. These are two messages that are necessary for people to hear. As a truly revolutionary artist he is able to have his work speak to the needs of his people. By doing this “If You Want to Know Who we Are” must be seen as an expression of freedom.

10. Ilokano writing has its place in American writing in general, and in Hawai’i writing in particular.

Ilokano writing has its place in American writing due to the historical contribution that Ilokanos gave to the United States as a nation. During the early stages of US colonization in the Philippines, the early 1900’s, the US was growing as a world power and having the Philippines as a colony was a move to solidify the US as a world power. In the process Filipinos, mostly Ilokanos and mostly males, were brought to the US as laborers. This act positioned Ilokanos in the US as members of the US working-class. A Song for Manong, a play written by Marina Feleo-Gonzalez, tells the story of these Ilokano workers and presents two arguments. One of those arguments is a need to recognize the contribution of these workers and the other is acknowledging the history of resistance of these workers.

In scene two of A Song for Manong there is a conversation between the owner of a Hawaiian sugar plantation, Mr. Wilcox, and his luna. “Yes, sir, Mr. Wilcox, I received your letter-order for “fertilizers” and “Filipinos”… Yes, sir, it is a good idea. Filipinos are used to stoop labor, that is what they have been doing all their lives! Yes, sir, Mr. Wilcox, the Filipinos are the answer to our problem!” (Feleo-Gonzalez, 22) This passage shows the historical relationship Ilokanos have to the US. Not only have Ilokanos been laborers, they have been a form of cheap labor. The fact that Ilokanos were associated with fertilizer showed the dehumanizing manner of their labor. Ilokanos were ordered as tools for labor, instead of hired like a human laborers. When we place the events of this play into historical relevance we can understand the importance Filipino labors. This plantation scene is set in the early 1900’s. This time period is only three or four decades removed from the legal end of slavery. With it no longer legal use slaves as manual labor, new forms of labor had to be introduced to maintain the status quo in the US. Filipinos were one of the new forms of labor that was introduced. Thus the success of big businesses, particularly in Hawaii, cannot be discussed without acknowledgement of the exploitation of Ilokano workers.

However, this exploitation experienced by Ilokano laborers was meet with an equal amount of labor organizing. All the workers on the Hawaiian plantation rose up demanding higher wages under the leadership of an Ilokano worker, Pedro Calosa. Calosa reminded his fellow workers that they had “nothing to lose but their chains.” (Feleo-Gonzalez, 30) The strike is eventually successful in raising the wages of the workers. However, the strike was also successful in representing the history of resistance of Ilokanos in the US. Throughout A Song for Manong Feleo-Gonzalez shows her audience Ilokanos experiencing oppression and standing up against it. It is this history of resistance that Ilokano Americans must look at with both pride and respect. We must be proud of our Manongs for demanding a better life even when their own livelihoods were the price. We must also show respect to them because all the luxuries we have are a result of their sacrifices. However, the only way to truly show respect to them is to continue from where they left off.