TWO FACES OF AMERICA

Carlos Bulosan

Thesis Statement:

The story is very relatable to the current social issues and problem occuring not only in the
Philippines but also in other countries.

a. Characters

Carl, Jose and Millar share the same experience in the story. These three are some of
the many overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were treated unfairly by their employers.

The companies had drastically cut the wages: the year before, it had been thirty
cents an hour, but now it had been reduced to twenty cents.

Evidenced by the above statement that many Filipino workers in other countries
suffered social injustices. It is very relevant nowadays especially as we often heard, many OFWs
are being oppressed, treated unethically, or even abused.

Carl is the protagonist in the story. Based on his character, he has the attributes of a good
leader. It is best evidenced on what he said:

There should be a law against the importation of labor.

I believe then that agitating the agricultural workers was enough, but the next five years showed
me that a definite political program was also needed.

Based on the statement above, his character implies a sense of curiosity and
awareness. But it never stop there, he is a man with an action who thinks for his future and of the
other. It takes him courage and willingness to fight for their rights. He emphasizes the
importance of having a union. Carl leads everyone to speak up and take necessary actions to
what they are experiencing.

Carl is a dynamic character; from a very aggressive man in the first part to a
softhearted man in the end. See the lines he had been uttered below:
 Just a moment ago I was beaten by white men. But there was another white person,
a woman, giving me food and place to rest.

He is very outrage to white people because of their employers and the cruel men. But
his heart softens as he met Marian.

Since the story is a semi-biography, the character of Carl can be directly compared
to the life of the author, Carlos Bulosan. The same with Carl, Bulosan already suffered economic
depression back then from his life in the Philippines to his life in America. When he was a child,
the rich and political elite had already economically impoverished his family. Then in America,
he experienced disillusioned by the violence, prejudice, exploitation, discrimination and
unhealthy working conditions in many of his workplaces, which encouraged him to participate in
union organizing with other Filipinos and various workers. In fact, Carlos is also a socialist
writer. Carls statement of having a change in law had already been worked on by Carlos in his
real life but in different issue in the world. Through Bulosan, President Franklin Roosevelt
signed a special proclamation that led to an end of discrimination between Filipino and
Americans. Carl and Carlos have suffered economic depression, and very active in labor union.
They also both have the eagerness to fight for their right and a sense of leadership to make the
world a better place to live on.

Jose didnt really play a major part in the story. Carl is very aggressive while he is
unassertive. It is evident in his statement,

The time will come

But we have a good president in Washington, so we will probably win some of our
demands- if we use enough pressure.

Jose said it referring to what Carl said about his proposed law. Similar with Carl, he
is also willing to fight for their rights but Jose is more patient than Carl. At the same time, he
respects and believes in the authority.

It can also be concluded that he is an educated person.

Jose, who spoke fluent Spanish, came and explained to them the importance of the
strike.
 He speaks in Spanish, which is a great evidence that he is an elite person. Not
everyone has given the opportunity to study the spanish language but only those who have the
privilage to do so.

Millar is mentioned in the text several times but his character is not well introduced.
Thus, he possessed a flat character. Millar, the same with Jose, if compared with Carl, the later is
more dauntless. The character is silent when the scene is full of flogging.

When the car started to move, I looked down and saw Millar bleeding on the floor. He
looked up at me with frightened eyes, pleading, wanting to tell me that he had nothing to do with
our arrest. I turned the other way, aching to him in the face.

It can be concluded in the description above that Millar is the cause of trouble for Carl
and Jose. As the saying goes, People may stab you at the back and ask why you are bleeding.
The quotation is very appropriate to Millar because he still denies the fact that he is the real
reason why those abductors found Carl and Jose. The way he looks at Carl, its like him pleasing
Carl to believe that he is not the one who pointed out where the two were.

Jake, Lester and three others are the antagonists. They are the one who abduct Carl,
Jose and Millar. They made the life of the protagonist more complicated. They are brutal and
sadistic to Carl, Jose and Millar. Seen in the text,

The man called Lester grabbed my testicles with his left hand and smashed them with his
right fist

Physical arms were used against the union-strikers. They are purely evil and have no
mercy to the people they abduct. These kind of authority is very relevant to our present situation
where many innocent people are being killed because of extra-judicial killing. Policemen are
given the authority to kill those people who strictly violated the law without due process. Maybe
Jake, Lester, and other abductors are also given that kind of authority by the employer of the
three laborers. The company might want to punish them for degrading their reputation beacause
of the labor strike.

Marian, a white woman is one of the protagonists. She plays a major role in the life of
Carl. She lend a helping hand to Carl. As evident in her statement,
 Poor boy. Eat everything and go to sleep.

She was the reason why Carl change his mind about the white people. Marian can be
compared to the Samaritan in the Parable of Good Samaritan. In the parable, there is this man
attacked by the robbers. They stripped the mans clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him
half dead. The robbers can also be compared to the abductors in the story. The priest and the
Levite saw the man but neglect him passing on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled,
came across where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and
bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought
him to an inn and took care of him. Like Marian, even though she didnt know Carl; she gave
him food to eat and a place to rest. The character of Marian reminded us that in this world there
are still people who are willing to help even if they will receive nothing in return.

Two other characters can be compared and contrast. As evident:

Just a moment ago I was beaten by white men. But there was another white person, a
woman, giving me food and place to rest.

The first side is the abductors. There are people that will hinder you from aiming your
goals and will do everything to drag you down. But on the other side, there will still be people
who will help you rise up and continue to fulfill your goals.

b. Setting

The main setting of the story happened in America, specifically in the state of California.
Two Faces of America is a semi-autobiographical novel that has a strong tie to the author's
experience. Carlos Bulosan spent his youth in the countryside as a farmer. Following the system
of many Filipinos during the American colonial period, he went to America, particularly in
Seattle at the age of seventeen in the hope of bringing up his family from poverty. The author
wrote his book America is in the Heart during his stay in America and the book was published
the year right after the US Colonization in 1946. During the US Colonization, Carlos Bulosan
and many other lowly Filipinos have a mindset that America is like a paradise that will provide
them the promises of a better life. Upon the arrival of the author in America, Carlos Bulosan
experienced racism and was forced to work in low paying jobs. Compared to the life experienced
by the author in America, it is far too close to the mindset that the majority of the Filipinos had.
However, in reality, it is not the place that will give a person a better life, but it is the person that
will give his self a better life.

In Santa Maria, where I was working with Jose, I received a disturbing communication from
Millar. Trouble was brewing in San Jose, forty miles south of San Francisco. Jose and I took the
first bus, stopping a few hours in San Luis Obispo to see how Ganzo was progressing. In the
early morning, after a lenghty deliberation with Ganzo in his cabin, we rushed to the station and
slept in the bus until Salinas.
Carl, the protagonist in the story, was a leader in a labor movement together with Jose,
evident in the text, particularly in Santa Maria. Carlos Bulosan spent his work in California,
particulary in the cities stated in the story. In the story, the Filipino employees in San Jose work
in the lettuce fields. In relation to the job of author, Carlos Bulosan worked as a farm worker,
harvesting grapes and asparagus, and doing other types of hard work in the fields of California.

Suddenly I remembered that as a child I used to watch snow-white clouds sailing in the bright
summer skies of Mangusmana. The memory of my village made my mind whirl, longing for flight
and freedom again.
This text was stated while Carl was being abducted by white men. In spite of his complicated
situation, Carl just thought of his village and suddenly he aimed to be free again. Any person
under a complicated and inescapable situation will be uplifted by the memory of his hometown
and will be wanting to return to his or her home.

That night, when Jose and I were in the backroom of a restaurant, preparing a leaflet to be
circulated, five white men came suddenly into the room.

The timing of the story when the labor movement should started stop due to the abduction
happened. The plans of Jose and Carl were destroyed and also the fight for the Filipino
employees was ruined. The settings influenced the character's mood in the story in a way that
Carl sometimes hope for an escape and sometimes loses hope to be free.
The driver turned off the road and crossed a wide beet field, heading for the woods not far away.
We entered the woods and in five minutes the car stopped.

The woods where the cruelty happened is believable in the sense that it is far away from the city
and that no one will be able to notice that something cruel is happening. The torturous act made
by white men to Carl, Jose and Millar wouldn't be noticed by any people because it was in the
midst of the woods in the middle of the night. The woods set a mood that is dark and full of
danger to the point that no one will enter during the night.

We'll go to Los Angeles, she said.

Marian stated that she and Carl will go to Los Angeles after making a farewell look to her
town San Jose. Los Angeles is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern
California. Marian wanting to go to Los Angeles City in the hope of the city will provide her the
promises of a better life just like when Carlos Bulosan went to America.

c. Plot

The kind of plot used by the author is a dramatic or progressive plot.

The story began by establishing the setting and conflict, as evidence shown in the first
part of the story:

In Sta. Maria, where I was working with Jose, I received a disturbing communication from
Millar.

The companies had drastically cut the wage scale: the year before, it had been thirty cents an
hour, but now it had been reduced to twenty cents. The Filipino workers struck, but the
companies imported Mexican laborers.
 The author used foreshadowing to narrate the first part of the story in order to create
suspense for his readers and to hint where the story is going. For instance in the opening part, the
readers would already had an idea that the story is all about social issues and problems.

The kind of conflict used is man against society where he stands against a man-made
institution. The characters are forced to make moral decisions frustrated by social rules in
meeting their own goals.

A rising action follows after the conflict through the climax.

I was helpless now. I watched my companions: they seemed to have given up all hope.
There was only death at the end of the road.

The man with the dark glasses started beating Millar. Then he came to me and kicked my left
knee violently that I feel on the grass, blinded with pain.

The abduction gives rise to the story because it requires anticipation on the part of the
readers what will going to happen after whether they will escape or die or perhaps live.

In the end of the story, a falling action is shown.

The fight must go on, Jose used to say. All right. I would go on with the fight. I would
show them.

The protagonist find comfort as she finds a woman that helps him unconditionally, but
the story doesnt end there it leaves a feeling of dissatisfaction because of its open ended story.

The plot of the story depicts realism, it shows the social problems that exist in our
society. It can be compared to the groups of people going to Mendiola to voice out their
problems in hopes that the government may reach out to them.

The change of sequence from one event to another is very rapid. Even though the story
doesnt begin the way other literary piece, the author successfully conveyed what he really
wanted to imply to the readers. Plot is arranged in the way it would directly show the purpose of
the story. It is made using traditional markers to connect the change in the phase of the story
 d. Theme

People must never be fooled by what they see on the outside because on the inside its

often a different story.

The theme was portrayed by Carl evident in the line,

Just a moment ago I was being beaten by white men. But there was another white person, a
woman, giving me food and a place to rest.

In the beginning of the story, Carl assumed that all white persons are cruel as employers
to the Filipino workers and this claim was strengthened by the acts of the abductors. However,
when Carl met Marian, it gave him second thoughts about the white people. Marian suddenly
represents the wramth and caring side of the Americans. The theme is best reflected in the title
Two Faces of America; people should not generalized that the act of one is the act of all who is
similar to him.

e. Dialogue/ Language

Dialogue is important for the readers to really understand what the author wants to show
and to help them reveal their identity or emotions in the story.

The author used the dialogue to create a distinct characterization in the story which is
helpful for the audience because it gives them insights to the storyline.

At the beginning of the story, Jose and Carl had this conversation,

There should be a law against the importation of labor.

But we have a good president in Washington, so we will probably win some of our demands if we
use enough pressure.

The dialogue between Jose and Carlo symbolizes eagerness to fight for their rights which
lead to be the start of introducing the conflict in the story.

Another lines which describe the true emotions of the characters in the story. These help
the audience to feel and to visualize the happenings in the story. These lines are,
 I was helpless now.

It was better to die trying to escape than to wait for death.

The man on my right got out and pulled me violently after him, hitting me in the jaw.

These lines were uttered by Carl which symbolizes and really reflect the pain he had
suffered under those abductors.

The author also used lots of colloquial words in order to showcase the traits and behavoir
of the abductors as they mistreated Carl, Jose and Millar. In their words,

Up! Goddamn you! Up!

Jesus, hes a well-hung-son-of-a-bitch!

Shall we burn this yellow belly?

Scalp him!

What about the other bastard?

The colloquial words used by author are appropriate to justify the character of the
abductors and to demonstrate that they are truly bad people and dont have any mercy at all.
Furthermore, these words help the audience to feel the intensity of the happenings and to imagine
the pain and misery that the abused characters had experienced under the hands of the abductors.

f. Symbolism
Symbolism is the concrete, factual details that evoke ideas and emotions. In the story, the
author used the two types of symbolism: the concrete and created symbols.
Among the conventional are:
Face
This symbolism is very evident in the story as it is placed in the title. It is a conventional
type of symbol that are commonly connected to traits, physical features or identity. The true
meaning of this symbol was conveyed by the author in the story in the following line:
Just moment ago, I was being beaten by white men,
but there was another person, a woman giving me food and place to sit.
 Faces of America means two kind of white people America has. White men who are
harsh and cruel and white man giving warmth and tenderness in touch .Carl encountered this two
different people in the character of the abductors and Marian.

Rising Sun
This symbolism was used by the author on the last part of the story in the line:
I looked out of the window, the sun was rising.
Rising sun in the story symbolized a new beginning for Carl after what happened to them
in the woods. A new life that is waiting for him in Los Angeles where he and Marian will go.
There is no assurance of what kind of life is out there but by looking out of the cars window, the
rays of the sun tells new hope for him.

The Woods
Among so many places to plan the torture, why the abductors took Jose, Millar and Carl
in the woods?
The woods are usually consider a place of deafening silence and vast area of darkness
that once you enter it, its like there is no way of escaping. This setting used by the author
symbolized pain, hardship, and death. It is evident in the line:
I crawled in the grass slowly. When I reached the edge of the woods,
I got up and tried to run. The night was clear and quite.
I hear their voices in the wind.
Entering into the woods its like entering to a place full of fear, hopelessness and loneliness.
Connecting to this is the story of Florante who were tied up in a tree in the middle of the woods
where nothing was there but only his fear, anguish and pain.

Farewell look
The farewell look made by Marian before she started to move the car going to Los
Angeles suggests hesitations or hold back into something. Looking back to the place before
leaving it is like committing it to memory. That something inside Marian is holding her back in
leaving the town.
 The author maybe used this symbolism to show that sometimes people really make
decisions not accordingly to what they really want to do but on what is really needed to do.

g. Tone

In the early parts of the story, the tone shows that the characters are valiant for they fight
for their rights.

There should be a law against the importation of labor, I said. It should be included in
the interstate laws.

As the story goes, the tone then shifted to fear and to agony for they have been caught
and tortured by the white men

I was helpless now. I watched my companions: they seemed to have given up all hope.
There was only death at the end of the road.

And in the latter part, the story shows hope and resiliency.

The fight must go on, Jose used to say. All right. I would go on with the fight. I would
show them.

Well go to Los Angeles, she said.

The tone really makes the story more appreciative and striking to the readers, the
transitioning of the tone is impressive starting from positive stable tone to a dark and gloomy
tone and ends up with a spirited and powerful tone.

h. Point of View

Carl, the protagonist is the first person narrator. It gives the readers the experience of
being inside the characters head. First person point of view is effective in adapting easily what
the protagonist feels through. Being Carl as the narrator, it made the story full of emotions and
feelings that the protagonist experienced. Therefore, first person point of view creates intimacy
and closeness between the reader and the character. It also embodies a sense of believability
because the protagonist himself has the first hand experience of the story. Overall, first person
point of view helps the reader understand the protagonists motivations/actions.
Conclusion:

The story tells us that all of us should become aware to the social issues surrounding the
world and take action in any way we can; may be it small or big. Despite of the suffering and
abuses, everyone must invest time and energy with a feeling of hope for the future instead of
bitterness to such uncertainties. It also longs for equality among diversity and asking for unity for
the betterment of our society.

The old world is dying, but a new world is being born. It generates inspiration from the
chaos that beats upon us all. The false grandeur and security; the unfulfilled promises and
illusory power, the number of the dead and those about to die, will charge the forces of out
courage and determination. The old world will die so that the new wold will be born with less
sacrifice and agony on the living.., quoted in the novel of Carlos Bulosan, the author.

Two Faces of America is a story of suffering, determination and hope. It is a story that
every Filipino should take time to read, a story that worth reading for, and a story that could
enlighten us about the real situation of our society.

GROUP 6

Members:

Abundo, Sheena Monalyn

Catindig, Juliet

Dela Cruz, Angelika Joy

Gardon, Joshua

Padua, Jesselyn

Villarin, Ronalie

Referrences:
Wikipedia Carlos Bulosan Biography from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Bulosan

Bible Getaway The Parable of the Good Samaritan from

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37