We make it seem like we care.

Arcellana's stories, The Mats and Divide by Two seem to have both talked about how Filipinos value property. Though first story showed how the characters cared for their own belongings, and the second how the husband and wife wanted others to respect them, they give sense in the importance of ownership - be it material or something deeper. The two are also very different in terms of the tone and mood it created.

As for which is more realistic in dealing with Filipino nature, though it appears less sane and more surreal, if not a little disturbing, The Mats shows this by once again flowing into family (which in present times need not be the traditional definition; it may now refer to people who have a relationship deeper than companionship) and how closely-knitted the ties we have are (whether we like each member or not), compared to Divide by Two, which has a more realistic feel to the flow (though the plot may seem as incoherent) but has a more Western tang to how confrontation was dealt with and how material space had strung it.

Both stories, though, strike well our desire to constantly save face, to give people the idea that we should be commended, to feel like we are important. Filipinos live not in, freely, but on good cheer. A struggle to always keep a smile on our faces, and consequently to bring smiles to others (lest they ruin the mood we worked up so hard) to tell people that despite the poverty and instability, we have one great thing to be proud of.

Like bamboos in the wind.

My Father Goes to Court and How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife

The Filipino trait that is evident in both stories is the value given to family. While Bulosan explores the Filipino's jolly nature and queer "philosophy," and Arguilla our dependence on agriculture (growth, seasons) and capacity for love, family reigns most important in how the Bulosan's poor father defends his family's health and joy, and how Arguilla's Baldo seeks for what is best for his brother and family by testing Maria. (On an off note, the reference to papayas in My Brother Leon may have mirrored most Filipinos' desire to have white skin. Or, it could just be me being silly.) Close family ties is one value that, despite changes in our [youth's] turn to independence and our progress towards things like career and technology, remains in Filipinos up to this day.

What could also be realised in the first two stories is how resilient Filipinos can be. This could be seen not only in the message their plot relays but through the way each piece was composed. My Father Goes to Court, for one, is said to have been written for a foreign audience. The language by which it is structured showed how Filipino culture could be communicated, shared to others. In How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife, on the other hand, though its deeper meaning may not be easily grasped by people not familiar with the Filipino life and ideals, presents its strength in that itself: it is a story so simple, anyone would be able to relate to it - to the anxiety at welcoming a stranger as showed by Baldo, the confidence in love as exuded by Leon, and the power to prove one's self worthy of someone as seen in Maria - but only a people who have experienced the same kind of trials that the society from which the story airs can truly be feel in their hearts and be proud of with their souls.

I am not, and have never been, AND will never be, your cuddle-bunny.

From here on out, this journal shall exist for the purpose of exploring insight towards the canonical and contemporary literary fiction of Filipinos in English.

Or some, and some. /failed-pretentious-eloquence