A Short Story Goes to Court

In class, we discussed the fact that the author's original intentions for his writing were of protest, or as the author specified 'anger'. He described himself as an angry person. However, to me this does not reflect in his writing. The short story 'My Father Goes to Court' comes across as a comical story that borders on absurd. He portrays the system to be whimsical. This could be mistaken for satire, which is characterized by sarcasm and irony, but the story doesn't have enough of either to be classified as such. The most you'll get out of reading the story is a short giggle perhaps at the ending. So, the only viable explanation for such a story would be wish-fulfillment. Perhaps the authors portrayal of the justice system and the absurd claims of the rich neighbor are reflections of what reality was in Bulosans time. People making absurd claims and accusations which are in turn entertained by the courts. After the father outwits the rich man, the court (which is apparently susceptible to minor tricks and play on words) has no choice but to close the case. Bulosan is trying to show that the court is bound by its laws and is actually quite powerless. He's saying that if you can outwit your enemy or your attacker the judicial system will follow. It is just there to pass judgement and if the Filipino can bring an equally absurd or witty argument to the table, the legal system will follow. I think the poor family is a metaphor for the Philippines, while the rich family is a metaphor for the American colonizers. This may be Bulosans way of calling for protest.

Looking at it this way, everything seems to fall into place. The values of Filipinos are reflected in the poor family: They are social, working and generally happy people, yet somewhat impoverished. The neighbors (Americans), are wealthy, but withdrawn, a tad anti-social and for intents and purposes seem content. Also, the poor families children (their youth) always keep looking into the windows of the rich people, this could be a metaphor for how the Filipino youth began to absorb or to become curious about the colonials' culture.

If my ventures into this topic is true, then Bulosan may be a bigger genius than anybody had originally thought. Many a doubter would be put to shame. So if you ask me if this story was one of protest or wish-fulfillment, I would have to say it's a little bit of both. It's a cleverly disguised wish for protest, or a depiction of how to outwit and outsmart the enemy.