My Father Goes to Court by Carlos Bulosan

     Carlos Sampayan Bulosan (November 24, 1913 – September 11, 1956) was an English-language Filipino novelist and poet who spent most of his life in the United States. His best-known work today is the semi-autobiographical America Is in the Heart, but he first gained fame for his 1943 essay on The Freedom from Want. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Bulosan)

Vocabulary

• condemn - express complete disapproval of; censure.
• anaemic - lacking in colour, spirit, or vitality.
• molave - a large Philippine timber tree
• presidencia - the office and function of president
• waft - pass or cause to pass gently through the air.
• strut - walk with a stiff, erect, and apparently arrogant or conceited gait.
• glower - have an angry or sullen look on one's face; scowl.

Characters:

• The Narrator - he is one of the children of the farmer/farm owner.
• The Father/Farmer(?)/Farm Owner - the father of the narrator. Since it was mentioned in the story that he owned a farm, I might refer to him as the farmer or farm owner, to avoid confusion.
• Mother- the wife of the Farmer/Farm Owner.
• The Children of the Farmer (?) - the siblings of the narrator. They were referred to as strong, robust, and cheerful. They were accused of stealing the spirit of the food which was prepared for the rich man's children.
• The Rich Man- the neighbor of the narrator when they moved to town. Described as someone who is not sociable, especially to those who has a lower status in life than him. It is implied in the story that he is also stupid. He accused the family of the narrator of stealing the spirit of the food which his servants prepared. 
• The Judge - the one who is in charge of the case filed by the rich man. He was described as someone who is old-looking.
• The Rich Man's Children- described as thin, anaemic, and pale.
• Servants of the Rich Man- the ones who are preparing food for the rich man's family.

Minor Characters:

• Rich Man's Lawyer
• Spectators

Setting

     The story was set several years after 1918, in a town (the town's name wasn't mentioned in the story). The events occurred in their neighborhood, and the trial was held in a court in their locality. I believe that the story occurred in a period wherein the influence of Spain is still seen, because of the use of a Spanish word which refers to their local government, yet the story was already set during the American colonization.

PLOT

Exposition

     The narrator tells the story of how they moved into a town after getting ther farm destroyed by a flood. They moved near the house of a rich man, who doesn't interact with his neighbors much. The children of the farmer/farm owner were described as cheerful and playful. Their cheerfulness was especially seen  whenever the servants of the rich man are cooking, since they were already satisfied with just smelling and listening to the sizzles and aroma of the food.

Rising Action

     The conflict starts when the children of the farmer/farm owner grew up to be healthy, while the children of the rich man were pale, despite the difference of status in life. The rich man was seen observing the family of the farmer/farm owner, and he ordered his servants to shut all windows and doors in their house. However, this doesn't stop the aroma from going out of their house.

Climax 

     The problem starts when the rich man filed a complaint against the family of the narrator for stealing the spirit of his wealth and food. When the day of the trial arrived, the rich man came, looking old and weak, and the rest of his family, in the same bad situation he is in. The trial starts with the judge asking the farmer questions regarding the complaint, and the farmer cross-examined the children of the rich man. Learning of their "logical" reasons, he then proceeded to give them an equal payment for what they stole.

Falling Action

     The farmer collected coins from his family, and went to another room which is near the courtroom. He shook the coins, which made an audible sound, even from where the rich man was. The farmer then confirms if the rich man and his children heard the coins shaking, and after they confirmed that they heard it, the farmer then says that they are paid.

Ending/Conclusion

     The rich man fell to the floor, and the case was dismissed. The judge then went down to talk with the farmer, and the judge, the farmer, his family, and the spectators laughed hard.

Symbolism

     The tall house of the rich man refers to his status in life. He is rich and was able to live a luxurious life. It also symbolizes his attitude, for he looks down on others because of their status. I think that the reason why he was able to file a complaint that stupid was because he was underestimating the farmer's wits and knowledge. The tall house may also symbolize how rich people try to keep away from those who are poor, which is also seen in the modern society.

      It was mentioned in the story that the rich man looked down to the children of the farmer. They were seen as happy, healthy, and cheerful despite their average status in life. I think that this symbolizes the happiness that we achieve in life. We can achieve happiness in life even without wealth. There are also times when we have reached the top, only to lose sight of what is really important to us. I believe that even with the wealth he has, the rich man was not able to achieve happiness.

     The rich man's complaints about other people stealing the spirit of his wealth and food may symbolize greed, since he was trying to contain everything, even the smell, to his family only. This shows just how some rich people in our society tries to take everything for themselves, not leaving any for those below them.

      Overall, I believe that this story's theme is absurdity. We can see how the rich man blamed the narrator's family because of an illogical reason. This was also shown in the ending. I am assuming that they were laughing at how stupid the whole case was, and how the father resolved it with an equally absurd yet wise way of solving the whole problem.

Lesson: 

• Be careful when accusing others without logical basis. 
• In the pursuit of happiness, material wealth is irrelevant.