RELLES, JOHN KEVIN

2016

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APRIL 2

My Father Goes to Court is just one of the many short stories in Carlos
Bulosans The Laughter of My Father which was published in the 1940s in
the United States. It is the most popular one, I believe. He wrote this story
based from folklore in the Philippines and it has an underlying social
commentary. It was said that this work is a protest against the economic
progress of his time. This story shows the culture, traits and way of the
Filipinos.
In the Filipino context, this story favors the underprivileged families over
affluent ones. It is supported by the part at the end of the story where after
the father gave back the spirit of wealth through the jingling of the coins
in the straw hat, the judge immediately dismissed the case. While it is not
really true in this day and age because the poor has no fair fight against the
rich, the idea behind it is not quite simple. Maybe the author wanted to
show the issue the other way around, thus, using a reverse psychology.
Filipinos are known to be light people. We dont usually wear much burden
on our shoulders. Well, we have a lot but how do we cope with every
situation? By not taking it so hard, of course! In every problem, like poverty,
even if they dont get to eat much for the day, they are still smiling and
laughing together and the family is still intact. Like in the story, the
narrators family is a poor family, and yet, because they are not so
sensitive, they get to play outside and laugh. In the rich familys case, they
are abundant in food and a comfortable lifestyle but are still not content
with what they have and push others-like the poor family- to pay for it. In
the real world, rich people tend to step down on the poor because they
perceive themselves more powerful than the poor.
In the part where the judge asked the father where his lawyer was, and he
said he doesnt need one, it is seen as the turning point of justice in the
Philippines. The law dictates that every citizen is given justice. But is it
really the case? The law takes for granted the poor. Yes, the poor cant
afford hiring the best lawyers so the rich takes advantage of them. In the
storys case, the judge didnt care to give him a lawyer where in the real
world, if you have no lawyer, it is as good as loosing.