Bacho/ Spr / 2017 Summary Response/ Scent of Apples Paula Wilson

The intro to Scent of Apples provides background on Santos and describes his circumstances and

experiences leading up to the publication of this book. Bienvenido Santos was born in Manilla in

1911 and came to the United States as a pensionado scholarship student. While in the

Philippines’ he traveled the country speaking about the tropical archipelago, this being the 7,641

islands which make up the Philippines. He writes in these short stories about Filipinos from all social

classes and backgrounds in addition to projecting the commonality of circumstances, feelings and

emotions experienced for 1rst generation immigrants living in the United States.

Immigration Blues-In this story two sisters come to an elderly Filipino man’s home in desperation to

secure citizen ship for one of the sisters. They are trying to figure out the best way to approach the topic

of marriage in their first meeting and the sister who is an unmarried non-citizen is feeling very ashamed

of her intentions. They have chosen him because he has American citizenship and they know about his

past of marrying his late wife in the same predicament. Alpio, this older man, is alone and really misses

the companionship his wife provided. When all is said and done, Alpio is very lonesome and likes the

idea of having a woman in his life again, especially a Filipina.

Although reasons such as war, corruption in government, extreme poverty, lack of education, low wages,

unemployment & inequality would explain why people such as Monica wanted to leave in the first place.

Santos puts the focus on the conflict and shame felt by people as they find themselves searching for

marriage with the purpose of permanent citizenship in mind.

Sent of Apples- During one of Santo speaking engagements in Kalamazoo, Michigan he meets an older

Filipino/American apple farmer, Mr. Celestino Fabia, who is an attendee of this event with very personal

interest in the discussion. Mr. Fabia had not seen another Filipino for many years. During the open forum

of the discussion a question is proposed about the difference between Filipino women and American

women, as if Mr. Santos should be the expert on this topic. Mr. Fabia wanted to know if Filipino women

had changed from 20 years ago when he was last in the Philippines. The answer was the generalization

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Bacho/ Spr / 2017 Summary Response/ Scent of Apples Paula Wilson

that they dress and groom themselves according to the changing times, but are the same natural, faithful,

nice, church going women on the inside.

Mr. Fabia is quite impressed with Santos education and knowledge of the Philippines. He is excited to

introduce him to his American family, as an example of a first-class Filipino. Mr. Fabia was also excited

to reminisce about his life in the Philippines with someone who might identify with the nostalgia he felt

for his homeland and loved ones, as it was likely he may never return there again. Mr. Fabia declines,

when Mr. Santos offers to visit his town in the Philippines, because no one there remembers him

anymore. Santos is left with the scent of Mr. Fabia’s apple farm.

And Beyond, More Walls- Santos comes to New York to see his cousin Manuel who who’d left the

Philippines 16 yrs ago. This takes place not long after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the surrender at

Battan. When Ben arrives to see his cousin he immediately notices Manuel’s become accustom to

American lifestyle, liquor and American women. Manuel says he quit carrying pictures of his family

back home because it made him home sick and has also stopped writing to them. He has given up his

dreams of being a violinist. Ben can see his cousin Manuel is not that happy with his status in life as an

American. Since coming to America his opportunities amounted to working the fields, chopping wood

and being a Hobo. Now he works as a hotel a bell hop and knows he will be inducted into the military

soon. Ben decides to spare his cousin the bad news about his mother’s death of cancer and his brother’s

deterioration in a sanitorium, as he has already been broken down from his experiences.

Conclusion

Santo works are an important part of Asian Literature. The experiences endured by the characters in his

stories are representative of a common sentiment felt by first generation Filipino immigrants enduring the

hardships of leaving their homeland behind after foreign entities wreak havoc and upset the natural

balance of the land needed for survival. He also captures the crude reality many immigrants face coming

in search of prosperity in America. Many are met with the unwelcome, unaccepting attitudes and left with

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Bacho/ Spr / 2017 Summary Response/ Scent of Apples Paula Wilson

their shame of failure in a foreign land. Even those who achieved some version of the American Dream

lost and sacrificed much. Often immigrants are to live their lives out in this environment without the love

of family or community for the rest of their lives. Santos does justice in portraying stories of those whose

lives were affected in this way.