GROUP 5: Poem Analysis

INSTRUCTOR: Mr. Eulogio Dublin

A Nostalgic Letter: A Letter to Pedro, U.S. Citizen, Also Called Pete by

Rene Estella Amper

A Letter to Pedro, U.S. Citizen, Also Called Pete by Rene Estella Amper is the kind of
literature that empowers a seemingly local story from an old friend along with
personal and historical themes.

Nostalgia
It defines the deeper meaning of friendship, despite the barrier of distance. It brings back
forgotten memories of togetherness.

The letter writer wrote, “there isn’t really much change since you left.” Its irony is
deceiving but it is very interesting once the letter is read thoroughly. There are
changes, drastic changes.

The letter writer willingly submitted himself to loss and honestly tells Pedro about his
honest observations as the time passes by.
We used to play there when we were young. Now, the place changed and so did we.
He tells Pedro about the old mango trees where they buried a cat named Simeona but now,
the road where it stood was already bulldozed to create infrastructures. He also reminded
Pedro about the river where he and Pedro got circumcised. He reminded him of long blue
hills where they used to shoot birds with slingshot on summer afternoons but now, a
barbed wire was around it when the mayor’s son bought it.

He tells Pedro of ways that remained such as the farmers coming down on Sundays to sell
their products then lose in cockpits or go home drunk. He also tells him of the culture in
Sunday masses wherein people still couldn’t fully immerse themselves to the mass.

The letter writer wrote to his friend in all honesty, no sugarcoating; everything sweet and
spice. He told him about the mayor’s mansions and new cars along with his guards who
carries pistols and rifles. He tells him about how the cornfields got blown by the storm last
night.
The letter writer tells him about his honest political views down to his shallow
loneliness about cornfields.

Do you remember the cornfields, Pedro?

His constructive mockery about Pedro’s relatives such as mocking his uncle’s Americanized
lifestyle and calling Pedro’s cousin, Julia as a whore because of her lavish lifestyle, shows
the comfort in their friendship. No pretensions, everything real.
Distance and time weren’t able to break a solid foundation of friendship between Pedro
and the letter writer. Their friendship began since childhood and still continues until now.
There is a sense of continuing connection between them.
It’s very rare for most friendships to continue when one has to leave and start and new
life somewhere.
It’s very hard to keep in touch and keep the friendship’s fire burning when one is absent.
But our friendships will never end, Pedro.

This letter literature is a sign of a real friendship. It’s not all about political complaints or
culture. The theme is all about friendship commitment and the best kind of platonic love
among friends that will last forever.

It’s very hard for each other to keep up with the fast-paced time but with real friends, it
will always feel like home when they connect again.
He wrote to touch the heart of Pedro and I, the reader: “Every time we have a good reason to
get drunk and be carried home in a wheelbarrow, we always remember you. Oh, we miss both
Pete and Pedro.”

CONTENT
A Letter to Pedro, U.S. Citizen, Also Called Pete by Rene Estella Amper is the kind of
literature that empowers a seemingly local story from an old friend along with personal
and historical themes. The poem “Letter to Pedro, U.S. Citizen, also called Pete” is a
response to the on-going reality of Filipino immigration to foreign countries to seek
greener pastures due to a calamity of problems the Philippines is facing as reflected by the
sentence enjambment, melancholic imagery, blatant satire and double persona.
The double persona of Pedro and Pete is the author’s irony intrinsically tying the person
being spoken, to his origin. This may seem farfetched but because Pete desired to create a
new beginning in another country, he certainly may have forgotten his origin as a Filipino.
By examining the tension embedded within its lines, “Letter to Pedro, U.S. Citizen, Also
Called Pete” by Rene Estela Amper sends us into the tug war between tradition and
modernity. As the persona reveals to his addressee, also the FILIPINOS in the other
country.
The author of the letter also enforces blatant satire in his descriptions of the old town
because of the images of hegemonies, corruption, colonial mentality, poverty, prostitution,
death and secularization present in Philippine society.

STRUCTURE OF THE POEM

The poem is in free verse. Meaning it has no regular rhyme, no regular length and no
regular stanza form. This means that the end words of each line do not have the same
sound or there is no regular pattern in the flow of sound. The stanzas do not have the same
length. However, the images and the sentiments of the poet are vividly present. The free-
verse poem "Letter To Pedro, U.S. Citizen, Also Called Pete" by Rene Estella Amper is
composed of 12 stanzas, totaling 36 lines. Within this structure, Amper employs a diverse
range of forms to capture the essence of the narrative. The poem features three couplets,
offering concise moments of reflection or observation, while two tercets provide compact
insights or descriptions. Three quatrains allow for more extended exploration of themes or
narratives, balanced by two quintains that offer brevity and depth in their expression. A
single sestet potentially intensifies emotional resonance or thematic development, while a
12-line stanza known as a Rondeau Prime suggests a structured and repetitive motif or
refrain. This varied structure enhances the poem's impact by providing a dynamic interplay
between different forms, allowing for shifts in tone, pacing, and thematic emphasis
throughout the work. Amper's adept use of diverse stanza forms adds richness and depth
to the poem's exploration of nostalgia, community, and social change.

TONE AND DICTION

The poem "Letter to Pedro, U.S. Citizen, Also Called Pete" by Rene Estella Amper has a tone
that is empowering and personal. It addresses the ongoing reality of Filipino immigration
to foreign countries and explores personal and historical themes. The diction used in the
poem is vivid and evocative, with images and sentiments that are vividly present. The poem
captures a sense of nostalgia and longing for the hometown and the connection to the
American wife of Pedro. Overall, the tone and diction of the poem convey a mix of emotions,
including empowerment, nostalgia, and longing.

THEME

⮚ FRIENDSHIP

⮚ PLATONIC LOVE

SYMBOLISM AND IMAGERY

⮚ HOMETOWN- represents tradition

⮚ UNITED STAES OF AMERICA- represents modernity

In the third stanza, the image defies gender role, which is actually a manifestation of
modernism, wherein, women assert their rights in the patriarchal society. This idea is
symbolized by the lines.
The steel bridge with the congressman’s wife may be compared to the women as
empowered (signified by the steel bridge).
“the skin of our young lizards” – represents to the pain young boys have to undergo in
order to become men.
The image of Simeona, the cat and the recollection of the persona about her burial and the
image of the bulldozer ramming down the road convey the pervasiveness of modernity and
progress to the idyllic ways of the barrio people, especially the children.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
1. Metaphor: "The bulldozer has messed it up while making the feeder road into the
mountains to reach the hearts of the farmers." This metaphor compares the impact of the
bulldozer to disrupting the emotional center of the farmers.

2. Personification: "The long blue hills where we used to shoot birds with slingshot and
spend the summer afternoons we loved so much doing nothing in the tall grass have been
bought by the mayor’s son." Personification is used to give human qualities to the hills,
which have been bought by the mayor's son.

3. Hyperbole: "Your cousin, Julia, has just become a whore." Hyperbole is used to
exaggerate the situation, emphasizing the shock or surprise of the event.

4. Alliteration: "The cornflowers. The cornfields are full of cries." Alliteration is used with
the repeated "c" sound in these lines for emphasis and rhythm.

5. Irony: "Remember us to your American wife, You luck bastard." Irony is used in this line
as the speaker sarcastically calls Pete a "lucky bastard" for having an American wife,
suggesting envy or bitterness.
GROUP MEMBERS
CHERRY ANN P. TUICO
SHIELDON CARABIO
REA DRAGON
HAZEL BEDRAN
MARIA ANGELINE TANOLA
JELIAN MANDAWE