Author-oriented approach: Historicism

Ron Darvin, is a professor at the University of British Columbia in

Vancouver, Canada. Most of his research work is mainly about applied
linguistics, social class, and identity, especially those of migrant Filipino
families.
In Darvin’s 2014 research entitled Social Class, Identity, and Migrant
Students, he talked about the key role of migration in the neoliberal
mechanisms of globalization. He described migration as the solution to the
labor needs of post-industrial countries.
Despite the progressive notions of migration, Darvin addressed how
migration promotes social fragmentation and inequality. Since most
immigrants are from third-world countries coming to first-world countries, a
global class hierarchy is realized as the immigrants live and adapt to the
society inside their host countries.
At the time that the play is written (2016), 1,212,075 new Filipino
immigrants have already settled in Canada. The growth of the population of
Filipino immigrants has continuously grown ever since.

Synthesis: The literary piece was written to reflect the experiences and
status of the immigrant Filipinos living in Canada.

Text-oriented approach: Feminist Theory

“Isabel: Our neighbor Pacing had a cousin who went to Canada through the
Live-In Caregiver Program, and Pacing told us how their whole family go to
go to Canada, and find jobs, and that life was good. So I thought to myself:
Maybe I could do this. Yes, I loved teaching but I want to give my kid a good
future, and in Manila, a teacher’s salary will never be enough. At first
Roberto didn’t like the idea. Nakakahiya he would say-it’s embarrassing.
What would the neighbors say? A teacher going abroad to be a caregiver in
someone’s house? I told him “Roberto, there’s no space for hiya here. If we
want to build this family, we’ll have to let go of shame. We just need to do
what must be done.””
 The feminist theory is very evident in this particular dialogue in the
story. Roberto, which is Isabel’s husband, had an idea to not allow
Isabel to work in Canada because he is afraid of the shame they would
get if she continues the idea of getting that job. Isabel, on the other
hand, feels responsible enough as the mother to work hard and not
care what other people might say as long as she can give her family
the life that she envisions they should have. It could be possible that
Roberto also feel the shame for himself because he is the head of the
household but Isabel was the one who willingly volunteered herself to
be an OFW instead of just having the mindset of staying with their son
and following the norm of a Filipino wife.
“Isabel: Sakripisyo. Sacrifice. This is what it’s all about right? Blessed are
the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That’s what Father Dela Cruz
used to keep on telling us at our parish in Malabon when I was growing up. I
had this image of heaven in my head. Everything was gold-the walls, the
curtains. And there would be food everywhere-and snow! The angels would
be flying around, and we’d be dressed in white. So even when my parents
couldn’t feed their seven kids, and we would go to sleep hungry, I thought
that’s ok. In heaven, I’ll have all the fried chicken I want with all the banana
ketchup money can buy. All I need is to wait. And so when I thought of
coming to Canada, I thought, what’s a few years of sacrifice? If I could do it
for a better life? For my son?”
 Isabel portrays an image of a strong motherly figure in this part of the
text. It significantly showcases the feminist ideal that a mother, too,
can provide for the family. She dreams of a good life for her family
which drives her to do whatever it takes, even if it means sacrificing
one of her core duties as a mother, which is tending to her child at
home. She chooses a more modern and practical decision to become
an overseas worker than to remain at home and stick to her profession
as a teacher. In this way, she can provide more for her family’s
finances even if she has to live away from them. The text displays the
point of view of Isabel as a mother who only wishes the best for her
son.

Text-oriented approach: Archetypal Theory

“Isabel: So I’ve been living here in Vancouver for eight years now. First two
years as live-in caregiver for the Choi family. After staying with the Chois, I
got an open work permit so I opened the door of my life. I told myself, “This
is it, Isabel! This is your chance to find new opportunities!” And you know,
when I was young, I always said “I want to be on Broadway!” So I got a job
here at Tim Hortons near the train station… on Broadway! After another two
years, I got my permanent residence, and of course I tried to get my family
here right away. But that took another two years. So much paperwork! And
plane tickets aren’t cheap you know. I haven’t gone home to Manila for six
years… Ay but who cares about that city? They don’t film movies there like
Fifty Shades of Grey-unless you’re talking about pollution!
Isabel: Sometimes I wake up in the morning, when it’s still dark outside. I
look at the white beams of the ceiling and I say to myself, “Where am I?
How did I get here?” I feel like I’m in that movie of Leonardo di Caprio.
Uhm, what is that? The one where you’re in a dream of a dream? …Ay alam
ko na! I know, I know. Inception! Then I realize, OMG! The dream is real. I
have to get ready for work! So I make breakfast for Miguel and me. Spam,
fried eggs, garlic rice, and lots of banana ketchup. I’m sure you didn’t know
you can make ketchup out of bananas, no? Only in the Philippines! Because
you know all the bananas in the world come from us.”
  An archetype of delusion is portrayed by Isabel in these portions of
the text. She represents an OFW that believes that her dreams have
come to life through her decision to work in a foreign country. She
thinks highly of her motherland with regard to certain things, however
thinks the opposite when she talks about returning to it. She talks
about a childhood dream that is just like others’, often only forcefully
considered a reality due to technical details that make it sound like
they have come true—being “on Broadway” is far from working in a
coffee shop at the train station in Broadway, and not all of the
bananas in the world come from the Philippines. Self-deception is
practiced by the character in these parts. Although it may not be
directly stated, it depicts the usual characteristics of a hopeful OFW
worker who makes it through years of work by making themselves
believe that this is a better reality than what the have left back home
and that this is the life they had always dreamt of.

“Miguel: Things change so much here. The weather, the seasons. One day
you’re at your lola’s where it’s always sunny and you have so much fun, next
thing you’re in a city, trapped in a basement, and it just keeps raining. Your
voice changes, your body changes and you feel like a pancake at iHOP. Your
whole world, flipped upside down.”
 This part of the text shows the archetype of change in Miguel. He had
to face a lot of new things when he moved to Canada to be with his
mother, and it all happened during his puberty/adolescent years which
caused him physical changes, alongside the changes their in living
arrangements. The text represents a usual state of shock that
someone encounters when they face a new environment that is very
different to what they have grown up in. Adults may also relate to this
just as much as adolescents and teenagers like Miguel, however the
text aims to shed light on the experience of younger individuals in
such situations and how they are less able to handle it. It exhibits the
feeling of disorientation with life, as if everything has been flipped
upside down, as the text describes.

“Miguel: Couldn’t sleep last night. It’s exactly a year today since I last saw
Itay, my father. I wonder how he is. If he thinks of me, sometimes. When I
was living with my lola, and Inay was here in Canada, my father worked in
Cavite, 40 kilometers away from my lola’s place. He had a sales job there,
and because traffic is really bad, he rented a room in Cavite, and left me
with my lola. He would go see me on Saturdays, and sometimes he’d stay till
Sunday. I remember he used to say, “Don’t worry, anak, we’ll see your Inay
soon. Just wait, and next thing you know, you’ll be playing in the snow and
eating spaghetti and meatballs every day!” Every night I would wait for the
phone to ring, for Inay to call and say, “Miguel, come to Canada tomorrow!”
But as the years went by, and as I waited for that particular phone call, I
began to see less and less of my father as well. At first, he’d say he had to
work overtime, that they needed him to work Saturdays. Sometimes it’d be
because of the traffic… But you know even if he didn’t come, I knew. I knew
that just like me, he waited for Inay too.”
 The typical Filipino working class family struggle with regard to
balancing family and work is showcased in this portion of the text. It
presents a common fight over choosing to live with your family and to
live somewhere that is conveniently near to your job in order to avoid
heavy traffic situations. Parents sacrifice time with their child just to
provide a good future for them even if it means losing present quality
time as they grow up. Their child is handed over to the care and
custody of the grandparents who then serve as the parental figures in
their childhood. The child, in return, is left yearning for their family to
be complete again. Despite having a few days with one of their parents
or phone calls, it is still a different feeling to have them physically by
your side on a daily basis to reassure you and provide you with the
love of a mother and a father. It leaves them blindly hoping and
waiting for the day that they all reunite and everything will be alright.

“Isabel: Soon, anak, soon. I promise you. Life will be better. For you. For
both of us. Soon.
Miguel: That time my mother left, when I was seven, “soon” became days,
weeks, months. At seven, I realized a very painful truth: my mother had
abandoned me. And as the years went by, and her image began to fade. I
could no longer remember what it was like. The way she touched my cheeks.
The feel of her hands. Sure, she sent home money, sent me toys, and
chocolates. Sure, there were phone calls, and pictures. But you can’t hug a
phone call, can you? And a picture can’t tell you that everything will be all
right.
Isabel: [faces Miguel] Just wait, anak. Soon everything will be all right.
Miguel: [faces Isabel] Inay, all these years I’ve been waiting. Tell me,
please tell me, when does soon begin?”
 This dialogue between Isabel and Miguel depicts the typical exchange
of words of a child and a working parent. Isabel as the mother
reassures her son that all of these sacrifices are for the better of their
future lives. She tells him that it will all be good in time and that they
just have to be patient until said time comes. Miguel, on the other
hand as the son, starts to question if they will ever reach that
promised time. He loses trust in his mother due to the lack of her
physical presence in his young life. He also loses hope that they will
ever reach that point of being alright in their life for he believes that it
is not only the future that matters but also the present. There is more
to being alright in life than material things such as toys and
 chocolates. It is not always going to be about money. This part of the
text greatly showcases the years of longing from a child for his
mother’s physical affection. A hug after a long day at school can make
up so much more than just a phone call. Years of hoping for the day
that you are wrapped up in your mother’s arms again may start to
become a hurtful scenario in your head rather than a comforting one.
All because you were waiting for soon to begin when it has for a fact
started long ago. You had just failed to see it in a certain way and are
still trying to find something more that you actually already have in
order to live a better life.

Text-oriented approach: Marxist Theory

“Isabel: You know in Manila, Spam is not cheap. We only eat it on Sunday,
before going to church. Now I tell my friends back home: You know what,
lnday? In Canada, we eat Spam every day!”
 In this dialogue, Isabel mentions how Spam is only eaten by most
Filipinos on Sundays. This is a kind of indirect in telling how the life in
the Philippines and in Canada differ especially if a person is born in a
lower social class. The difference between these social classes relates
to how the Marxist theory attempts to show the economic status of the
characters. It shows how the text is focusing in highlighting the lower
class qualities of Isabel’s character and how this relates to how she
contrasts their life in the Philippines and in Canada simply in the use of
implying that they eat “spam” everyday. The use of “spam” plays an
important role in the underlying message of this dialogue because it
shows the struggles on how Isabel sees the fact that they are eating a
specific food in Canada everyday while when they were in the
Philippines food should not be as extravagant as that and should be
just enough for a family. This implies how OFWs really strive to work
abroad because of higher wages and also because they believe that in
that way, they could give their family a more stable financial life.

“Isabel: Yesterday, I had a really bad episode at work. I had very little
sleep the night before because I did the laundry and there was just so much
to wash. Anyways, there was this woman who ordered a dozen donuts, and I
mixed up her order and gave her scones instead. If you ask me, I was doing
her a favor by not giving her those donuts! Really! Anyway, she had to walk
back several blocks with her little daughter to tell me I made a mistake. Of
course, I kept on saying sorry, sorry, sorry. She wasn't rude or anything. In
fact, when I handed her the donuts, she smiled, and I apologized again. But
then when started to head out, she turned to her daughter and said: "This is
why you have to study hard, my love. Because otherwise you'll end up just
like her." I froze. "Just like her." The words echoed in my head the whole
day, as I served these sausage biscuits and maple donuts, and swiped cans
of beans and corry and handed out plastic bags. ]ust like her. What does it
mean to be just like me?”
 This particular crucial part in Isabel’s dialogue represents the Marxist
theory in a conceivable way. It shows the personal struggles of an
OFW in terms of dealing with people who look down upon them who
are lower in the social classes. The mindset of the society that we are
living in right now is that if someone is working in a job in which does
not consists of a suit for a man or a skirt and cardigan for a woman
then that person should not be respected or treated equally. This is
the reality that OFWs have to endure in foreign countries especially in
countries where almost every person is in the middle class sector. In
the text, Isabel only mentioned a scenario like this once but in real
life, OFWs like Isabel experience this kind of treatment almost
everyday with their jobs but like Isabel, they firmly believe that
everything that they endure will be worth it for their families if they
can give them the life that they long for and deserve.

“Miguel: It's always about making money. More money. "It's for you, anak,
for your future." But what about me now? What about my life now? She
wants me to study college after, but what use is college anyway? She
graduated from a university in Manila, she was a teacher, now she makes
sandwiches and works at a grocery. What's a degree for? School is such a
waste of time.”
 Miguel is obviously still struggling with adapting to life in Canada. He
views his mother’s sacrifices as something that does not benefit him
specifically because he sees it as a distraction for him having an
intimate and close relationship with his mother. Isabel graduated and
had a college degree to be a proper teacher in the Philippines but
because of the lack of opportunities in her own motherland, she
sacrifices her life with her family for years and worked thousands of
miles away just to earn money for a living. This is certainly an issue of
how the economic conditions of the Philippines in the setting of the
story, affects the characters’ decisions and determination to always
focus on making money so that they can easily say that their life could
finally be better.

Synthesis: The story is a wholesome depiction of the struggles of being an

OFW and being a mother at the same time. Sacrifices are not always worth it
if it means leaving your family behind.

Reader-oriented approach: Archetypal Theory

The script is about how a mother’s separation from her child due to
her career affected their relationship. The author generalized the condition
and struggles of Filipino immigrants based from the real-life narratives
shared to him by Filipino immigrants in Canada.
 The names Miguel and Isabel are popular Spanish versions of the
names Michael and Elizabeth. These names suggest that the
characters are of Filipino origin—the Philippines has adopted
Spanish culture from 333 years of Spanish colonization in the 16 th

century. Furthermore, the name Isabel means “devoted to God’s

promise,” and in the text, Isabel is seen as a hopeful and
persevering labourer who does not mind waiting for the good life
she has long promised her son.
 The changes that occur in Miguel and Isabel’s lives are shown—from
Isabel’s departure, to Miguel’s stay in Canada. Miguel transitioned
from a hopeful and innocent child, to someone who is pessimistic,
after seeing the outcome of his family’s migration. The mother and
her son’s views on life are not what is expected of them, especially
that of the son. Where the mother believes that her sacrificing time
with her child is the right thing to do to give him a better life, the
son believes that his mother has abandoned him because she did
not give him enough attention and love.
 Despite the absence of a human character, there is a Christ-like
figure in the story, and that is Isabel’s career as a helper in Canada.
It can be considered as such because Isabel believes that this
opportunity in Canada will save her family from poverty. It instead
is the reason why they are bound to wait their entire lives for “the
good life,” for capitalism is not really kind to labourers like Isabel.
 Archetypal elements including visions/dreams, mistresses, and a
raggedy house are common to narratives of immigrant Filipinos.
o The vision/dream of a good life is what drives migrant
parents to give up all their time to work overseas and be
far away from their children, partners, and/or loved ones.
o More often than not, migrant Filipinos would come from
poor households, and this is what the raggedy homes
symbolize. This poverty is also what drives immigrants to
look for opportunities overseas.
o The mistress/kabit stands as filler for the relationships that
the migrant leaves, and is usually what separation results
to: in the case of Isabel’s husband, Roberto, Isabel’s
devotion to her work caused him to long for her—but
Isabel is out of his reach so he directs his longing to
another woman; Miguel, on the other hand, has learned to
spend his time listening to music instead of longing for his
mother.
Reader-oriented approach: Feminist Theory
In the story Isabel is a mom, and she is willing to do all kinds of jobs
just to support her family. She is brave and strong. Because being alone in a
country where you do not have any family or friends is so hard. Yet she
overcome all of that for the sake of her son’s future. It is relevant now, that
many women can do the work of men. Because women are no different to
men, what men do women can do it also, if not even better. So here in the
short story it truly shows that women are strong and independent.
The characters have a relationship, specifically because they are a
family. Yes, there was a conflict between Isabel and her husband Roberto,
because Roberto cheated and this resulted to the separation of the family.
Yes, the role of mother is probably the most important role a Filipina will
assume in the course of her life. Since the other is in charge of household
matters and responsibility of the children lies mainly with her. The difference
was she was also doing the tasks of a father, and that it is something that
women should be proud of.
Isabel flew to Canada to provide for her family, she’s doing all the
work that a husband or father was supposed to be doing, and that is
providing for your family. If Isabel the female character will be a male, I
think the story would be a little different, here in this short story Isabel was
really portraying the patriarchal role, she was the one who flew to Canada to
provide for her family. The thing for me that I think will be a little different is
she will not cheat. Maybe they do not have to tear their family apart because
of one’s unfaithfulness. He will be a good father and provider to his son. If
Roberto will be the female character, as I read the short story he is weak
and people’s view about him really matters and this results to his dormancy.
Roberto will be the one who will be the light of the house, the one who will
take care of their son. Isabel and Roberto’s relationship didn’t last long, due
to the cheating of Roberto. Isabel was affected by it, but she did not let the
situation get the best of her, after all she needs to work harder to provide
for her child. It did affect her decision because from that moment on, she
focused more on her child.
Reader-oriented approach: Marxist Theory
The text is a reflection of the society that the author is in. It focuses
mainly on the phenomenon of migrant families in Canada, but it also brings
to light the economic, religious, and cultural values of most Filipino
immigrant families.
 The characters are bound to their skills as labourers in order to earn a
living, for they are part of the proletariat or working class. Isabel, once
given the opportunity to earn more, chose to work abroad despite
being away from her family, because she felt that sacrificing her time
with her family is the least she can do, in order for them to live a good
life.
 As a woman of color and an immigrant from a third-world country
living in a post-industrial, first-world country, Isabel is bound to face a
lot of race, gender, and class issues. Darvin, in his study, addressed
how a global class hierarchy is realized as immigrants live and adapt to
the society inside their host countries. In the story, there has been an
instance of a mother reminding her child to do well in their studies in
order for them not to end up like Isabel. This is a discriminatory act,
showing how people from a lower social class are devalued by people
from upper social classes.
 The Great American Dream is realized in Isabel: she was very willing
to make sacrifices, to leave her family in the Philippines, and to work
several jobs differently with the promise of a better life.

General Synthesis
The story is a wholesome depiction of the real-life struggles of Filipino
immigrants in Canada, who are bound to a lot of changes: adapting to the
lifestyle and culture abroad, and learning how to live far away from loved
ones. It also emphasizes the sacrifices that these families bear, and how this
sacrifice leads them to long for each other and get tired of waiting.