Who is the one speaking in the poem, or who is the persona?

The persona in the poem by Rene Estella Amper represents one who has taken notice of the contemporary problems in his hometown. 2. Who is the persona speaking to? The writer of the letter is speaking to Pedro/ Pete, his old friend whom he had shared plenty of childhood memories with. They both buried a cat, Simeona, together. They shot birds with slingshots in the summer. Pedro/ Pete is now an American. 3. Who or what is the subject of the personas speech? And what is the purpose of the personas speaking to his addressee? According to (Logronio & Lumayno, 2008), the persona talked about the socio-political problems of their hometown. He wrote to Pedro to inform him of the developments that were taking place in the town and how these advancements altered the simplicity and beauty of the town and affected the townsfolk. He mentioned the destruction of the forests to make way for the feeder road and how this event in the modernization of their town affected the farmers. He also revealed the vices that the farmers were slaves to. He cited the behaviour the people displayed in church. He flippantly discussed how women became more acquisitive. He was also able to imply that colonial mentality was operative in the minds of the people when he stated remember us to your American wife, you lucky bastard and P.S. Tasyo, the old goat, Sends your lizard his warmest congratulations. The persona also meant to confront the problems at hand. 4. How does the personas language make us experience the poem in a sensually and emotionally intelligent way? The persona writes the letter very simply just like one from the province would. His wording is quite conversational. One may imply that he was indeed talking to an old friend whom he knew very well .

Its sad to think that what was said in this poem is true, and is still happening in the Philippines. (rich becomes richer, poor becomes poorer, women are left to become whores, etc.) But this was written with such humor that it doesnt sound as bad as it was. The persona is very ironic, first saying that nothing much has changed then follows that stanza about changes in theircommunity. Not only was he ironic, he also sounded very sarcastic. These tones were intended toknow what the persona really wants to say. If he wants to be like Pedro or if he thinks that goingto America is not a good thing.

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,

Pete, old friend, There isnt really much change In our hometown since you left. he actually heralds the changes in their hometown. The label Pete used by the persona in contrast with the phrase old friend represents the ironies that follow. Reading closely the stanzas, one can cull out the different images that symbolically intersperse with one another as the clash between the old and the new becomes apparent in every line. For instance, 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. 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 A steel bridge named after the congressmans wife now spans the gray river where Tasyo, the old goat, had split the skin of our young lizards to make us a man many years ago. The steel bridge with the congressmans wife may be compared to the women as empowered (signified by the steel bridge) individuals and

splitting the skin of our young lizards to the pain young boys have to undergo in order to become men. Furthermore, modernity proves to have its downside also. It can hamper ones freedom. Modernity doesnt ensure us the liberty to enjoy what we want to do. It becomes a barbed wire fence that drives the birds away. Indeed, technology snatches us away from the simple pleasures of life like shooting the birds with slingshot or spending the summer afternoons we loved so much doing. Now, most of us would spend most of the time in front of the television or surfing the internet. The poems tension lies in the contrasting images and the motifs embedded in the lines. The persona presents the then and the now respectively, implying a direction or arrow which steers from tradition to modernity. It leads the readers to pay attention to an important issue of globalization. Here, the persona favors change. The irony in the first stanza creates an impact only when the readers realize that what he is cataloguing in the proceeding stanzas is actually the changes that take place in his hometown. The poem commences with the persona extending his regards to Petes American wife and tells him how his cock-eyed Uncle Islaw now calls himself Stanley/after he began wearing the clothes you sent him last Christmas. Is there really much change? By giving attention to the metaphors, we find fault in the persona.

The fact is, there IS really much change in their hometown since Pedro left. And the greatest change is actually how the persona aspires to become a U.S Citizen, how Islaw considers himself American and Tasyo, the old goat, prides himself of having Pedro as a U.S. citizen by sending the latters lizard his warmest congratulations. The hometown represents tradition. Modernity, the United States of America.