This weeks novel brought up some interesting cultural perspectives, both through a Filipino lens, as well as a period filter. In terms of timeline, it felt as though a lot of the attitude toward women was outdated and unnecessary in terms of overall plot. There was also a lot of language throughout that defined the overall outlook of men using woman as a means to define each other as weak, ie: pussy, sissy, etc.

Another troubling aspect of this novel was the absolute disconnect between Buddy and his father. With such a slim gap between generations, I would have thought that Buddy would have been taught to speak the same language as his father. However, the two lacked a means of communication because his father spoke very broken English, and Buddy could hardly make out his father’s language. Buddy adhered more strongly to to American and African American culture, except when it came to the Filipino fighting culture.