Amadis ma guerrero autobiography example

The father of the boy Victor worked on the waterfront and got involved in a strike, a long drawnout affair which had taken the following course: It began with charges that the employees were not being given a just compensation, that part of their earnings were being withheld from them, and that their right to form a union was being disregarded. It escalated with the sudden dismissal, for unstated reasons, of several workers, giving rise to fears that more layoffs would be carried out in the near future. This led to organized defiance, and the setting up of picket lines. Finally, one stifling summer evening, violence broke out on the piers of the city as the strikers were receiving sandwiches and soft drinks from sympathetic outsiders.

Victor had been, and still was, too young to understand it all. But when they were living in one of the shanties that stood in Intramuros, he would frequently overhear snatches of conversation between his parents regarding his father’s job. Sobra na, his father would say, we cannot take it anymore. Naglalagay sila, they are depriving us of our wages, and they even have this canteen which charges us whether we eat there or not.

Then his mother’s voice, shrill and excited, would cut in, urging him to swallow it all, accept what little was given to him and stay away from the groups that wanted to fight back. She spoke bitterly of the newly emerging unions – and that priest with his cohorts and his student volunteers – who were trying to organize the workers. Victor’s father defended these groups, saying were only protecting the dockhands’ interests. You don’t know what it’s like out there, he would say, there have been beatings, and all sorts of accidents. It’s a dreadful place really…

Once the boy interrupted them and wanted to know what the discussion was all about, only to be met with a rebuke from his mother. But he was insistent, the heat of the argument stirring a vag

Title: Children of the City

Written By: Amadis Ma. Guerrero

Theme:

The story focuses on the  harsh reality that street children experience everyday. It is how these child laborers sacrifice their childhood, trading it for a life of vices and danger. Another theme that was tackled in the story is the social injustices, especially in the poor, that are prevalent up until today.

Characters:

1. Victor– He is the main character of the story whose father died when he was eight years old. Soon after, his mom abandons him for a man. He then drops out of third grade and starts working as a newsboy. There, he learns how about the cruel world full of vices.
2. Victor’s Dad– He was one of the workers who got involved in a strike despite the disapproval of his wife. Four months after the protests began, he was brutally shot dead along with another worker.
3. Victor’s Mom– She was a loving wife to her husband but when he dies, she abandons her only son and runs off with another man who is very unlike Victor’s father.
4. Tio Pedring– He is Victor’s uncle who was a newspaper agent. He employs Victor as a newsboy and acts as his guardian.
5. Nacio– He is considered to be cheerful and popular among the other newsboys. Considered as Victor’s only friend, he teaches him the tricks that will help him in doing his job. He also takes pride in calling himself “the fastest newsboy in Manila.”

Summary

Victor’s father gets involved in a strike which his wife constantly disapproves of. She says that he should just accept what was given to him and stay away from those who wanted to fight back. To distract their son from knowing their situation, the father would take him out to walk along the Boulevard where they would look at the surroundings.

One evening, Victor’s father was shot dead during a violent protest. Learning of this later in the night, his wife cried in anguish and in frustration. She

Children of the City
By: Amadis Ma. Guerrero

Theme:

The story focuses on the events that happen in Victor’s life. At a young age, he loses his father, is left by his mother, and has to work as a newsboy to be able to survive. The central theme of the story- in my opinion- is how the world is unjust and cruel to everyone. There are a few parts wherein Victor finally saw a tether of hope (In the part where he was given two pesos by a sailor), but was quickly robbed of that joy and was replaced with darkness, which lead me to the thought that in reality, there is no mercy held for us. It depicts the realities of millions of people who are suffering, and implies to the readers that the world bows to no one. Another theme of the book is poverty and social injustice, which even in this generation today, still hasn’t been solved. It’s a never-ending cycle of being born poor and dying poor. The story also shows how people in the lower class were and are still taking advantage of (as seen in the strikes of the workers who are fighting for their rights) and how even in their hardest attempts, the people higher than them, or the government, will always find a way to undermine them and put them back in their place (as seen in the part where six-by-six trucks run over the workers).The environment also plays a large role in the theme, since it is the catalyst on how the next parts will happen. How Victor turned out the way he did in the end is because of influence of the outside environment (like the other newsboys and the setting in the streets of Manila).

Characters:

Victor
Victor is the central character of the story. He is the son of a dockworker and an unemployed wife in the shanties of Manila. He is the epitome of a child- young, naïve, and innocent about how the world truly works. After his father dies, his life went in a downward spiral. His mother abandoned him for another man, and he was taken to his Uncle, Tio Pedring, to work as a newsboy. There,

Featured image from GMA Network
written by Samantha Therese S. Pingol

Theme

The main character of the story, Victor, discovers how life really works outside of the four walls of his house. The theme revolves around facing reality wherein a young boy is forced to experience strenuous work and witness the vices that people possess within a society. At such a young age, the writer illustrates how Victor was forced to be a part of a society that showcases child labor, sexual harassment, and corruption.

Characters

Victor

Victor is a young boy from Intramuros who was abandoned by his mother when his father died during a strike. He was exposed to the difficulty of life at such an early age, not knowing what really happened in the real world. His uncle gave him the job of a newsboy as soon as his father died. Victor had no choice but to adjust to the life of a newsboy which consisted of intense labor and early morning business since it was his only way of earning and receiving money.

Victor’s Dad

He was a loving father who would always look out for Victor. He’d have arguments with his wife about the strikes that have been occurring within the country. He was employed at a waterfront where he soon joined a strike with his colleagues.

Victor’s Mom

Victor’s mom was against the choices of her husband when it came to actively participating in strikes. She was never an affectionate nor caring mother to Victor, even when he lost his father. After her husband died, she grieved for the death of her loved one then met a man who was the exact opposite of her late husband. She soon left with the man and entrusted Victor to his uncle.

Tio Pedring

Tio Pedring is Victor’s uncle who is also working as a newspaper agent. He accepts Victor under his wing and gives him the job of a newsboy.

Nacio

A fellow newsboy that Victor met on the streets. He was the only friend that Victor had which caused him to become reserved and quiet.

Summary

Vic