The point of Bulosan’s book is to reveal the horrible conditions Filipinos dealt with when they came to America, and by extension, to reveal the hypocritical nature of the American ideas of freedom and equality through America’s treatment of Filipino immigrants, through the eyes of the protagonist, Allos. Allos, as the main character, deals with severe racism around everyday, survives numerous violent altercations, and financial hardships, the staggering amount of obstacles and hardship that he has to deal with allows readers to sympathize with his plight. But one of the dangers of creating such a character is that one risks legitimizing the character’s thoughts and reactions in the eyes of the audience, even if they are racist and classist.
