America is in the Heart

Luciano, another of Allos’s brothers, returns home from military service in the Philippine Scouts. He teaches Allos how to make snares to catch birds. Instead of eating the birds, they try to make pets out of them. Allos recalls this as the most pleasant time in his life. Luciano is responsible for helping Allos see that there is beauty in the world and that objects are more than the functions they might serve. When Luciano’s pension from fighting in World War I finally arrives, he embarks on a political career. He becomes the mayor of Binalonan but is unhappy. He encourages Allos to keep reading good books and says maybe he can become a journalist. That night, Allos vows to become a writer. 

As peasant uprisings continue in the provinces, Allos’s father loses the rest of his land. He spends three weeks in provincial court fighting for the restoration of his farm but loses the case, driving him to alcoholism. Meanwhile, Allos and his mother go to Tayug to help with the rice harvest. Men come to the fields and pass out pamphlets while making impassioned political speeches.