The Tale of Two Pearls

in Nick Carbó’s Little Brown Brother

an analysis by
Jonathan M. Ayson
 Little Brown Brother
By Nick Carbó

I've always wanted to play the part his Tommy gun by the end of the night. But
of that puckish pubescent Filipino boy then, a Betty Grable look-a-like love

in those John Wayne Pacific-War movies. interest would divert him by sobbing
Pepe, Jose, or Juanito would be smiling, into his shoulder, saying how awfully scared

bare-chested and eager to please she is about what the "Japs" would do
for most of the steamy jungle scenes. to her if she were captured. In one swift

I'd be the one who would cross motion, John Wayne would sweep her off
the Japanese lines and ask for tanks, her feet to calm her fears inside his private
quarters.

air support, or more men. I'd miraculously

Because of my Hollywood ability
make it back to the town where John Wayne
to be anywhere, I'd be under the bed

is holding his position against the enemy

watching the woman roll down her stockings
with his Thompson machine-gun. As a
reward, as my American hero unbuckles his belt

he'd rub that big white hand on my head I'd feel the bottom of the bed bounce off my
chest
and he'd promise to let me clean
as small-arms fire explodes outside the
walls.
Marxist Literary Theory

Marxist criticism stemmed from the philosophies of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and

Friedrich Engels. Marxism sees a literary text as the product of an ideology particular to a

specific historical period, not the product of an individual consciousness. The text, for Marxist

critics, is looked at on the basis of its portrayal of social actions. They assert that literature must

be understood in relation to historical and social reality. The central Marxist position is that the

economic base of a society determines the nature and structure of the ideology, institutions and

practices, including literature, that form the superstructure of that society.

Marxist literary critics start by viewing the structure of history and society and then

seeing whether the literary work reflects or distorts this structure. It is essential for literature to

have a social dimension – to exist in time and space; in history and society. A literary piece must

speak to concerns that readers recognize as relevant to their lives.

Marxist literary criticism perpetuates that a writer’s social class and its prevailing

‘ideology’ (outlook, values, tacit assumptions, etc.) greatly affects what is written by a member

of that class. The writers are continually formed by their social contexts. Our attention is

diverted not to the nature of the words on the page but to the action those words mean.

For some Marxists, realism is the best form for Marxist purposes because it clearly and

accurately represents the real world, with all its socio-economic inequities and ideological

contradictions. It also advocates that readers see the unhappy truths about material or historical

reality, for whether or not authors intend it they are bound to represent socio-economic inequities

and ideological contradictions if they accurately represent the real world.

Analysis

The South West Pacific became a major stage of the armed conflict between the Allied

and Axis powers during World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in

December 7, 1941. This included the Battle of the Philippines which was the invasion of the

Philippines by Imperial Japan and the defense of the islands by American forces, the eventual

‘fall’, and the subsequent liberation of the Philippines. This is the backdrop to which Nick

Carbó’s poem Little Brown Brother takes place. Let’s look at the different personas and how

they interact with each other.

The main persona or speaker is probably a young boy who hero-worships the “American

soldier”:

“I've always wanted to play the part

of that puckish pubescent Filipino boy

in those John Wayne Pacific-War movies.

Pepe, Jose, or Juanito would be smiling,

bare-chested and eager to please

for most of the steamy jungle scenes.”

Eager to please his ‘American big brother’, the persona willingly takes part in combat in

a variety of ways:

“I'd be the one who would cross

the Japanese lines and ask for tanks,

air support, or more men…”

“he'd rub that big white hand on my head

 and he'd promise to let me clean

his Tommy gun by the end of the night…”

Who then is being represented by this persona? Let’s look at the historical context of this

period.

It is a fact that the Americans defeated the First Philippine Republic and that they were

able to establish an American civilian government (the Insular Government) which continued to

secure and extend their control over the islands including the interior mountainous areas that had

resisted Spanish conquest. This led to them granting commonwealth status for a period of ten

years to the Philippines under the Tydings-McDuffie Act as well as the formation of an

administrative government (the Philippine Commonwealth). But even if the Americans

prioritized defense, social justice, inequality and economic diversification, and national

character, they also cemented the idea in the heads of the locals that they (the Americans) treated

them (the Filipinos) far better than the Spanish. Acknowledging the limitations to defend the

country from foreign threats, this Philippine government allowed itself to be the ‘little brown

brother’ for the Americans during this period of transition to full independence; one who is still

subservient to the ‘big white brother’.

The second persona that we see in the poem is that of the woman who willingly relegates

herself to the American soldier. Women (and probably young teenage girls) used their charm to

be ‘swept-off’ their feet instead of becoming sexual slaves to the Japanese imperial forces as

‘comfort women’:

“a Betty Grable look-a-like love

interest would divert him by sobbing

into his shoulder, saying how awfully scared

 she is about what the "Japs" would do

to her if she were captured. In one swift

motion, John Wayne would sweep her off

her feet to calm her fears inside his private quarters…”

We can say that this persona represents the Filipino people of that period. Such is the

belief of Filipinos that the Americans who supposedly ‘freed’ them from Spanish rule will be

able to protect them from Japanese conquest even so to the point that they would just willingly

‘go to bed’ with the American protector. Thus, the supposed ‘hero’ now takes advantage of their

willingness to be subjugated.

Can we say that the Americans are friends or foe? Hero or antihero? It’s a matter of

perspective. More than three centuries of oppressive colonial rule under the Spanish blurred the

eyes of the Filipinos during that period which led them to see the Americans as knights in

shining armor.

The third persona in this poem is the American soldier which obviously represents the

United States government. The military might of the Americans is without question. This they

used to their full advantage in controlling the affairs of lesser nations. During the second world

war, the Philippines was:

“under the bed

watching the woman roll down her stockings

as my American hero unbuckles his belt”

The Philippines was a valuable ally (or asset) to the Americans during that period

because it allowed the Americans to ‘hold his position’ against the enemy due to its strategic

location in the Southwest Pacific region.

“.. holding his position against the enemy

 with his Thompson machine-gun. As a reward,

he'd rub that big white hand on my head

and he'd promise to let me clean

his Tommy gun by the end of the night…”

In turn, the United States was able to operate various military installations in the

Philippines. In the guise of mutual defense (‘reward’), the existence of such bases only served

their political and military goals. This also allowed them to project power and thereby influence

events not just in the Philippines but in the whole region.

Conclusion

The concluding lines of the poem sums up the interaction of these three personas:

“I'd feel the bottom of the bed bounce off my chest

as small-arms fire explodes outside the walls…”

The American soldier is on top of the girl who willingly gives herself to be ‘protected’

from the Japanese while the little brown brother cowers in fear ‘under the bed’ as explosions are

heard ‘outside the walls’. This is a clear representation of the American government who clearly

took advantage of the desire of the Filipinos not to be taken over by Imperial Japanese Army, as

the transitional commonwealth government allowed itself to be subjugated during the period

when the Americans acted out their part in the Pacific theater of the World War II which began

at Pearl Harbor and eventually reached the shores of the Pearl of the Orient.
Clash of the Titans

The Southwest Pacific region is once again a major flashpoint in the 21 st century. The

economic rise of China coupled with its ambitions of global dominance in trade and political

influence prompted western superpowers to seek to maintain their status in the region resulting in

a virtual tug-of-war. The Philippines, due to its strategic location, is once again caught in the fray

of either maintaining fealty to its old U.S. ally or to embrace a new friend in China.

The Philippines views Beijing as a potential source of investments and development aid

in spite of a long-standing territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea. Contrary to this, the

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said that “we need U.S presence” in Asia

following years anti-American rhetoric from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Washington

sees the Philippines as part of its blockade of allies that is needed to stop Chinese maritime

expansion and often cites a mutual defense treaty which has been in place since 1951. On the

other hand, Beijing hopes that forging stronger ties with the Philippines will reduce U.S.

influence in the region as a whole.

The statement of Secretary Locsin echoes the sentiment of the main persona in the poem.

Instead of forging a constant equidistant standing as well as a “more dignified” independent

foreign policy that actually improves relations with and permits China and the United States to

know what to expect, we are once again a ‘little brown brother’ cowering in the midst of a

potential clash of titans.

“I don’t believe that the Philippines should choose between the US and China, in the sense that
friendship with both countries would be beneficial to the Philippines.”
Leni Robredo
References

Gbenoba et al (2014). Literary Theory and Criticism. National Open University of Nigeria

Jennings R. (2020). China or US? Philippines Foreign Policy Plays Both Sides.
https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/china-or-us-philippines-foreign-policy-plays-
both-sides

Lalu G. (2019). Philippines should not choose between US and China – Robredo.
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/178962/philippines-should-not-choose-between-us-and-

china-robredo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_the_Philippines

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57845/little-brown-brother