Isabel Maria C.

Fernando AJSS 44

May 6, 2011 English A

Whos the Most Foolish of Them All?

The short story Fools, written by Susan P. Evangelista, is about a man constantly going through emotionally taxing experiences in his life. He struggles to find comfort by marrying re-marrying, but this only leads him to further drown in his despair. The story ends when Frank, the main character in this selection, his emotions all built-up, strikes his own daughter. The story is full of fools in these foolish situations, but this paper will try to describe the greatest of the fools. Frank is described to be a 67 year-old American. His old age was taking its toll on his body, as shown by his being tall and gaunt and partly deaf (129), and his wrinkled face (131). Franks behavior was also affected by his age, as shown by his relatively skeptical attitude when he visited the Philippines. He noticed how most Filipinos would call him Joe and, though an average middle-aged man would simply choose to ignore it, Frank somehow winds up using that explanation as an excuse to not return to the Philippines. In the first part of the story, Frank escapes from his home and his daughter and heads to a diner owned by Ernie, one of Franks friends. It is implied that they are good friends because Ernie and his wife, Mari, helped Frank find a Filipina wife; a favor they extend to only a few people. However, it should also be noted that, even though Frank and Ernie are good friends, Ernie had in fact, never heard Frank say much of anything about his own life (130). In other words, they may be good friends in such a way that theyve known each other for a while, but they dont talk to each other as much as real friends do.

Franks first wife was a woman named Jane. They might have been very happy at first, just like most newlywed couples, but as time passed by the both of them, Jane began to blatantly cheat on him with a man named Bill Braddock. Though he made clear his objections to such acts, Jane continued to go out with Bill and [stood] her ground against him until hed get so mad that hed hit her (128). Franks violent responses to his wifes actions may stem from his fathers belief: women should always be obedient. His father might have passed on to him this expectation. With Janes rebellious acts, Frank feels that his beliefs have been threatened. And so, in an effort to keep Jane in line and to protect what he believes in, Frank resorts to hitting his wife, or knocking some sense into her, in a way. When Jane died, Frank was saddened, yes, however, there is a part in him that is satisfied that she got what she deserved. But then, what good did that do? Just bonded the two, mother and daughter, more strongly against him (128). Here we see the consequences of Franks violent attempts to preserve his beliefs: the two women in his life, his wife and daughter, form a strong bond against him. Just as Frank might have inherited his fathers beliefs, Raquel, his daughter, might have inherited her mothers feisty and very rebellious nature. Raquel may have come to understand that whatever her father is doing is wrong, and that he deserves to receive some sort of payback. She is not aware that whatever her father is doing is simply to defend what he believes in. After putting up with all these things, Frank wants to find another wife: maybe one who had the qualities that made him like Jane in the first place, but none of the rebellious attitude. Through the help of Ernie and Mari, he met Angie, a young Filipino woman, whom he married in a church in Catarman. She was reluctant to marry Frank at first, running away when she first saw him. Frank, possibly not wanting to make the same mistakes he did when he was with Jane, tries to take it easy, although he knows that if he goes home without a wife, all his endeavors would be

fruitless. He is a bit more patient with Angie, who concedes to marrying him. After their wedding, Frank wants to bring Angie home as soon as possible, but is met with the challenge posed by official paper work for her migration to America. Again, he does not want to make mistakes in his relationship with Angie, so Frank arranges for her to live with a nun, Sister Karina, until all the documents for her migration have been submitted and approved. Though he is uncomfortable with this idea of his, as he feels that the nun is somehow against his and Angies marriage. Frank waits for more or less a month for a letter from Angie, until the 1st week of December came along. However, the letter he receives is from Sister Karina informing her that Angela has decided that it would be best for her, and perhaps you as well, if she simply returned to her home in Catarman. (133). He becomes frustrated at this, as he spent a fortune to go to the Philippines and to speed up the waiting process for migration. Frank also feels used, because he trusted Angie to come and live with him in America, to help alleviate the pains he feels when his wife and daughter defy him. This is the real reason why Frank doesnt want to return to the Philippines: he doesnt want to risk being fooled by Filipinos again. Out of this sudden bout of depression, Frank tries to escape his problems by drinking them away. This was not very successful. His rage cools down some, but instead of him forgetting about what happened, the events cement themselves in his brain with every glass of whiskey he downed. The early closing of the bar didnt help either. In the middle of trying to drown his troubles, Frank is haphazardly thrown back into the real world, where he is forced to face his problems while inebriated. Frank goes home, expecting to find solace, but encounters his daughter who taunts him with Sister Karinas letter, saying Why would that young girl want to have anything to do with you? Fool! (134). At this, all the rage that Frank ever felt built up inside of him, and he did

not see his daughter, he simply saw a woman who desperately needed to be taught the same lesson that was Janes last. Frank [strikes] out at her then, hard, and harder than he had ever tried to hit anyone before, but his fist flailed wildly, impotently into the air, and she was gone (134). This ending is quite vague, but here we see what Frank tends to do when he is inebriated. When his drunkenness is combined with all the rage he has inside, Frank easily turns violent, but this violence is quite useless as his inebriation drains him of the power he would have had. Overall, Frank is a man who is a victim of many unfortunate situations. His reactions to these come from how he was brought up and how he believes one can solve a problem, and is narrow-minded when it comes to these solutions. This gets him caught up in these miserable circumstances, and makes him the greatest fool in the selection.