âSame world, Different livesâ
  Have you ever wondered how people in the slums live? How do they survive with the lack of money? Sometimes we forget the things and the people we have, and we tend to look for something more.
    âMac Arthurâ was written by Bob Ong, a Filipino author famous for writing humorous and reflective stories that show life and issues in the Philippines. The term âMac Arthurâ is a filipino street slang that refers to feces still bubbling up now matter how many times you flush it, which is Mac Arthurâs quote âI shall return.â The cover of the page is a red background with bold black text and a toilet bowl. The characters of Cyrus, Noel, Jim, and Voltron show different characteristics of a Filipino household, however, with the same situation of poverty. They experienced many difficulties as the story progresses. Different dialogues depict the experiences, the setting, the level of understanding and problems of each character, and especially the morals we can get from different aged groups that appeared in the story.
     âMac Arthurââ starts with Cyrus snatching a necklace from a woman in a market as the woman shouts âMagnanakaw! Magnanakaw! â while a person snatched her necklace. She shouted as other people helped her catch the snatcher, which was Cyrus. The police then caught Cyrus after a long chase and eventually got the necklace from him, but sold it to a pawnshop for money instead of returning it to the snatched woman. This scenario only shows that corruption is always present in the government. Therefore people donât know whom to really trust. After the first scene between Cyrus and the police, Cyrus met with his friends Noel, Voltron, and Jim, who are also criminals that do different things in order to survive in this harsh world. Cyrus mentioned âKung importante sa buhay ng tao ang teleponong may camera, dapat dati pa tayo lahat namatayâ to his friends while having a conversation about finding money for the tuition fee of Noelâs sister. The line Cyrus said proves that people only want to have something they think other people have and only show that people want to be looked at by others based on their physical appearance. By the time Cyrus is talking with Mang Justo about their day, he says "Sus! Bayaan nyo, magkapuhunan lang tayo, magnenegosyo ako at wala nang pipigil sa pag-asenso natin. Ibibili ko kayo ng bahay na lahat ng dingding telebisyon, yung plasma TV, malaki yon! Ibaât-ibang channel, cable pa!â Mang Justo laughed but Cyrus promised that he would buy them a tv after the businessâs success he can make in the future. It only proves that anything can make a person happy if they can be successful. Even though some people may underestimate someoneâs dreams and goals, each person can dream about their success in life together with their family.
      In the middle of the story, When Jim came home, he saw that his wife was packing things with her children because they wanted to go home to their province for their child to recover. After Jim saw his family leaving, he tried to stop them and said, âPutangna, may pangarap ako! Wag mo âko mamadaliin!â Everyone has a dream and he doesnât want to rush it because the turning point of oneâs life will be the day that person decides if he/she is willing to keep working at his/her goals no matter how long it takes to achieve them. Jim wanted to tell them that he needed time to reach his dreams, but Olive said, âKumakain tayo, Jim! Nagdadamit tayo. Nagkakasakit tayo. Kailangan natin ng ligal na tubig at kuryente. Kailangan mo ng matinong trabaho. Kailangan ni Jon-jon ng tatay. Kailangan ko ng asawa. Kailangan nating mabuhay! Ito na ba yung rurok ng mga pangarap mo, Jim? Hanggang dito ka na lang ba? Eto na ba yon lahat?!â While Jim is comforting his wife and said, â Wag kang matakot⊠wag kang matakotâŠ..â Jim wants to prove to his family that they could live successfully, but they should not be in a rush in his situation because the feeling of rushing into things prevents a person from experiencing fun things in life. If it doesnât feel like the right moment, donât do it because it can also impact everyone around that person as well.
      Towards the end of the story, Noel, who left his house out of anger and feeling of worthlessness, found a person that changed his life. At first, he had no home to stay with but successfully stayed in the house of Cyrus for months while taking care of Mang Justo, who was already discharged from hospital. Being in the house of Cyrus changed the perception of Noel in life. Mang Justo, as the one who experienced so much in life, gave advice to Noel on returning home, having a dream in life and a job legally, and especially to become more mature. âSinasabi ko saâyo makakarating kang Saudi sa paggugupit lang. Naku, maniwala ka, dalawang kumpare ko na nakalipad sa ibang bansa!â Doing legal jobs like barbering can help you earn money even if it is small but safe. He wants Noel to have a decent job so that he would be safe and far from danger. In real life, there are people, especially guardians or parents that want their children to get on the right path. Mang Justoâs advice to Noel during their conversation that never lose hope, âDalawang dekada ka lang mag-aaral. Kung di mo pagtitiyagaan, anak, limang dekada ng kahirapan ang kapalit. Sobrang lugi. Kung alam yan ng mga kabataan, sa pananaw ko e walang gugustuhing umiwas sa eskwela.â Mang Justo wants Noel to never give up his studies even if he runs away from home and he thinks that his parents canât support him anymore. This advice of Mang Justo wants to enlighten us that if we donât work and study hard, and not confront our fears and problems, we will not achieve anything and may even result in more difficulty and unwanted results. Sometimes while they are eating, Cyrus accidentally talks about his vices but Mang Justo clarified by saying âMga bata pa kayo. Pag pinaniwalaan namin kayong hindi kayo naglaro ng tubig kahit na basang-basa ang mga damit ninyo, kayo ang niloloko namin. Hindi kayo ang nakakapanloko.â He only wants to clarify to Noel that he knows every move of Cyrus and it is also an instinct of a parent/guardian. Because they lived together for many years, Mang Justo knows every little movement of his so-called son.
     Four friends with different personalities share the same problem which is poverty. Most of them didnât experience love and affection in their family/loved ones thatâs why they become rebellious and get into various illegal activities to prove themselves. In some parts of the book, there are characters, challenges, and experiences that shape the main charactersâ behavior and perception through dialogues. This book wants to open the eyes of the readers to be aware of the issues and the wrongdoings of the youth in our society and morals we can get from different-aged groups. It inspires us to value responsibility and control and also it leaves a great impact to the readers such as the younger generations. It also tells us that we are not all the same and we all experience pain and misery throughout our lives but it shouldnât let us give up. We should be strong in any problems that we may encounter because in life it is normal that we experience ups and downs. Many people are losing their jobs especially now that we are experiencing this pandemic but this does not mean that we must do something wrong. To achieve our life goals and dreams, we must work hard and never give up.
Always remember to live your life to the fullest because you only live once.