The+Filipino+and+the+Drunkard+-+Lane

"The Filipino and the Drunkard"

In the short story "The Filipino and the Drunkard" by William Saroyan a controversial issue has been brought up whether the Filipino is guilty or innocent of murdering the drunkard. On one hand, some argue that he is innocent because the drunkard would not leave the boy alone and the boy said to go away and he didn't want to kill. On the other hand, however, others argue that he is guilty because he ran out of the stall holding the knife, and therefore think he intended to kill the drunkard. My own view is that the Filipino is innocent.

Although I admit that he may have run out of the stall with a knife, I still say that he did that to scare off the drunkard so that he could get away without harming anyone. An instance in the story when the Filipino shows his innocence is when the boy rushed out of the stall and tried to get past the man. I argue that this shows his innocence because he didn't go out of the stall and stab the drunkard, he tried to run off.

Another example of the Filipino's innocence is when he spoke saying,"I didn't want to hurt him," and "I do not want t kill any man. You are drunk. Go away. Please do not make any trouble." This clearly shows the Filipino's innocence because he tried to get away and he tried to get the drunkard to go away, they were in a boat and the boy could only so far until the drunkard fould him again.

Clearly the Filipino is innocent and was bothered and bullied by an adult drunkard. He is innocent and was only defending himself. The drunkard was bothering the Filipino boy, and the boy was innocent.