The+Filipino+and+the+Drunkard-+Molly

__**The Filipino and the Drunkard**__ by Molly Pyne-Jaeger

In the short story "The Filipino and the Drunkard," by William Saroyan, a controversial issue has been whether the Filipino is guilty or innocent of murdering the drunkard. On one hand, some argue that he was innocent because he was only acting in self-defense. The drunkard was threatening him and trying to hurt him. They say that he was innocent because he did everything he could to escape the drunkard. On the other hand, however, others argue that he is guilty because he did not make every reasonable effort to escape. They say that he could have waited until the influence of the alcohol wore off. My own view is that the Filipino was innocent because he tried to escape the drunkard. He tried to avoid the man, and when that did not work, he spoke to him, telling him to go away and that he didn't want trouble. Although I admit that he could have waited until the alcohol wore off, I still say that he is innocent because the drunkard was threatening him, being racist to him, and his intent (if he caught the Filipino) would have been to kill or severely injure him, maybe fatally. The man tried to choke the Filipino at one point, and if he had succeeded in killing the Filipino, it would be him on trial for murder. An instance in the story when it is shown that the Filipino is innocent is when the narrator states, "....no one seemed to want to bother about coming to the boy's rescue," even though they seemed to be sympathetic to his plight. Maybe if these people had interfered, the boy would not have had any more trouble with the drunkard and so would not have killed him. I argue that if these people had helped the boy, the drunkard probably would have not been killed, so the Filipino is innocent. It is the other people who are guilty, because if they had tried to stop it, the drunkard would not have died. Another example of the Filipino's innocence is when the narrator states, "...threw open the door and tried to rush beyond the man." This shows that he tried to escape rather than kill the man at first. This clearly shows the Filipino's innocence because it shows that he did not want to kill the man, he only wanted to escape. Clearly, the Filipino is innocent because nobody tried to help him, so he had to find a way to defend himself on his own. The boy told the drunkard, "Go away. I do not want any trouble." He tried to escape the man many times. It is not his fault that the man would not go away!