Jose Neil C. Garcia's The Conversion

Jose Neil C. Garcia’s The Conversion is a poem narrating the experience of a boy, who feels the opposite, as his family oblige him to quit the thought of being a girl. The poem shows how he pushed aside what he truly feels so that his father would stop harming him.

At the beginning of the poem, the narrator talked about how his cousins did not get washed as well as their laundry and dishes just to save the water for him. His father and his uncles were furiously looking for him inside the house. When his father saw him inside the cabinet of his late mother, he got dragged by the hair. In the metal drum in their bathroom, where the water was waiting for him, his family drowned him while asking whether he is a boy or a girl. Obviously, they want him to confirm that he is a boy

because everytime he speaks up who he really is, they drown him even more. To end his sufferings, he gave the answer that they’ve all been waiting for even though he still thinks otherwise. They stopped torturing him.
Years later, his father died.

He got his wife pregnant with four boys and a new baby whose sex is still not known. He said these because he wanted to show that he is now a man and the evidence is his sons. His wife, on the other hand, follows his words and whenever she does something opposite from what he commanded, he’d beat her up then he would drink with his uncles. He should feel happy because he has finally proven his masculinity but he doesn’t feel relieved at all.

Sometimes, he would remember what happened in the metal drum years ago. He would remember how the girl inside him drowned and died. Whenever he thinks that he should regret what he did then, he would drown himself in gin. He let her die to rise for a better life.

The poem is entitled as The Conversion because from a boy who is a girl at heart, he lived a new life letting the girl inside him drown. He was converted and that is through the violence that he got from his father and his uncles. However, even though his family has accepted him, he still isn’t pleased or happy. I think it is because deep inside his heart, the girl is still alive, haunting him. After days, months or years, that same thought will forever worry

him.
For what he did, is he considered strong or not? I think he is the latter. He gave up so easily. He should have fought for what he deserves. Yes, he might still receive punishments from his family and even end up dying. However, I believe a strong person lives his life his own way, not minding what the negative comments of the people around him. A strong person doesn’t have to pretend to be anybody else just to get acceptance.
The narrator is obviously a gay who is not accepted by his own family. That is the main problem in the poem and I think the same goes with some of the LGBT people. It is so sad that even their own families don’t accept them for who they really are. Some experience violence while some choose to hide what they feel. That’s how they get their family’s acceptance and survive the society.
I feel bad for him and for all the people who are locked inside what the society wants them to be. I believe everyone deserves to live their lives in accordance to the desire of their hearts. No one should ever be deprived of the opportunity to be free.
This poem successfully portrayed the reality, and for me, it is a great piece. It has delivered such an important lesson about the problems of the people of LGBT.