The influx of American ideals like “equality” into Philippine society comes, somewhat ironically, alongside the growing power of the large landholders, who usurp more and more of the peasants’ lands. Bulosan discusses this struggle in order to introduce an important point that carries throughout the novel: poverty in not a “natural state.” Rather, poverty exists because the rich and powerful use their wealth and power to dominate the less powerful and keep them in a state of economic oppression.