America In The Heart By Carlos Bulosan Analysis

Why do you think people decided they wanted to come to America? Maybe your own family has traveled a far to come to America, but do you question how their journey was or their first impression of America when they first came? In the novel, “America in the Heart” by Carlos Bulosan, a native Filipino, describes his own journey of traveling from the Philippines to America and the mental and physical challenges he had faced. These physical and mental challenges also affected the well being and financial situation of his own family members in which tested their critical thinking and ability to adapt to certain situations. Throughout the novel, the idea of the American dream and the Filipino dream are also brought to light as to how living in the
At the time, two of his older brothers, Luciano and Amado were away from home and would only back for short visits before leaving once again for work purposes. The main concern for citizens, especially for teenagers was to leave to find some type of work to help their family financially. Carlos himself did not have the opportunity to attend school but decided that he would help his father with their family’s crop production business in the fields in order to pay for his older brother, Macario’s education. To help gain money at a quicker rate, Carlos took on several other jobs which challenged him physically as the result of him being injured from one act of duty but chose to continue to work for his brother’s sake. The author states, “When I was well again I saw that my mother needed help in her small trading business. It was because I wanted to help keep our family together that I had neglected going to school.” (Bulosan, 32) This quote shows that Carlos was aware of his family’s financial state of living so he decided to hold off school to go help his mother in hopes of earning extra money that could go towards their household expenses. He knew that if they did not make enough profit to be able to pay for Macario’s school, that he would end up no longer getting an education and leaving home
He traveled back and forth between different villages in the Philippines, moving from job to job for each harvest season, hoping to earn enough money to assist his family in their financial crisis and daily living. One of his hardest choices was deciding to leave home in Binangonan along with saying goodbye to his family to settle for a short while in Manilla for work purposes that would help him be a step closer to going to America. As he is leaving his village, he starts to reminisce about the past few years and how each of his family members fought just as hard as he is to be able to continue to live and have a future. An example that shows a great understanding of the concept states, “I remembered all my years in the Philippines, my father fighting for his inherited land, my mother selling boggong to the impoverished peasants. I remembered all my brothers and their bitter fight for a place in the sun, their tragic fear that they might not live long enough to contribute something vital to the world.” (Bulosan, 56-57) The quote demonstrates how not just one member of the family, but all members have put their entire energy and effort into working hard in their businesses and job to earn money to help them in the long run whether it be housing food purchases, materials, education, and or transportation. In order for his family to