kristinberry

This next section of America is in the Heart continues Bulosan's struggles in the United States. Using images of darkness and light, he conveys the constant paradox of how America can be so cruel, yet at the same time, provide so much opportunity. Also, it is in these chapters that he finally begins to find himself as an advocater for workers' rights. With this new goal that his book has been alluding to, Bulosan can finally find some purpose and continuity in his hectic and nomadic life.
A constant theme has been the sense of brotherhood, and Bulosan finally looks to his brother Amado's life for advice. When Amado opens the restaurant and the hotel, Bulosan primarily scorns his brother for letting his friends take up all the space, depriving local workers from a warm place to sleep. However, he comes to learn that like himself, Amado cares about his friends and just wants to be surrounded by them to make his life more meaningful and subsistent.
Some other themes evident in this section are innocence which is broken, a changing sense of identity and the role of the past which I believe is essential to this book. The past ties Bulosan and other fieldworkers together so that they may eventually unite for a common goal. This book reaches out to anyone who has their own struggle, implying that they should collaborate and form a brotherhood with others in the same situation so the problem can be solved with more power. This is why he mentions all of the places he has been to, jumping around the western United States. Although some may critique this, it is essential to Bulosan's purpose of reaching out to a diverse population. Personally, when an author like Bulosan mentions my hometown of San Jose, I automatically become even more interested in the story line. By doing this, he can convey his values of brotherhood and unity to not only Filipinos but other communities of color, and even whites so that they may understand what people of color must endure to earn equal rights.