America Is in the Heart
America Is in the Heart, sometimes subtitled A Personal History, is a 1946 semi-autobiographical novel written by Filipino American immigrant poet, fiction writer, short story teller, and activist, Carlos Bulosan.[1] Bulosan's America Is in the Heart is one of the few books that detail the migrant workers' struggles in the United States during the 1930s through the 1940s, a time when signs like "Dogs and Filipinos not allowed" were common.[3] In this personal literature, Bulosan argued that despite the suffering and abuses he experienced, America was an unfinished "ideal in which everyone must invest (...) time and energy, (...) this outlook leaves us with a feeling of hope for the future instead of bitter defeat."[6] This attitude towards Bulosan and his people was led by the same forces that previously condemned the Chinese and the Japanese, and in 1928, the American Federation of Labor encouraged an “exclusion” of the race, which was warmly received in Congress.[6] Despite the fact that most of these immigrants were modernized and able to speak more than one European language, there was a persistent tendency to portray them not only as primitive savages but also sexual threats against white women.The most violent and well-known incident occurred in California in 1930: four hundred white vigilantes attacked a Filipino night club, injuring dozens and killing one.The Great Depression in western America was the cause of strong bonds between culture groups and families and further fueled the racial tensions between the white farm owners and the migrant workers.[8] As documented in Bulosan's novel, “fraternity is not limited to biological brothers; the network of young migrant men from the same region serves not only as a microcosm of the Filipino community, but as a gallery of alternative lives and fates...”[8] Because of this connection, when Carlos’ brothers and fellow Filipino workers began to join the Communist party, the only logical response was to follow suit.“Behind the triumphant invocation of a mythical 'America' linger the unforgettable images of violence, panicked escape, horrible mutilation, and death in Bulosan's works”.Ironically, it is Bulosan's success and America Is in the Heart's dominance in the study of Filipino-American literature that may have a greater impact of then his actual words.