Edited at 2007/07/20 21:50:45 PDT
White women have played a big role in Carlos Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart. They became his lifelines and enemies. The women he encountered showed him how kind America can be and at the same time, the cruelty they can show.
“A poor boy became a president of the United States! Deep down in me something was touched, was springing out, demanding to be born, to be given a name. I was fascinated by the story of this boy who was born in a log cabin and became president of the United States.” (69) When Carlos was still living in the Philippines; he came upon a white woman for the first time. From her offered job, he had his first glimpse of hope in America. That glimpse of hope made his ambition to travel to America even stronger. Carlos was surprised that a boy who was born poor was able to work his way up and become president. He did not become the president of any place, but the United States, the land of opportunity and wealth. His first encounter sparked his interest to go to the United States and was ultimately positive. She became his first lifeline by causing Carlos to be able to have seen the hope in America.
“It was the first time I had seen the onion like whiteness of a white woman’s body. I stared at her, naturally, but looked away as fast as I could when she turned in my direction. She had caught a glimpse of my ecstasy in the tall mirror, where she was nakedly admiring herself.” (141) His next encounter with a white woman did not exactly change him in anyway, but it was his first time seeing “the onion like whiteness” of a white woman’s body. She was not an enemy in any way, but she may have sparked his interest in white women, thus making her his guide to women whom would change his life.
The first time Carlos became affectionate for a white woman was when he saw her working in a grocery store. He would go to the store everyday after work to look at her. She rekindled his interest in reading- an interest he had lost while traveling-once again. She made Carlos realize once again that reading was important and that helped him become the writer that he always wanted to be. Without his love of reading, he would not have been able to write America Is in the Heart. “And she started reading the story of a painter in another land who went blind. When my dishes were done, working faster, I ran to the store so that Judith could read to me. Oh, the sound of her voice!” (173)
“Helen had shown me a subtle way of winning the rank and file. But she had also shown me a way of winning the leaders. In fact, she had shown me another way of abusing the trust and confidence of honest working men.” (200) The third white woman he encountered was a strike breaker. She showed him that in America, Filipino people were despised and looked upon like they were savages. He already knew that they were treated like trash, but never was he told directly. She was Carlos’ first female enemy in a sense of stopping his dreams and aspirations.
One night, Carlos experienced both the cruelty and sadism of Americans and the kindness that they could give. “I almost cried. What was the matter with this land? Just a moment ago I was being beaten by white men. But here was another white person, a woman, giving me food and a place to rest. And her warmth!” (209-210) She was the kindest white person he had met so far in America. She was also the biggest impact on him. With her, he felt more happiness than ever before. He was completely devoted to her and was ready to do anything for her. She became another lifeline.
“‘Listen carefully, Carl,’ she said. ‘When I’m gone remember me once in a while. And if you meet someone that you could like, take her with you and remember my face in hers.’” (217) When she was dying, Carlos felt extremely heart-wrenched and tried to drink away his sadness. At this point Carlos starts to have regrets. He finally found something of worth in America and it was slowly dying. So many devastating things have happened to him in America. He had to leave people he loved behind in the Philippines; now something precious he found in the midst of sadness was leaving him.
“‘Promise me not to hate. But love-love everything good and clean. There is something in you that radiates like an inner light, and it affects others. Promise me to let it grow….’” (217) I am not sure if Carlos took this to heart when he was told this, but later on he remembered it. To the best of his ability, he carried out the final request of Marian.
“The death of Marian marked one of the darkest periods of my life.” (219) This quote shows that Marian had left an enormous impact on Carlos. She showed him the “good” side of America; no matter how hard it gets, there is still happiness that is waiting to be discovered. “I did not know why I have suddenly turned to drinking; why I was driven into it by the death of a strange woman.” (219) This woman, Marian, was able to make Carlos, a hardened man, love her. Despite their dreamlike romance, she, like everyone else dear to him, left. Like all the people who he became friends with, they all either died or moved elsewhere. The death of Marian -combined with all his misfortunes- broke down the last wall that held back his pain and sadness.
The next time he met a white woman was when he was invited to talk to her concerning poems he had written. Carlos was reluctant because of his health and pride. They made him try not to meet her. In the end, he was finally convinced to see her. Her character surprised him.
“Alice was understanding. She was sensitive and lonely. She started talking of herself, revealing the background of an American life. When I showed concern for the development of this life into what it had become-into Alice Odell- she described the terror that had haunted her childhood. Then it came to me that her life and mine were the some, terrified by the same forces; they had only happened in two different countries and to two people.” (230)
Carlos had once again met a woman whom he understood and vice versa. They developed a close relationship. Alice would come to his apartment to take care of him and read aloud. She was his lifeline; unable to get out of the apartment because of his sickness, Carlos had no way of getting his escape from the world: books. Alice brought back books for Carlos and was his support when his disease was acting up. Sadly, like what happened to most of whom he cared for, Alice left for New York and Carlos never saw her again.
“She was undeniably the America I had wanted to find in those frantic days of fear and flight, in those acute hours of hunger and loneliness. This America was human, good, and real.” (235) Eileen was Carlos’ final lifeline. Like her sister, Alice, she provided both things he needed for survival: “I can say that my insatiable hunger for knowledge and human affection were the two vital forces that made my days of great loneliness and starvation a frantic determination to live.” (236) She also helped him through times where he could have become depressed and lose himself.
Women have been a vital part of Carlos’ life. Starting with his mother and continuing with not only other women, but specifically white women. They have both shielded and exposed him from sadness; one could even say that some helped him keep his sanity. They represent a big part of what America is. They are the America that he has searched long and painfully for. Violence and sadism may have shaped his views, but women have shaped his heart.