“Of the million Filipinos who found themselves in the United States in
the two decades before and after World War II, Carlos Bulosan, his entire life
& works, represents the heroic struggles and sacrifices of the Filipino
community as a colonized and an emergent national agency in world
history.”
-E. San Juan Jr., 1999
Carlos
Bulosan was born in the Philipeans and was the son of a farmer. He came
from a struggling family in the midst of U.S Colonization. He decided to
come to America in order to help his family and provide an education for
himself. I Would Remember
depicts a striking similarity to Bulosan's Journey to America and the hardships
he faced upon arriving.
The narrator experiences a series of traumatizing
deaths throughout the short story. The death of his mother was one that
changed his life forever. His mother's death was his, "first
encounter with death; so great was its impression on my thinking that for years
I could not forget my mother's pitiful cries as she lay dying".
While sitting in the field after his mother's passing, the narrator
witnesses a small bird being chased by a bat. The small bird disappears
into the moonlight. The dark bat symbolizes death and the small bird
represents his mother being taken away from him. The birth of his
brother, "created a terror" inside the narrator. In his eyes,
his brother took away his innocence and youth. His mother represented his place
of origin. Carlos Bulosan had to leave behind the comfort of his homeland in
hopes of reaching the American Dream.
The narrator meets a young man named Marco while on
the boat to America. Marco has a picture of a young girl, which
represents a connection to his homeland. Marco has someone to go back to
once he earns a little money. The narrator on the other hand, has
nothing. Marco is very giving and compassionate toward the main
character. Marco starts, "hiding oranges and apples" for the narrator
when he became seasick. Marco is brutally stabbed and left to die on the
ship. The narrator kneels beside Marco and watches as he dies. At
the point, the narrator is numb to death. He is pretty much used to
having those he cares about being taken away. Carlos Bulosan traveled to
America by ship at the age of seventeen before landing in Seattle.
The death of Leroy is the most significant part of
the story. Carlos Bulosan knew little English and struggled to survive in
America. He was forced to take on many low paying jobs with unhealthy
working conditions. Although the race of Leroy is not implicit, it is
safe to assume that he was of African American descent. He was lynched
and mutilated for the world to see. Leroy's genitals were cut off,
signifying his manhood. Bulosan faced many hardships while finding employment, due to
racial attacks and brutality. Eventually, his health was put at risk,
which ultimately altered his views of America. The narrator of the story
left his homeland in search of something better but ended up realizing that the
grass isn't always greener on the other side.
