Journey To A New World: I Would Remember by Carlos Bulosan

“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.