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  • Essay / Juxtaposing the figures of the “American writer” and the “Filipino writer” in America is in the Heart

    America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan meditates on the place of Filipino writers in American literature . In America Is in the Heart, two “types” of writers are presented: “American writers” and “Filipino writers.” Carlos Bulosan describes "American writers" as those who emphasize hope and "Filipino writers" as those who emphasize anger in order to demonstrate the effect of extreme social and legal discrimination against Filipino men. Because Filipino men like Carlos were treated so harshly by America when they arrived, they were often consumed by hatred. The figure of the angry Filipino writer is a caricature of mistreated men who often retreated into contempt for America, its people, and their apparent despair. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay The "Filipino writers" that Carlos Bulosan introduces in America Is in the Heart all share a deep-seated anger and despair. While walking down Canon Perdido Street with Marian, Carlos meets a Filipino bus boy who tells him: "I will be the greatest Filipino novelist of my time!" » (216). Carlos explains: “His desire to write was stimulated by hatred. I remembered another lonely Filipino writer who had committed suicide and felt sorry for Florencio. I knew he would destroy himself like Estevan, who had jumped out of his hotel window when starvation came to mind” (216). Carlos compares Florencio and Estevan to comment on their shared desire to write. Florencio writes because of hatred; his response to the injustice inflicted on him is to express his anger through writing. By juxtaposing the two Filipino writers, Carlos explicitly associates hatred and destruction. He describes the moment of Estevan's undoing as when "starvation had overtaken his spirit"; While malnutrition starves the body, Carlos says hatred starves the mind. If Florencio and Estevan represent a type of Filipino writer who responds to injustice with anger, Marian urges Carlos to respond with love. Before Marian dies, she asks him: “Promise me not to hate. But love – love everything that is good and clean” and leaves him money to go to school (219). Throughout their time together, Marian constantly tells Carlos to go to school; therefore, education and writing become a path by which he can "love all that is good and clean." Carlos maintains the face that Marian longs for him to express during his stay in the hospital. By reading the American authors that Eileen suggested to him, Carlos felt “that I was at home with the young American writers and poets. Reading them took me back to the roots of American literature – to Walt Whitman and the tumult of his times. him, from his passionate dream of American equality for all races, a wonderful idea burned my conscience. Would it be possible for an immigrant like me to be part of the American dream? (239). Carlos explains that one of the functions of literature is to elicit empathy from its reader. Carlos feels “at home” among young American writers and poets because they talk about issues that affect people of different generations and continents. He is particularly affected by texts written during the civil rights era because he recognizes versions of his experiences in them. This democratization of writing leads Carlos to reflect on his ability to have an impact on the American dream, particularly through literature. Dora Tavers said to Carlos, “Write more..