Revising the Sign of ＂America＂ : The Postcolonial Humanism of America Is in the Heart

초록

Carlos Bulosan's autobiographical novel America Is in the Heart revises American history from the perspective of a Filipino immigrant. After the Philippines became a U.S. colony following the Spanish-American War in 1898, there was continued resistance against the U.S. and the ruling classes of the Philippines. The peasants were the leaders of this resistance, and Bulosan, as the son of a poor peasant, experienced this history of oppression and struggle. Part One records this experience, and reveals the disparity between the American ideals of freedom and democracy and the reality of colonial domination. Such disparity between the ideals and reality of the U.S. becomes the central theme of the novel.In the U.S., Bulosan becomes a migrant worker and later participates in movements against economic exploitation and racial discrimination. Through this process, he comes to believe that the gap between the ideals of freedom and democracy and the reality of the U.S. is caused by capitalism and racism, and that the ideals of America can only be realized through class struggle. The "America" to which the title refers is not the reality of America but this radical ideal that America represents for Bulosan. In other words, the America in his heart is a sign of an ideal that does not exist in reality but must be realized. From Part Two to Part Four, Bulosan records the pain and suffering experienced by the Filipinos in the U.S., but maintains his hope that the ideals represented by America can be realized. The claim that America is in the heart is an expression of this hope.In order to discuss the historical and political context of America Is in the Heart, this essay quotes from various sources that deal with the history of the Philippines, the relationship between the Philippines and the U.S., the history of Filipino immigrants, the oppression and struggles of migrant workers in California, and so on.

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