"'The old world is dying, but a new world is being born. It generates inspiration from the chaos that beats upon us all. The false grandeur and security, the unfulfilled promises and illusory power, the number of the dead and those about to die, will charge the forces of our courage and determination. The old world will die so that the new world will be born with less sacrifice and agony on the living....'"(189)
Throughout Carlos Bulosan's novel America is the the Heart there is an underlying theme of death and rebirth through the suggestion of revolution. In this passage, Carlos or Allos is recounting the words of his brother Macario to which Marcario states that: "the old world will die so that the new world will be born with less sacrifice and agony on the living." The specific words of death and rebirth are fascinating choices because this suggests that there must be some form of action that causes this death in order for rebirth. Macario's definition of "the old world" is America defined by the first generation Filipino immigrants and he implies that the new world are the sons of first generations who have witnessed the injustices and poverty brought upon their fathers. The diction of the words "false grandeur", "false security", "unfulfilled promises" and "illusory power" alludes to the disappointments and depression caused by the cyclical cycle of labor and what it means to be a Filipino in America.
My critical questions are: Is there another definition of "death" besides the literal dictionary definition? How does revolution result from death and is it in fact the cause of rebirth? What does it mean to be a Filipino immigrant in America?
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