I Would Remember

"I Would Remember" tells the story of a young Filipino who leaves his village to go to America. The excerpt is told through a series of deaths that affect the narrator  in terms of how he views death. The themes of the story include death, loss of innocence, light vs. darkness, intimacy, friendship, race, and nature. Bulosan’s use of nature to describe events is unforgettable and at times foreshadow events in his life. “I saw the fleeting shadow of a small bird across the sky followed by a big bat. The small bird disappeared in the periphery of moonlight and darkness, shrieking fiercely when the bat caught up with it somewhere there beyond the range of my vision.” (Pg. 28) One could say that the bird and bat represent the endless cycle of life and death. It could also be said that the bird  represents  the narrator’s mother and the bat represents death come to get her. The narrator brings up nature to precede a death once again with the death of the carabao. “I remember that there was a frightening thunderclap somewhere in the world, and I looked up suddenly toward the eastern sky and saw a wide arc of vanishing rainbow.” (Pg. 29) I really enjoyed the author’s use of foreshadowing through weather.

The death I found the most interesting was the death of Marco. I really liked the contrast the narrator  provided between himself and Marco. I felt that the narrator at times thought he was better than Marco because he wasn't simple and uneducated. I also felt that the narrator was jealous of Marco and how simple his view of the world is.This quote in particular stuck out to me, “Yet he was sincere and honest in whatever he did or said to me.” (Pg 30) The narrator uses specific words for a reason. I don’t think the narrator is insincere or dishonest but maybe the narrator feels these things about himself. There are many words he could have used to describe Marco but he chose those two specific words.

I found Crispin’s death the most beautiful. I do think that the relationship between the narrator and Crispin was more than platonic. The narrator’s comparison of Crispin to the moon was beautiful. This quote stuck out to me the most. “He was very gentle and there was something luminous about him, like the strange light that flashes in my mind when I sometimes think of the hills of home.” (Pg 30) I loved how the narrator had Crispin tied in with his idea of home. I thought it was very poetic. The death that affected me the most was the death of Leroy. It was very graphic and political. It represented the race tensions in America. I also think this was a good depiction of the attitude America had towards immigrants.