Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in America Is in the Heart, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Beauty in Despair
Race and American Identity
Education vs. Ignorance
Poverty
Summary
Analysis
Macario tells Carlos that fighting with the Spanish loyalists “means that there are men of good will all over the world, in every race, in all classes,” and that “the forces of democracy are found in all times.” Carlos cannot help but admire his brother’s lofty ambitions. “It's much easier for us who have no roots to integrate ourselves in a universal ideal,” Carlos explains. Meanwhile, Carlos works to educate himself further with help from Eileen. He tells her an amusing story about a prisoner in Binalonan who convinces the police to let him attend a cockfight and have a siesta. Recalling past memories gives him the idea to write a book about characters from his hometown.
Though Carlos admires Macario’s dedication to his ideals, he does not share his desire to go to Spain. Carlos understands that a desire to work toward ideas can be particularly strong among people who are not tied to any specific place, and who therefore are eager to fight injustice anywhere. In this respect, Macario’s rootlessness actually fuels his ideals, and his example shows how hard it can be to combine individual stability with a larger fight against oppression.
Themes
