America is in the Heart | Characters & Character Analysis

America is in the Heart Characters

Carlos

Carlos is called Allos by his family and friends in the Philippines. He is the main character of the book. He describes his early life in the Philippines, where children are put to work as soon as they can. He does what he can to help his family survive. He lives and works on the farm with his father while his mother lives in the town with his older brother and sister. When he leaves the farm he helps his mother in her trading business, traveling from town to town selling what they can. At the age of thirteen he leaves for the town of Baguio where he works as a houseboy for two years. He returns to Binalonan to help out the family then spends a year in Lingayen with a cousin who is attending school. He returns to say goodbye to his family and then leaves for America.