America Is in the Heart: Chapter 48 Summary & Analysis

Shortly after the fall of Battan, a small publisher contacts Carlos and wants to publish an edition of his poetry. The resulting book, Letters from America, is a testament to Carlos’s “hopes, desires, [and] aspirations.” He then searches for Amado to show him the book and finds him drinking beer with two girls, who are unimpressed by Carlos’s poetry. One girl tears pages from the book, and Amado punches her. A few days later, Amado announces that he is joining the Navy. He and Carlos share a difficult goodbye, then Amado gives Carlos a letter in which he declares: “My lostness in America will give you a reason to work harder for your ideals.”

Carlos’s other friends and even Macario join the armed forces, and they share a series of goodbyes. “I knew it was the end of our lives in America,” Carlos writes. He walks towards his hotel, and in his room Macario has left an envelope with $200, a Social Security card, and a photograph of himself. Carlos takes ten cents and uses it to repay a shoe shiner who once loaned Macario money. Carlos has a beer with the shoe shiner, who also plans to join the Navy. “I know I'll meet your brother again somewhere, because I got my dime without asking him,” the shoe shiner states. Carlos then goes back to his hotel.