Birds Symbol Analysis

Throughout the novel, birds are a represent the underlying beauty and inherent goodness of life that prevail even in the midst of suffering. Carlos Bulosan’s life story is one of resilience in the face of much despair. In one of the novel’s key passages, Carlos’s brother, Luciano, uses birds to teach Carlos that beauty is not only aesthetically important, it is also an important buffer against that despair. By building horsehair snares, Luciano and Carlos are able to trap birds by the river without harming them. “Luciano did not have to go away to show me the beauty of the world,” Carlos writes, “we did not catch them for their usefulness, but for the esthetic pleasure we found in observing them.” In one instance, the brothers catch a crying bird, which Carlos keeps in the house. When the crying bird refuses to eat, Luciano tells him that the bird “has lost something precious,” and that Carlos “must try to make it live.” Carlos does all he can for the crying bird, but it soon dies. By caring for the crying bird, however, Carlos learns to appreciate the beauty that comes from love, and compassion helps him deal with the despair brought on by the bird’s death. These lessons build up his overall resilience and optimism, qualities that allow him to survive even during incredibly difficult circumstances growing up impoverished. In another instance, the brothers catch a beautiful parrot that Luciano believes is in love with a quail. “When you are in love you are brave,” he tells Carlos, “you are not afraid of death.” Carlos remembers Luciano’s lesson later in life, when he proclaims that, “my fear of death made me love life dearly.” Through catching birds, Luciano teaches Carlos that the beauty of love instills the courage to face death and despair. Carlos’s experience with birds inspires in him a “burning desire to find beauty and goodness in the world,” and this desire enables him to overcome the despair that so often defines his life.