How does Carlos Bulosan use imagery in America is in the Heart?

Example of Imagery:

"It was not easy to understand why the Filipinos were brutal yet tender, not was it easy to believe that they had been made this way by the reality of America. I still lacked the knowledge to synthesize the heart-breaking tragedies. I had seen, and to project myself into their core so that I would be able to interpret them objectively. There were times when I found myself inextricably involved, not because I was drawn to this life by its swiftness and violence, but because I was a part and a product of the world in which it was born. I was swept by its tragic whirlpool, violently and inevitably; and it was only when I had become immune to violence and pain that I was able to project myself out of it. It was only then that I was able to integrate my experiences so that I could really find out what had happened to me in those tragic years."