Abstract This paper explains that EdwidgeDanticat's nine interlaced short stories, which make up the novel "Krik? Krak!", focuses on the treatment of women who are beaten, imprisoned and raped in Haiti, on the horror that is retained as unforgettable memories of women after their escape from Haiti and on the children who must live vicariously through their parents' memoirs of the motherland. The author points out that critics acclaim the power of this collection of short stories as a complicated, yet connected, chorus of Haitian voices affirming survival. The paper relates that Danticat does not use emotion to fuel her stories; she simply states the facts within her own creative fictional accounts.
From the Paper "Although not in a prison cell, another mother in the novel was locked into a different kind of hell because the hopelessness of her life was unfortunately almost impossible to rescue her son from experiencing. Little Guy was not aware of what would become his future, but his parents feared he would live the harsh meaningless lifestyles that they had. His mother especially worried about this after her husband killed himself and she was left alone to raise her son to become more than their circumstances should have allowed. Aside from knowing the right tricks to keep young Guy from hunger, she also kept him occupied by helping him recite his lines for the school play."
Abstract This paper summarizes the story of EdwidgeDanticat's "Breath, Eyes, Memory," and clearly links the novel to that of the life of the author. It correlates the Greek mythological story of Demeter and Persephone to that in the book in the context of a mother and daughter relationship and link. It also examines the connections mothers, daughters, and women have throughout a bloodline that extends for generations.
From the paper:
"Running throughout this book is a sense that this is the darker version of the Demeter and Persephone story. The connection of these divinities is so great that they cannot bear to be parted, which is something like what happens in this Haitian story. But the story of Demeter's love for Persephone is bound up with images of fertility and lushness while Sophie's mother is a force for virginity and sterility. This contrasting set of pairs ? joy and fertility in the Greek myth and sorrow and sterility in the Haitian story may be seen to be a commentary on the nature of what happens to women's bodies when they are colonized."
Abstract The paper discusses " The Farming of Bones" and examines how EdwidgeDanticat produces a powerful and lyrical work that explores the suffering and mass murder of Haitians unfortunate enough to live and work in the Dominican Republic during the heyday of Dictator Rafael Trujillo in the late 1930s. Among the many powerful evocations in the work is Danticat's haunting use of the concept of remembrance. In her case she uses the idea of memory and loss to evoke an aching reminder of all those whose lives were taken, but who have now been lost to the mists of time.
Abstract In this article, the writer examines the injustice and suffering in the Dominican Republic, which is demonstrated in EdwidgeDanticat's novel 'The Farming of Bones'. The writer notes that by writing her brilliant story, Danticat remembers this farming of human bones. The writer points out that the story is set in a terrible time during the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, where race, discrimination and politics are among its theme. Further the writer describes that the author illustrates a novel in which history and fiction are connected in a persuasive way to learn and critique the regime of Trujillo. The writer concludes by noting that discrimination and apprehension continue between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where culture and beliefs are diverse in countries that share the same land.
From the Paper "Edwidge Danticat concentrates in the history of Haitians cane workers, and the massacre of them in the Dominican Republic. Due to a growing xenophobia under the rule of Generalissimo Trujillo, the Dominicans were told to purify the country. Trujillo clandestinely arranged the massacre of hundreds of immigrants in the Dominican Republic most of them sugarcane workers from Haiti, the country with which the Dominican Republic shares the island named "Hispaniola". In Trujillo's approach, the Haitians immigrants, whom he considered them inferior people, because of their color of skin had simply become too abundant in the country. Thus, a wave of genocide which annihilates the Haitian population is justified."
Abstract This paper examines two very different books, "The Massacre at El Mozote : A Parable of the Cold War" by Mark Danner and "The Farming of Bones" by EdwidgeDanticat. It looks at how in each of these books the authors provide a complete picture of a massacre and how each story lays out the events in graphic presentation that cannot be ignored or shoved aside. It evaluates how each book tells a similar story in that people were brutally murdered, yet each story has differences that set them apart from each other. It analyzes how the books address the anger at Americans, given the fact that the nation brags to the world that it is free, fair and the savior of the underdog and how America has been known since its inception as the big brother willing to swoop in and rescue any nation being hurt or treating its members cruelly. In both of these books the point is driven home that the American government turned its back on an entire people that were in crisis.
From the Paper "The leader at that time decided that he needed to rid his nation of the Haitians working in the cane fields. Annabelle's dedication to finding her man and trekking across the nation to do so she represents some of the things that occurred between the workers and the president. Her fierce determination was metaphorically representative of the determination of those who were being persecuted at the time. The refusal to give up and the instinct of survival were things that the victims also possessed. This book differs from the first one in that it offers up much of the events in historical metaphorical fashion. While this is less hard hitting than the brutal truth from Danner's book it is sometimes a technique that can maintain the reader's attention when straight horror and fact will be to hard to handle."
Tags: haiti, american, government, murder, el, salvadore
Abstract In their own unique way, EdwidgeDanticat and V. S. Naipaul illuminate the consequences of colonialism. In so doing, they provide scenes of cruelty, violence, deceit and lies. This is a vital vehicle through which the writer is able to demonstrate the horror behind the issue of colonialism and identity. Some of the books looked at are "Breath, Eyes, Memory" and "Miguel Street".
Abstract The paper reviews "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe and "Breath, Eyes, Memory" by EdwidgeDanticat. After outlining each book's plot, the writer seeks common themes in the two works. The paper concludes by identifying change vs. tradition as the underlying commonality.
From the Paper "To conclude, though their works are greatly different, both Chinua Achebe and Edwidge Danticat's novels share many similarities. Both Things Fall Apart by Achebe and Breath, Eyes, Memory by Danticat feature characters' whose past causes them pain day after day, as well as the often times violent response to the end of imperialism. Both novels also have the same basic theme: change versus tradition. In both cases, it appears that change has won out over tradition. It is up to the reader to decide if this particular change is necessarily a good or bad thing."
Abstract This paper discusses how Chicana authors such as Julia Alvarez and EdwidgeDanticat seek to gain a voice and have it heard by expressing the meaning of their lives and celebrating the lives of others from the same social order that people otherwise marginalize and ignore. The paper looks at how these authors create a narrative space that includes gender issues and how they reveal their role in the preservation of national identity.
From the Paper "Louis Gerard Mendoza writes about the same topic in his book Historia, in which he offers "an extended analysis of the link between historical narratives and the representation of the historical in fictional narratives and poetry" (Mendoza 38). Mendoza finds that the nature of Chicana and Chicano narratives have changed in recent years in response to contemporary ideas and changing social circumstances, and these changes have also altered "the very substance of past narratives" (Mendoza 38) by expanding our knowledge by which we make decisions. Mendoza also points out that this literature has been largely unexamined, as might be expected for a literature featuring a minority population that itself is often marginalized and ignored. "
This paper compares three novels; "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys and "Breath, Eyes, Memory" by EdwidgeDanticat.
Abstract The paper explains how "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys and "Breath, Eyes, Memory" by EdwidgeDanticat all present themes of loss, nostalgia and remembrance. The paper discusses how all three authors have offered powerful lessons about the function of loss, nostalgia and remembrance, not only in terms of how they influence individuals and families, but how they influence society as well.
From the Paper "In One Hundred Years of Solitude's surreal but fascinating story of a small village in Columbia, Gabriel Garcia Marquez presents a powerful theme revolving around a family whose members, despite their material prosperity and superficial happiness, ultimately stand alone in life. Through magic realism, Marquez explores the postcolonial world
of 20th century Latin America and the Caribbean and demonstrates how forgetfulness, loss, human remorse, fear, pride, and submission lead to solitary lives and solitary deaths. He emphasizes that even though relationships can be flawed and painful, unless we live a life of emotional bonding with other people we will not have lived at all and will be remembered by no one. It is love more than anything else that must be remembered and cherished, for life has no meaning without love."
Tags: Latin-American, Caribbean, villages, themes, plot, realism, human, existence
Abstract This paper explains the violence, oppression and alienation that are embedded within the colonial experience as related in Danticat's novel "Breath, Eyes, Memory".
This paper reviews ?Farming of the Bones,? by EdwidgeDanticat, presenting a literary analysis discussing one of the elements in the novel as it relates to theme.
Abstract An analysis of this novel with the backdrop of the Haitian massacres that took place in 1937 in the Dominican Republic. It provides a personal description of the author and links her experiences to the plot in the novel. The paper focuses on the main character of the story and how she tries to find some sense, logic or explanation which she witnessed during the massacre period.
From the Paper "The author, Edwidge Danticat, grew up in Haiti. Her mother had to leave her and her brother behind when Danticat was four, so she could join her husband in the U.S. She could not join her parents until she was twelve, and when she first came to the country, she could not speak any English. Her books relate many of her own experiences, as well as the people of her native country. "Farming of the Bones" is her second book."
Tags: haiti, dominican, republic, race, massacre, slaughter, novel, book, story
An examination of the concept of the search for identity in post-colonial texts, namely, Mira Nair's "Mississippi Massala", Jamaica Kincaid's "Lucy", and EdwidgeDanticat's "Breath Eyes Memory".
Abstract This paper looks at how the idea of displacement is prevalent in these novels. The writer points out how the people in these post-colonial works are moving from places where the idea of displacement remained a part of their colonized history into places where they are now physically removed from their place of birth. When the post-colonial body is exposed to a culture that is very different from theirs, it becomes necessary for identity to alter.
From the Paper "Throughout the late twentieth century and into twenty-first, the search for self-identification grew in importance as a response to an increase focus on individualism. The search for identity is a problematic discourse in a world where dislocation imposes different cultures on individuals who leave their country of origin to exist in another. In the study of post-colonialism the search for identity is pertinent, because migration is a common experience for the postcolonial body. As migration occurs, "It is here that the special post-colonial crisis of identity comes into being; the concern with the development or recovery of an effective identifying relationship between self and place" (Empire p.8). In postcolonial texts, the reconstructing of identities are not fluid and required in order to attain progression in the space migrated into. This motif is prevalent in Mira Nair's Mississippi Massala, Jamaica Kincaid's Lucy and Edwidge Danticat's Breath Eyes Memory."
Abstract The paper, through cited characters, discusses how this novel focuses on the role of the Haitian women and the circumstances they were forced to accept. The paper discusses the far reaching effects of abuse, imprisonment and rape on the woman who endured it and their children who lived vicariously through the memories. The author also offers a personal review of the novel.
From the Paper "During the wedding story, "Ma" is somewhat heartbroken because her eldest daughter, Caroline, is not only marrying a Bahamian man, but they are not going to be wed in the church. Though Caroline is not the least bit distraught over her decisions, Ma cannot bear to fathom her daughters reasoning. In theory, Ma is an American, but at heart she never left the motherland. Her roots are shown as she quite frequently makes bone soup, a traditional Haitian broth. Her daughters are accustomed to their mothers' pressure to remember their Haitian ancestry, marry men of the same descent, as well as bear red undergarments to ward off their deceased fathers presence. Though her children have been Americanized, Ma seems to live each day as if she were still in the Haiti."
Abstract This paper discusses the idea that there can be little doubt that corruption is a serious problem which affects many people on many different levels, economically, socially and certainly politically. The paper briefly reviews the human toll associated with political corruption along with providing a thumbnail sketch of how this writer knowledge of corruption has altered the way he views politics. The paper further explores how this now rather jaded view of politics impacts his political participation and impacts also the political participation of others.
