A Theme in Krik Krak/#28
Throughout the first three stories of Krik? Krak!, I found a lot of things worth being discussed and analyzed. When I read through the stories, I found that there is an interesting theme appeared among the three stories: Children of the Sea, Nineteen Thirty-Seven, and A Wall of Fire Rising. The theme, which shows up in all of the three stories, is about gaining freedom.
In the story of Children of the Sea, Danticat uses a unique method to show different sides of the two characters by presenting both the boy and the girl's journals in turns. Through this I noticed that both of the characters talk about freedom indirectly. The boy, who gets caught and is sent to a ship, writes "......she had chosen me to live life eternal, among the children of the deep blue sea, those who have escaped the chains of slavery to form a world beneath the heavens and the blood-drenched earth where you live." (pg. 23) down on his notebook. The phrase "escaped the chains of slavery" indicates that in the boy's mind, to sink into the deep ocean is to escape away from the fate of slavery and free himself. In the opposite side, the girl mentions about how her family is going to catch the chance and drive away from the city where they live right now. Under the pressure of government, many people plan to get away from the city. She says "people are just too hopeful, and sometimes hope is the biggest weapon of all to use against us" (pg. 16) to refer that people are all afraid of the Dominican government and are hoping to get rid of the situation. As for the girl's family, papa buys enough gasoline, takes the whole family and drives away from the town, hoping to settle down in another city. The family also wants to get away from the harsh situation that Haitians encounter. In this story, both the boy and the girl seek freedom.
In Nineteen Thirty-Seven, there is a term "wings of flames", which refers to the accused Haitian women who are believed as witches and have the ability to fly away by using the wings born from flames. These women, including the main character Josephine's mother, are arrested in the prison with incredible torture. According to Josephine's description, "before the women went to sleep, the guards made them throw tin cups of cold water at one another so that their bodies would not be able to muster up enough heat to grow those wings made of flames" (pg. 32). The purpose of this action is to prevent these women from escaping away. What the term "wings of flames" actually means is not obvious in the story, but at the end I was able to refer that it means freedom. At last, manman is dead. "She glowed red when she came out, blood clinging to her skin, which at that moment looked as though it were in flames" (pg. 41) illustrates that manman gains her freedom after she is dead. I think the very end of the story "Let her flight be joyful" (pg. 41) implies to the journey to freedom.
In the story of A Wall of Fire Rising, it is really shocking to me that Guy just jumps out of the balloon after stealing it and lifting it up. In my opinion, this odd behavior does not prove that Guy wants to fight against the fate he has and seeks to change his life. I think it's just about a man who is too powerless to change anything and wants to escape away from his present life, but also wants others to remember him as a historical hero. Jumping out of the balloon definitely can't change anything, but at least Guy gains his freedom to give up his family, job and even fate.
In the story of Children of the Sea, Danticat uses a unique method to show different sides of the two characters by presenting both the boy and the girl's journals in turns. Through this I noticed that both of the characters talk about freedom indirectly. The boy, who gets caught and is sent to a ship, writes "......she had chosen me to live life eternal, among the children of the deep blue sea, those who have escaped the chains of slavery to form a world beneath the heavens and the blood-drenched earth where you live." (pg. 23) down on his notebook. The phrase "escaped the chains of slavery" indicates that in the boy's mind, to sink into the deep ocean is to escape away from the fate of slavery and free himself. In the opposite side, the girl mentions about how her family is going to catch the chance and drive away from the city where they live right now. Under the pressure of government, many people plan to get away from the city. She says "people are just too hopeful, and sometimes hope is the biggest weapon of all to use against us" (pg. 16) to refer that people are all afraid of the Dominican government and are hoping to get rid of the situation. As for the girl's family, papa buys enough gasoline, takes the whole family and drives away from the town, hoping to settle down in another city. The family also wants to get away from the harsh situation that Haitians encounter. In this story, both the boy and the girl seek freedom.
In Nineteen Thirty-Seven, there is a term "wings of flames", which refers to the accused Haitian women who are believed as witches and have the ability to fly away by using the wings born from flames. These women, including the main character Josephine's mother, are arrested in the prison with incredible torture. According to Josephine's description, "before the women went to sleep, the guards made them throw tin cups of cold water at one another so that their bodies would not be able to muster up enough heat to grow those wings made of flames" (pg. 32). The purpose of this action is to prevent these women from escaping away. What the term "wings of flames" actually means is not obvious in the story, but at the end I was able to refer that it means freedom. At last, manman is dead. "She glowed red when she came out, blood clinging to her skin, which at that moment looked as though it were in flames" (pg. 41) illustrates that manman gains her freedom after she is dead. I think the very end of the story "Let her flight be joyful" (pg. 41) implies to the journey to freedom.
In the story of A Wall of Fire Rising, it is really shocking to me that Guy just jumps out of the balloon after stealing it and lifting it up. In my opinion, this odd behavior does not prove that Guy wants to fight against the fate he has and seeks to change his life. I think it's just about a man who is too powerless to change anything and wants to escape away from his present life, but also wants others to remember him as a historical hero. Jumping out of the balloon definitely can't change anything, but at least Guy gains his freedom to give up his family, job and even fate.
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