Summary Of Danticat's 'Krak !'

Freedom in a corrupt country is nearly impossible for impoverished civilians. Krik? Krak! is a compilation of short stories about the experiences of fictional Haitians living under an abusive new regime. Danticat illustrates that hope gives Haitians the ability to cope with their oppression and poverty. Each story represents various aspects of hope. Hope provides solace from oppression and poverty whether Haitians are in Haiti or at sea. Danticat demonstrates this in Children of The Sea, in which many people are stuck on a crudely made boat sailing toward Miami. The main characters, a teenage boy and girl, write unsent letters to one another. The boat is unseaworthy and waterlogged. They are scooping water out to prevent sinking. Everything
Danticat signifies hope found in faith throughout Nineteen Thirty-Seven, a tale about an incarcerated woman in Haiti. The central character, Josephine, inherits a madonna statue from her beaten and imprisoned mother. Unjustifiably imprisoned for the death of her friend’s sick baby, Josephine’s mother is sentenced to life. Before moving to the city, every year on November first, Josephine and her mother would go to the Massacre River with other women who lost their mothers. The convening of these women memorializes the loss of their mothers. Josephine’s mother remains with her mother through faith: “With our hands in the water, Manman spoke to the sun. ‘Here is my child, Josephine. We were saved from the tomb of this when she was still in my womb. You spared us both, her and me, from this river where I lost my mother,’” (Danticat, 35). This single event signifies that there is reason for hope in spite of loss. Her mother has optimism she will one day be with the women in her past. Blessed with the life of her daughter, Josephine’s mother is thankful to those who protected her as she crossed the Massacre River. Her reliance on hope provides her and other faithful women with the acceptance of their oppression. Josephine’s mother is beaten to death by the prison guards early into her sentence. The prison guards’ superstition dictates her body is burned to keep her soul from entering another body. Josephine now has a deeper understanding of her mother’s beliefs. “When Jacqueline and I stepped out into the yard to wait for the burning, I raised my head toward the sun thinking, One day I may see my mother there,” (Danticat, 42). Josephine accepts her mother’s death and hopes to join her and the other women who have passed. The women who preceded Josephine in this life guide her path. The pain and suffering of Haiti can be overcome through hope found in