Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

Denise Bacchus - English 103 - Haitian women - immigration

Danticat's novel Breath, Eyes, Memory reveals the lives of Haitian women caught in the throes of poverty as they manuver in a society rife with sexism. The author uses the novel to paint a picture of these women's struggles as they move between love and despair, pride and disdain, hope and loss and we see these plights through the eyes of a twelve year old as she matures into adulthood.

Though the eyes of the narrator, Sophie, the reader is given a glimpse of Haitian politics, the violence of the Tonton Macoutes, and the push and pull of national pride versus the need to migrate. In the story, the narrator eventually leaves for New York to join her mother and to strike out on a road often travelled. The author takes the reader on the rocky road of immigration, the reality of culture shock, culture clash, and the turmoil of education, second language issues and job availability in a foreign land. Interwoven in the story are the effects of long standing tradition and rituals as the characters confront modernization.

"Breath, Eyes, Memory" is a captivating novel that allows the critical thinking educator and students to explore various realities through research; the language is engaging and captures the imagination; it provides rich information for discussion; and it gives the readers the opportunity to explore a different culture, geography, and resources.

by Bacchus