From the very beginning of the novel, it seems as if the message/theme about mother and daughter relationships is very important. The mother seems to have the upper hand, as in almost every mother/daughter relationship in the world. One of the most important things about these relationships was that the mothers kept their daughters 'pure', 'clean' and in other words...virgins. When Sophie first met her mother, the first question her mother asked her was about boys, to see if she had been messing around with one, as the narrator Sophie had said "She asked if there was a boy in Haiti that I had liked. I said no and she smiled" (Danticat 60). This along with the further conversation represents that the mothers 'check in' with their daughters. It had clearly been put into Sophie's mother's head that she had to make sure Sophie was not a 'dirty' girl. Sophie expected the questions to come up, but did not know why, so her mother began to explain. Her mother had told her "'When I was a girl, my mother used to test us to see if we were virgins. She would put her finger in our very private parts and see if it would go inside..."(Danticat 60). I think that this type of action represents a mother/daughter relationship. Because Sophie's mother had picked up this tradition from her mother, and later on in the book she continued to participate in this practice with Sophie. Not only does this type of thing represent the relationship, but things such as not being able to date until your eighteen as well. I think this is an important message because it is showing how important a mother’s love can be, even if it seems to be represented in a harsh way. I believe that this is a message throughout the book because it does not only come up when there are suspicions about sex. Some of Sophie’s decision for her daughter Brigitte was based upon the way her mother had raised her. As she had tried helping her mother fight off the nightmares, Sophie had put herself into therapy to make sure that Brigitte did not pick up her horrible eating habits or her mother’s horrible nightmares.
Draft Inquiry Questions about Style & Message – Breath, Eyes, Memory 1. What is Danticat implying about the importance of mother and daughter relationships? Do these relationships change and/or influence the actions and choices made by the women in the story? Are the mother-daughter relationships as strong/influential as the multi generational /extended family member relationships of women in a family? 2. How do the metaphors about colors relate to the events and lifestyles of the woman in the family? For example, the color yellow was used a lot between Sophie and her mother, what does this color represent about their relationship? Another example would be when Sophie decided to dress her mother in red for her funeral; does the color create a statement or portray a metaphor about their relationship? What exactly do the vivid colors represent as metaphors? 3. Danticat uses a lot of repition with the metaphor/similes about people and their personalities/actions relating to things in the sky, why does she chose to use repition to convey these metaphors/similes? Does this repetion have an underlying message?
Why does Edwidge Danticat uses color butterflies and flowers as symbols to convey many messages in her book in her country are these Symbols important? Why does Edwidge Danticat show many different relationships with women and women and not many relationships with men and women in her book Breath eyes and Memory? Is a relationship with a man not valuable in her society? In Edwidge Danticat’s book Breath Eyes and memory we see that it is the mother’s job to keep her daughter pure until marriage and they test them regularly should mothers do this is that going to change someone from acting promiscuous in the future?
3 comments:
From the very beginning of the novel, it seems as if the message/theme about mother and daughter relationships is very important. The mother seems to have the upper hand, as in almost every mother/daughter relationship in the world. One of the most important things about these relationships was that the mothers kept their daughters 'pure', 'clean' and in other words...virgins. When Sophie first met her mother, the first question her mother asked her was about boys, to see if she had been messing around with one, as the narrator Sophie had said "She asked if there was a boy in Haiti that I had liked. I said no and she smiled" (Danticat 60). This along with the further conversation represents that the mothers 'check in' with their daughters. It had clearly been put into Sophie's mother's head that she had to make sure Sophie was not a 'dirty' girl. Sophie expected the questions to come up, but did not know why, so her mother began to explain. Her mother had told her "'When I was a girl, my mother used to test us to see if we were virgins. She would put her finger in our very private parts and see if it would go inside..."(Danticat 60). I think that this type of action represents a mother/daughter relationship. Because Sophie's mother had picked up this tradition from her mother, and later on in the book she continued to participate in this practice with Sophie. Not only does this type of thing represent the relationship, but things such as not being able to date until your eighteen as well. I think this is an important message because it is showing how important a mother’s love can be, even if it seems to be represented in a harsh way. I believe that this is a message throughout the book because it does not only come up when there are suspicions about sex. Some of Sophie’s decision for her daughter Brigitte was based upon the way her mother had raised her. As she had tried helping her mother fight off the nightmares, Sophie had put herself into therapy to make sure that Brigitte did not pick up her horrible eating habits or her mother’s horrible nightmares.
Draft Inquiry Questions about Style & Message – Breath, Eyes, Memory
1. What is Danticat implying about the importance of mother and daughter relationships? Do these relationships change and/or influence the actions and choices made by the women in the story? Are the mother-daughter relationships as strong/influential as the multi generational /extended family member relationships of women in a family?
2. How do the metaphors about colors relate to the events and lifestyles of the woman in the family? For example, the color yellow was used a lot between Sophie and her mother, what does this color represent about their relationship? Another example would be when Sophie decided to dress her mother in red for her funeral; does the color create a statement or portray a metaphor about their relationship? What exactly do the vivid colors represent as metaphors?
3. Danticat uses a lot of repition with the metaphor/similes about people and their personalities/actions relating to things in the sky, why does she chose to use repition to convey these metaphors/similes? Does this repetion have an underlying message?
Why does Edwidge Danticat uses color butterflies and flowers as symbols to convey many messages in her book in her country are these Symbols important?
Why does Edwidge Danticat show many different relationships with women and women and not many relationships with men and women in her book Breath eyes and Memory? Is a relationship with a man not valuable in her society?
In Edwidge Danticat’s book Breath Eyes and memory we see that it is the mother’s job to keep her daughter pure until marriage and they test them regularly should mothers do this is that going to change someone from acting promiscuous in the future?
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