In the realm of multicultural literature students often find it difficult to dive into a culture other than their own. This piece, however, beautifully traces the relationship between a father and a daughter in a way that any audience can understand. In this story the father, a former Haitian prison occupant must come clean about his life to his daughter. There is a second relationship that brings this into light, though. The second relationship is between a Haitian-American actress, Gabrielle Fontneau and her father, a former Haitian prisoner. This relationship, aided by a longing for a sculpture made by the narrator, brings the two families together.
I found this story in my students' American Literature textbook, but I've never taught it before. It seemed a nice fit for my Identity and Society -- Multicultural America unit, so I brought it in. Although I admit I assigned it to the students after only reading the synopsis, I am very glad I did. The writing is beautiful, with detailed descriptions that require my students to make inferences about the writer and the text. It also requires students to ask themselves about the role of family in identity and what it means to be truthful to your family. The dark secrete within this story leads the narrator to question her role as a daughter and artist, and thus to question her identity within the piece. This questioning allows the artist to dive deeper into her identity and to also question the role others play within society.
A few of the lines I found most powerful in this story really dig into the Danitcat's fluid and poignant writing style as well as the questioning of one's role in the larger realm of society:
"Anger is a wasted emotion, I've always thought that. My parents got angry at unfair politics in New York or Port-au-Prince, but they never got angry at my grades--all the Bs I got in everything but art classes--or at my not eating vegetables or occasionally vomiting my daily spoonful of cod-liver oil. Ordinary anger, I thought, was a weakness. But now I am angr. I want to hit my father, beat the craziness out of his head....It is a testament to my upbringing that I am not yelling at him"
"Those who give blows may try to forget but those who carry the scars must remember"
Overall, a worthy read. And, unlike every book I've picked up lately, it was easy to finish.
I found this story in my students' American Literature textbook, but I've never taught it before. It seemed a nice fit for my Identity and Society -- Multicultural America unit, so I brought it in. Although I admit I assigned it to the students after only reading the synopsis, I am very glad I did. The writing is beautiful, with detailed descriptions that require my students to make inferences about the writer and the text. It also requires students to ask themselves about the role of family in identity and what it means to be truthful to your family. The dark secrete within this story leads the narrator to question her role as a daughter and artist, and thus to question her identity within the piece. This questioning allows the artist to dive deeper into her identity and to also question the role others play within society.
A few of the lines I found most powerful in this story really dig into the Danitcat's fluid and poignant writing style as well as the questioning of one's role in the larger realm of society:
"Anger is a wasted emotion, I've always thought that. My parents got angry at unfair politics in New York or Port-au-Prince, but they never got angry at my grades--all the Bs I got in everything but art classes--or at my not eating vegetables or occasionally vomiting my daily spoonful of cod-liver oil. Ordinary anger, I thought, was a weakness. But now I am angr. I want to hit my father, beat the craziness out of his head....It is a testament to my upbringing that I am not yelling at him"
"Those who give blows may try to forget but those who carry the scars must remember"
Overall, a worthy read. And, unlike every book I've picked up lately, it was easy to finish.
