Krik Wall Of Fire Rising Analysis

728 Words3 Pages

Echoes

Among bereavement, amid anguish, the human heart beats. Within the stories told in Krik? Krak!, by Edwidge Danticat, this recurring theme can be found: despite the present ambience of perpetual misery and torment, beauty rests within calamity. The novel, Krik? Krak!, echoes the stories of several groups of Haitian citizens who all share a common ancestry. Most of whom are suffering due to the drastic state of their country.
The first story, “Children of the Sea” contains the unexchanged letters between two lovers, separated by a corrupt government. These two can still find love, regardless of their life threatening predicament. In the letter, the girl describes the deaths and beatings she bore witness to, while the boy narrates his hopeful attempt to flee the country on a boat. Within one of these letters, the girl writes, “behind these mountains are more mountains and more black butterflies still and a sea that is endless like my love for you.”(25) This excerpt is a perfect example of the theme “beauty exists within suffering”. Mountains are …show more content…

At the end of the story, Guy commits suicide to teach his son a lesson Guy believes to be worth his own life. This lesson can be found in a quote recited by Little Guy, “...we may either live freely or we should die.”(66) Guy communicates the lesson to his son by taking action against the wealthy people oppressing his family. Guy steals a hot air balloon and takes to the skies, only to jump from the balloon and plummet to his demise. The hot air balloon is symbolic of the leisurely life the wealthy lead. Through stripping this privilege away from them, Guy establishes that he refuses to live by their will, that he would rather end his life, experiencing his greatest moment, where he is truly free. Guy’s suicide is graceful, yet tragic. Through a symbolic death, he is able to teach his son to pursue a better