The Themes Of Edwidge Danticat's Novel Krik? Krak

In today’s ultra-polarized world it's common for people to see something only through one point of view, skewing their opinion. This phenomenon is often referred to as a “single story”; a term popularized by a prominent Nigerian author in her TedED talk titled “Dangers of a Single Story.” Reflecting this theme author, Edwidge Danticat's novel “Krik? Krak!” describes several different short stories surrounding the setting of Haiti. Many people think of Haiti as a war-torn country with mass suffering. Danticat although acknowledging this in her novel she writes about the good. Krik Krak tries to challenge this idea of a single story by presenting different situations, characters and settings with.

Krik? Krak! offers a diverse range of situations

A common theme among the book is mothers with chapter five titled “Between the Pool and the Gardenias” describing a mother who is overcome with grief as she has had several miscarriages resulting in a feeling of desperation to become her role as a mother. Seeing an abandoned baby on the ground she uses the opportunity to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother by adopting the child. In a gut wrenching twist it was revealed that the adopted baby was in fact deceased. Another chapter named “A Wall of Fire Rising” recounts of another mother named Lili with a less tragic family background. The chapter describes the family as although impoverished, still loving and supportive. When Lili’s son gets a role in a play and recites his lines Danticat writes “...the speech made Lili and Guy (the father) stand on the tip of their toes from great pride. As their applause thundered in the small space of their shack that night…” (48) “Between the Pool and Gardenias” is a classic portrayal on the single story of Haiti being a place of tragic characters but by describing the character Lili as a loving and caring mother expands the viewpoint of the reader thereby challenging this one-dimensional