What Is The Theme Of Juxtaposition In Between The Pool And The Gardenias

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“Someone says, Krik ? You answer, Krak ! And they say, I have many stories I could tell you” (Danticat 14). This collection of short stories is captivating. It shows the harsh reality of Haiti, but shows the beauty within as well. In the book, Krik Krak, a series of short stories, the author Danticat utilizes juxtaposition to create unique characters that in return create the overall depressing mood of the book. The specific examples that best display unique characters, setting an overall sense of depression are a maid, a depressed father, and a prostitute. In the middle of the book, the short story, “Between the Pool and the Gardenias”, Marie, the main character is in a unique situation. Marie has wanted children ever since she got married, but the pregnancies are never vital. “The ones my body could never hold” (Danticat 92). However, she went outside one day to find a baby girl on her steps. “She looked the way I had imagined all my little girls would look” (Danticat 92). At the end of the short story, the reader finds out that the baby has been dead all along. “Over her little corpse we stood…” (Danticat 100). Marie’s shift from hallucination to realization helps create the overall depressed mood of the book. …show more content…

In the beginning, he wants to ride in the hot air balloon to get a sense of freedom. “... Guy would walk up to the basket, staring at it with the same kind of longing that most men display when they admire very pretty girls” (Danticat 61). Consequently, towards the end, he realizes that he will never truly be free and decides to take his own life. “Within seconds, Guy was in the air, hurtling down towards the crowd” (Danticat 77). Due to Guys shift from hope to hopelessness, the overall depressing mood of the book is made