In Chapter 1 we discover the life of a young girl with more opportunities than the generations before her had. She lives in a nice house, goes to school, has her own bedroom, and the opportunity to leave Haiti and go to New York. However she is not happy about leaving Haiti. In Haiti she lives with her Tante Atie, whom has been carrying for her since she was a baby and her mother left for New York without her. She has no memories of her mother and as Mother's Day in Haiti is approaching her Mother's Day card was made for Tante Atie not her mother.
I was struck by the sadness that carried from the two main characters thus far in the story. Tanta Atie is sad because the day, it seems, she tried to avoid thinking about, sending the young girl to New York, has come. Tanta Atie is also upset that gossipy man told everyone about this event before she could even tell the young girl. Which is very understandable. The young girl is sad at first because she senses her Tanta Atie's sadness but doesn't know why and then sad and angry when she discovers the reason. The bright yellow flowers and dresses described seem to try to offset the mood and possibly point to happier events in the future.
I agree and think that sadness certainly becomes a large theme in the novel, especially for Atie. The daffodils are an interesting addition as well, I liked the idea of Martine and Sophie having this in common but sometimes it seemed played out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you. It does seem very repeditive in the book. I think that the auther wanted it to be that way though. She was trying to play it out. I could relate a little bit Sophie in the beginning of the novel when she had to say goodbye to Atie. Even though the move for college was a lot less dramatic, I found myself getting a little emotional when they had to say goodbye.
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