short stories analysis on brother i'm dying book
Living a Folktale Story Who loved to hear folktale stories from their grandmother at nights before going to sleep? Personally I loved hearing them especially at night with hot chocolate and pan dulce [sweet bread]. However, wouldn’t you wonder why your grandmother would tell you these stories if there was a significant explanation, or lesson to be learned from them? In the book, “Brother I’m Dying”, by Edwidge Danticat it’s dispersed with numerous folk tales and children stories with a symbolic message. Most of the tales were told by her [Edwidge] grandmother “Grandme Melina” who can be seen to be giving her guidance even after her death, through her stories. The tales connect to Danticat providing a form of escape for her during the most troubling times in her life, dealing with issues such as death, displacement and illness. Danticat did not have a good communication with her parents nor her siblings she would always keep everything to herself. She would not feel comfortable talking to her parents about her personal issues or concerns because they left when she was small. One great example of that would be when she got pregnant and her father was dying this was a very hard and confusing situation to be in. So what did she did was she keep it to herself until she felt it was the right time to let everyone know. Imagine being pregnant and not being able to let everyone know. Although she did not feel comfortable talking to her parents she enjoyed spending time with Madeline. Danticat explains, “Leaning down, I picked a book that looked familiar, a book I’d owned before. It had a nun on the cover and on one side of her were eleven little girls in raincoats and on the other, having the luxury of an entire hand to herself, a little girl who was dressed exactly the same as the others but stood apart somehow. The little girl’s name was Madeleine...I couldn’t wait to climb into bed and have another visit with my old friend Madeleine, who like me, now live in an
Cited: Danticat, Edwidge. Brother I 'm Dying. 1st ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.