The Effects of Narrative Techniques in 'Krik? Krak!': Stories of Love and Brutality Edwidge Danticat 11th Grade

"Misery won’t touch you gentle. It always leaves its thumbprint on you; sometimes it leaves them for others to see, sometimes for nobody but you to know of ”(Edwidge Danticat).

These disheartening yet wise words from Edwidge Danticat articulate the dynamic of suffering and how it’s experienced in different ways; in the form of pain that others can see or internal suffering invisible to the public. This quote resonates with the cascade of emotions she endured growing up in Haiti. As an infant, her parents departed to America, leaving her to be raised by her Aunt and Uncle in Haiti. She immigrated to America due to the increasingly dangerous political climate at the time. She turned to writing to help her cope with her new found cultural disorientation. Danticat’s upbringing inspired her to write her incredible novel Krik Krak, based around a series of stories that take place in Haiti and America. It dives deep into the pain ridden lives of her female ancestors who suffered yet still loved. It explores the way in which these women were able to survive in a climate where political violence and poverty infected their lives. Throughout the novel, while the stories are different, they all intertwine to accommodate the themes of...