Anxiety In Danticat's A Wall Of Fire Rising

“Someone says, Krik? You answer, Krak!” (Danticat 14). This quote was used by Haitians when telling stories. Storytelling was a powerful source of hope, especially throughout Haiti during this horrible time period. The book contains a collection of fictional short stories explaining the harsh lives of Haitians and different problems that they had to go through. In the book, Krik Krak, a series of short stories, the author Danticat utilizes juxtaposition to create intriguing characters that in return create a mood full of anxiety. The specific examples that best display intriguing characters creating an overall sense of anxiety are a depressed father, a determined mother, and a wannabe mother.

In the third story, “A Wall of Fire Rising” Guy, the father, intrigues the reader with his decision making on his life. Beginning when he questions the worth of his life, Guy’s wife, Lili, reassures his thoughts by saying, “A man is judged by his deeds” (Danticat 74) and he always kept his family fed. However, Guy soon came up with his own conclusion as he thought about his poor struggling father, “I remember him as a man that I would never want to be” (Danticat 75). As Guy realizes the

resemblance between his life and his father’s, he views the hot air balloon as an opportunity, a new life. Guy tried his best everyday only to barely see the next. He lost hope in life and saw no reason to continue living. Then one day, Guy got in the basket, miraculously made the balloon fly, and jumped, “...his blood immediately soaking the landing spot. The balloon kept floating free, drifting on its way to brighter shores” (Danticat 77-78). The character’s view of his life create anxiety, as he loses hope and gives up on his life, which leaves the reader thinking about Guy’s decision.

In the fourth story, “Night Women” the determined mother, the main character, intrigues the reader with her strong willed attitude to survive.

She will do just about anything to take care of her son, “The night is the time I dread most in my life. Yet, if I am to live, I must depend on it” (Danticat 83). However, she can’t keep the fact that she sells her body from her son forever, “I will tell him that his father has come, that an angel brought him back from Heaven for a while” (Danticat 88). That shows that she is embarrassed from her work and prepared to lie to her son to keep him from knowing the truth. This character’s determination to survive and protect her family makes the reader anxious to know more about her and discover what’ll happen to her and her

son.

In the fifth story, “Between the Pool and the Gardenias” Marie, interests the reader with her devotion to loving a child she could never have. Marie was pregnant several times and all those times had miscarriages, so she couldn’t care for a kid the way she would have wanted to. “I thought she was a gift from Heaven when I saw her” (Danticat 91). She was shocked to see an abandoned baby, but quickly decided to treat her as her own, “At night, I could rock her alone in the hush of my room, rest her on my belly, and wish she were inside me” (Danticat 92). Marie began taking care of the baby even though it was already dead, the baby was decomposing and began reeking, “I watched her skin grow moist, cracked, and sunken in some places, then ashy and dry in others” (Danticat 98). This character’s action forms anxiety, and catches the reader’s attention, wondering the condition of the woman.

A suicidal father, a mother prostitute, and a child obsessor are the best examples in Krik Krak that creates an overall sense of anxiety. It interests the readers and makes them think deeper than they normally would. Danticat, the author, utilizes juxtaposition to create these extremely intriguing characters. These individuals, then form the mood with their stories. Every reader has their own interpretations of the book, though you could take other’s thoughts as it could greatly affect your opinion. This is Danticat’s way of sharing the intriguing stories of the Haitian life and the hardships they have to overcome.