Character Analysis In Dionne Brand's What We All Long For

Dionne Brand's What We All Long For tells the stories of multiple characters that are either trying to make their own way in the world or simply getting by. The character Quy is an individual whose tragic story is told in a separate narrative than that of the rest of the novel to point out the stark lifestyle differences of those who are able to live with privileges in a city like Toronto, and those who are not. This essay will focus on the aspects that differentiate Quy from the life of the other characters through the examination of individuality. The living conditions and the lack of elaboration of Quy's personal interests illustrate the differences between the characters that live in Toronto and those who live outside it. Why does Brand do this?

Quy's places of residency contrast such privileges that the Torontonian characters are able to have access to. Quy's places of residency are widespread with sensitive consequences if the wrong survival choice is made, instilling Quy with an exigency for survival starting at a young age. Brand writes that while Quy was on Pulau Bidong, he "washed clothes and dishes for a living, . . . did errands . . . owned two rafts, and . . . ferried to the middle of the ocean to get things" (196) for other people just so he could survive. The numerous jobs Quy put himself through—washing clothes and dishes, running errands, and ferrying rafts—contrast the lifestyle of the Torontonian characters who do not experience Quy's kind of hardship as they are able to have access to systems that take care of their survival needs. Brand sets up this contrast to show that a tough life like Quy's can make survival the only priority whereas someone like Tuyen and other Torontonians can long for what they desire because their basic survival needs are met through the evolved systems of a