Breath, Eyes, Memory - Book Reveiw Paper
BREATH, EYES, MEMORY
A Book Review
Presented to
Dr. Derick Hendricks
Morgan State University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for History 350.150
by
Christina Gunn-Davis
October 1, 2011
Edwidge Danticat. Breath, Eyes, Memory. New York: Vintage Books, 1998. 2nd Vintage Contemporaries Edition. 236 pp.
Introduction To The Author
Edwidge Danticat was born on January 19, 1969 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. At the age of two her father immigrated to the United States and two years later her mother followed leaving Danticat and her brother in Haiti to be raised by an aunt and uncle. When she was twelve she and her brother moved to Brooklyn, New York to live with their parents, much like her protagonist Sophie in the book. She went on to receive a degree in French literature from Barnard College and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Brown. Breath, Eyes, Memory is her first novel, which she began writing as an undergraduate at Barnard. Finished as her MFA thesis, it was published in 1994 to critical acclaim. In the introduction to Starting With I, Danticat wrote, “When I was done with the [immigration] piece, I felt that my story was unfinished, so I wrote a short story, which later became a book, my first novel: Breath, Eyes, Memory…. Writing for New Youth Connections had given me a voice. My silence was destroyed completely, indefinitely.” She has taught creative writing at New York University and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Summary Of The Book
Breath, Eyes, Memory is the story of a young Haitian woman 's coming to terms with her country, her mother, and her own identity. The protagonist is Sophie Caco, who has spent a happy childhood in rural Haiti with her Grandmé Ifé and Tante Atie, who raised her as her own child. Sophie 's mother, Martine, lives in Brooklyn, New York and supports the family with the money she sends home. When Sophie is twelve years old, Martine sends for her, and Sophie must leave the only home and family she knows to
A Book Review
Presented to
Dr. Derick Hendricks
Morgan State University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for History 350.150
by
Christina Gunn-Davis
October 1, 2011
Edwidge Danticat. Breath, Eyes, Memory. New York: Vintage Books, 1998. 2nd Vintage Contemporaries Edition. 236 pp.
Introduction To The Author
Edwidge Danticat was born on January 19, 1969 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. At the age of two her father immigrated to the United States and two years later her mother followed leaving Danticat and her brother in Haiti to be raised by an aunt and uncle. When she was twelve she and her brother moved to Brooklyn, New York to live with their parents, much like her protagonist Sophie in the book. She went on to receive a degree in French literature from Barnard College and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Brown. Breath, Eyes, Memory is her first novel, which she began writing as an undergraduate at Barnard. Finished as her MFA thesis, it was published in 1994 to critical acclaim. In the introduction to Starting With I, Danticat wrote, “When I was done with the [immigration] piece, I felt that my story was unfinished, so I wrote a short story, which later became a book, my first novel: Breath, Eyes, Memory…. Writing for New Youth Connections had given me a voice. My silence was destroyed completely, indefinitely.” She has taught creative writing at New York University and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Summary Of The Book
Breath, Eyes, Memory is the story of a young Haitian woman 's coming to terms with her country, her mother, and her own identity. The protagonist is Sophie Caco, who has spent a happy childhood in rural Haiti with her Grandmé Ifé and Tante Atie, who raised her as her own child. Sophie 's mother, Martine, lives in Brooklyn, New York and supports the family with the money she sends home. When Sophie is twelve years old, Martine sends for her, and Sophie must leave the only home and family she knows to
Bibliography: Breath, Eyes, Memory. Edwidge Danticat, New York: Vintage Books, 1998 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwidge_Danticat Starting With I, edited by Andrea Estepa, 1997, p. xii. http://www.progressive.org/mag_intvdanticat http://www.potomitan.net