“A Wall of Fire Rising”By Edwidge Danticat

Edwidge Danticat•Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1969

•Moved to New York City when she was 12; she learned English after she arrived

•Published her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, in 1994.

•In 1995, she published a collection of short stories called Krik? Krak!, in which “A Wall of Fire Rising” appeared. (This collection was shortlisted for the National Book Award).

•She was named one of the "Best Young American Novelists" in 1996

Haiti backgroundA former French colony, Haiti won their freedom from the French after rebelling (1791-1804). The French Revolution in 1789 had a profound impact on the colony’s enslaved population.

Dutty Boukman: Haitian slave and religious leader during the French rule. In 1791, he incited a revolution against the slavery of the natives by the French colonials.

It was the only slave uprising that resulted in a free state, ruled by former captives.

Haiti expected to be free after the revolution, but now the people are enslaved by poverty.

Haiti is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, with a poverty rate of 77% (U.S. poverty rate: 14.5 %).

Haiti 2010, photo by B. Crandell

Characters in the storyThis is a story of a family living in poverty in Haiti. It begins with the father, Guy, coming home to his wife, Lili, and son, Little Guy.

Guy: The father, who shifts where he places blame throughout the story: On situation and location, on his father for being stuck there, on himself for failing to support his family. Trapped and desperate, his family has no means of leaving their situation.

Lili: The mother.

Little Guy: The 7-year-old son.

Symbols (remember, symbols don’t ever mean just one thing--look for ambiguity.

Hot air balloon can signify both_________ but also _________.

Lines from the play (they change meaning from beginning of story to the end). Notice: Lines in the play are not in Boukman’s authentic voice, but are by a European, writing in a formal voice.

Fire

Moon, stars, lamp = all sources of light

Some Concepts to look for:Duty and Expectations

Blame

Entrapment / Slavery

Desperation

Freedom

Hope

Self-doubt

Thesis workshopSymbol OR Setting with two concepts

Example: Danticat uses the symbolism of light sources to show that what illuminates can also destroy.

OR

Danticat uses the Haitian setting to reveal the truth that feelings of entrapment stifle hope.

Sources

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/nov/20/featuresreviews.guardianreview9 http://jamaicans.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Dutty_Boukman.jpg

http://borgenproject.org/top-five-facts-about-poverty-in-haiti/

https://cache-graphicslib.viator.com/graphicslib/thumbs674x446/7406/SITours/adirondacks-hot-air-balloon-flight-with-optional-private-upgrade-in-new-york-state-193937.jpg

https://static.pexels.com/photos/1749/fire-orange-emergency-burning.jpg