Edwidge Danticat's Krik

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Paige Barlow Mr. Taber World Lit Honors 03 April 2024 Krik? Krak! I am a krunk! Essay On Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak! I am a krunk! collection, symbolism is a central element in conveying the deeper themes and emotions that resonate throughout the narratives. Freedom and its restrictions are recurring motifs throughout the collection as they amplify the meaning of each story. Fire, symbolizing both freedom and restrictions, serves as a metaphor for Guy’s ambition, struggles, and ultimate fate in A Wall of Fire Rising. Water, fire’s archetypal opposition, appears in Children of the Sea as another symbol of freedom and restrictions demonstrated in the collection. Therefore, Danticat symbolizes freedom and its restrictions in her collection, …show more content…
Fire is a necessity to fuel the hot air balloon, which is the ultimate symbol of freedom in the story. Without a flame, the hot-air balloon wouldn’t be able to fly and freedom could not be accomplished. However, fire also symbolizes restriction, reflecting the harsh realities and limitations that ultimately lead to Guy’s despair, hence the metaphor: “a wall of fire”. Little Guy’s role of Boukman in his school play has the line, “A wall of fire is rising and in the ashes, I see the bones of my people”(Danticat 78-79). The metaphorical wall of fire represents the physical, emotional, and societal barriers that confine Guy in a cycle of poverty and restrict him from pursuing his dreams. Danticat’s employment of fire as a symbol in A Wall of Fire Rising helps express the Haitians’ dreams of freedom and the harsh realities and restrictions they faced during the Haitian revolution. Additionally, Danticat uses water as a symbol of freedom and its restrictions in the first story of the collection, Children of the Sea. Not only is the ocean the male narrator’s literal path to freedom, but it also represents boundless opportunities and