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Jada Grey
WIlliam Hunter
Ricardo Hamilton
Brady Holmes
Iyobosa Iyare
Literary Devices
Literary devices are certain techniques that allow a writer to convey a deeper meaning
that goes beyond what’s on the literary work. It helps writers to express themselves in a more colorful way than just
standard words on a page.
Literary devices work alongside plot and characters
to elevate a story and prompt reflection on life, society, and what it means to be human.
Chapter 8: “By then, it was already too late.”
This statement by Sophie as the narrator foreshadows the tragedy that awaits Martine and the revelation of the root of issues faced by Martine and Sophie’s family.
Chapter 12: The story of the bleeding woman and Erzule.
The parable of the bleeding woman who was turned into a butterfly to be healed represents freedom through sacrifice.
Chapter 13: “Ou libere”
The market vendors shouting “Ou libere”, are you free from your heavy load, is foreshadowing Sophie being freed from the tragedies of her life and begins to heal.
Chapter 17: The story of the old woman who had three children
This story describes the children of Granmè Ifé and foreshadows the death of Martine by saying that one went abroad, which is true for Martine, and never returned, then went on to state that Tante Atie was the last child that stayed with her mother.
The doll
The doll symbolizes the daughter Martine never had. She cares for the doll as she would her own child but is very controlling.
Martine wishes for Sophie to be the doll that she can control and that will never leave her, as she fears abandonment.
The doll is significant as it symbolizes the daughter that Martine never had and her actions toward the doll represents her human nature and her wishes for her mother-daughter relationship
The Marasas
The story of the Marasas, inseparable lovers, symbolizes the action of doubling and the mother-daughter relationship that Martine has with her daughter Sophie.
The Marasas being the “the same person, duplicate in two”, describes the feeling of having your body at one place while your mind is faraway, as Sophie did while her mother tested her.
Blood
Bleeding has been encountered on multiple times in the novel. In this case, blood is a representation of womanhood and purity. When a girl has reached a certain age, menstruation begins and is accompanied by bleeding. However, menstruation stops when a woman is pregnant, and the bleeding also ends.
Marc is presented in a paradoxical way. Marc is placed somewhere in the middle of being a Haitian and an American.
Marc is a successful Haitian who makes a
name and wealth for himself. Despite integrating himself easily in the American society, he searches obsessively for the authentic Haitian experience, be it food or culture.
Because he is successful, Marc feels as if he doesn’t belong anywhere: he
is not really an American but he is not a Haitian either.
1. Sophie's troubles with sex parallel her mother's.
2. Martine's growing importance to the story is paralleled by her increasing absence. She is the mother whom Sophie does not know, the daughter who cannot return home, the mother to whom Sophie is not speaking, the lover whom Marc cannot understand. Even when she lives with Sophie, Martine's constant work means that she is rarely home.
3. Martine, Sophie, and Brigitte have parallel nightmares, though they differ in intensity.
Erzulie: the Vodou spirit of love and women and beauty
When Sophie met her mother in New York she was asked a very hard question about whether Martine was everything she'd hoped her mother would be?
Her response in her head was:
"The mother I had imagined for myself was like Erzulie."
Violent Crowd
Right before leaving Haiti,Sophie witnesses a violent group of rioters protesting against the renaming of the airport.The rioters become very violent and the army has to get involved.
Conflict- The child of rape and the heir of wounded but resilient women, Sophie Caco attempts to grow into herself as a woman, wife, mother and daughter, fighting the weight of a difficult inheritance and making peace with her mother's ghosts.
Setting- Haiti and New York; 1970s-1990s
Climax-The story reaches its climax when Martine kills herself.
Protagonist- Sophie Caco
Antagonist- The Rapist
Point of view-Sophie narrates in the first person
The narrator-Sophie Caco
Tone- Wistful, solemn and meditative
Mood- Moody, sentimental, dreamy and haunting
Genre-Fiction
Questions
Name two literary devices that are in Breath, Eyes, Memory.
What POV was the novel written from?
What was the tone and the mood of the poem?
Name one symbol mentioned in the novel.
https://www.shmoop.com/breath-eyes-memory/protagonist-antagonist.html
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Breath-Eyes-Memory/plot-summary/
https://www.gradesaver.com/breath-eyes-memory/study-guide/literary-elements
https://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/goddess-erzulie/
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/breath-eyes-memory/chapter-1