Blog Number Six

Despite these stories having many themes such as pain, independence, betrayal, and unity, family is the one major theme that has stood out to me. These three stories all highlight on the hardships, as well as the benefits, of having such a strong family and how they affect all types of people. That being said, I believe the most important stories with the theme of family is “Children of the Sea” and “Nineteen-Thirty Seven”. Although each of these story’s family has different relationships, goals and obstacles, it is clear that each member is closely united with one another. In return, each family plays a crucial role in each character's lives, their decision making, and in their self growth and exploration.

In the first story, it was evident that the narrator (who was not living on the raft) had a family that solely aimed to protect one another. This is mostly evident when their neighbor was being attacked. In order to save his wife, it took strong, independant will for the father to hold back the mother in order to protect her and sacrifice the neighbor’s life. This may seem selfish, but in the end, he was able to protect his family. However, it is not to be said that the other narrator does not have a family as well. Although his peers on the raft may not be related to him by blood, he makes strong ties and develops emotional relationships with those around him- which in return, creates a family of his own.

People often refer to their family as “home”, however, in this story, both the narrators and families are being torn apart, one is literally separated from them, and the other is losing their home due to the macoutes. That being said, I believe the narrator’s families are so important to their story. The changes in their families and homes show the dramatic changes in their lives. Once they are no longer able to rely on their family, they lose their home.

In the second story, Josephine reflects on her mother’s, as well as her family’s history. She struggles to witnesses how badly her mother is being treated due to her being accused a witch, however in the long run, she benefits by learning about her mother’s choices. In this story, Josephine looks back on her family roots, and acknowledges the role they have played in her life. In this story, family helps the main character’s self-development and growth. By watching her mother slowly deteriorate, Josephine herself becomes stronger. In a sense, she was able to come to term with her family’s past, learn how to accept her origins and who she was. In addition, Josephine has to learn how to live and cope with knowing what her mother faced. By watching her only family member suffer, she learned how important family was to her.  Because of this, she became a stronger and more in touch person. Once her mother passed away, she was able to look back on her life and learn more about her family’s history.