Closing the Generational Gap

The tribulation and sadness experienced as a result of the loss of loved ones are difficult to overcome. At some point in life, there is an acknowledgement of this fact that one can no longer suppress these over-bearing feelings and because of this, the pent-up emotions can be poured onto paper in the form of words, aesthetically and structurally crafted to convey messages that any other person can relate. The “First-Year Common Reading Author Visit” event at Whitman Auditorium enabled Brooklyn College faculty and students to gain insight into the mindset of Edwidge Danticat through the discussion of her memoir, Brother, I’m Dying. Even though her main intention in writing it was to converse with her deceased father and uncle, the memoir’s popularity and powerful themes including the terrible consequences of political intrusion on families make it somewhat of an essential, mandatory reading when used as a didactic tool. By sharing it with previous and future generations, she hopes that they won’t be absorbed into or be ignorant of their pasts, but rather, confront and embrace them.

Haitian proverbs are brought into the discussion to elaborate on the underlying themes and intentions in her autobiography. One notable proverb, “When you see an old bone on the road, remember it once had flesh,” delineates how one should not look down on people, for one would lose a sense of humanity, since the “bone” was once a person. She wanted to put the flesh back on the bones of her uncle and father because they were diligent and vested their hopes in their children. She pays tribute to her family and acknowledges and never forgets the sacrifices made by older generations. Immediately proceeding after is a reading of two excerpts from her memoir: the first one, “Transition,” talks about the moment when she gives birth to her daughter and names her after her father; and the other one, a folktale, describes how a daughter had a difficult time coping with her father’s death. Both excerpts accentuate the theme of the continuous cycle of life and death.

Transitioning from the discussion phase to the question phase, noticeable moments included someone mistakenly classifying her book as a novel and her joking about how her memoir should be assigned as mandatory reading to all immigration workers (Homeland Security personnel) in the near future. When asked who or what she thinks was responsible for her uncle’s death, she explains that the immigration system is broken and medical assistance was not provided when required. When asked if she was able to find closure in writing the book, she states that she wanted to write it before she forgot her memories since they were very vivid in her mind at the time. Although she wasn’t able to find closure, it served to be very therapeutic and cathartic to her. She addressed numerous issues that were not made clear in her memoir, and so, the event helped to alleviate the curiosity caused by the many unanswered questions in classroom discussions.