Reading Notes

Children of the Sea

Plot: two narrators who don't know each other are in love.
       
        The girl is angry at the fact that her father does not let her keep writing letters to her lover. However, she does not know that her father gave up all his properties to save her daughter from the danger of Macoutes (A military force created by Papa Doc).

        The female narrators heard the news that their neighbor was killed by the Macoutes.

        The male narrator tries to escape Haiti by using a boat. In his boat, there is also a pregnant woman who was raped by Macoutes. When her baby died, she suicides too.

       A few days later when the female narrator sees a black butterfly, it foreshadows that the male narrator is dead.



Characters: Male narrator
                   Female narrator
                   Female narrator's father
                   Celianne (the pregnant woman)



Personal response:  this is a story that presents the sense of hopelessness when Haitian people are facing Macoute and the pressure from the government. Also, this small story shows how insignificant the relationship between people is. For instance, when the female narrator sees the black butterfly, there is nothing she can do. I can sense the theme of despair when I am reading the part when the pregnant woman decides to kill herself after the double damage - being raped and the death of her baby.






       

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