Caroline's wedding notes

Characters

The mother- a traditional Haitian woman

Caroline- she views herself as American and wants to marry Eric desperately

Grace- Loves her family, the support of her family.

Eric- Caroline's lover, he is not from Haiti

The dead father-who married a widow later on in order to get his family to the U.S, then died because of cancer.


Plot

 Caroline, Grace's sister, is fall in love with Eric who is not from Haiti. However, their mother is not willing to let her daughter marry Eric since first he is not Haitian, second, their father just passed away due to cancer. Grace's family just moved to America because of their father who married a widow in order to get his family to the U.S. Caroline rebels her mother and eventually marries Eric. At Caroline's wedding,  Grace is upset because she knows that because Caroline is now married, she will not be as close to her family as she did before, and Caroline is nervous too, but then her mother placates her. The story ends with Grace goes to her father's grave and talks about Caroline's wedding and then returns home to help her mother to cook soup.

Personal response

 This story has a central theme of identity. Throughout the story, Grace and Caroline are struggling to define themselves-either Haitian or American. Clearly, Caroline prefers to be American and wants to be more independent which contradicts the view of traditional Haitian women who only marry Haitian man and only needs to take care of their children. Grace, on the other hand, wants to remain part of her Haitian identity but at the same time be American. This story reflects Edwidge Danticat herself when she first came to the U.S and struggled to define herself.

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