“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to you” (Washington and Harline, When You Wish Upon a Star). A melody close to many’s hearts, full of childhood nostalgia. This song led to many children wishing upon the night sky. The superstition that stars grant wishes gives countless people hope that their dreams will come true. A similar theme is shown in the novel Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat, which suggests that people in desperate situations find hope through their superstitions.
Mothers find hope in their beliefs not only for themselves, but also for their children. Danticat’s story “Night Women” shows a mother clinging onto the hope that her faith gives her for herself and her …show more content…
In “Caroline’s Wedding” Danticat demonstrates people doing things according to their beliefs, even if the things haven’t worked in the past. This chapter tells the story of a mother from Haiti, who is very superstitious, and her daughters. The oldest daughter claims that “Ma believed that her bone soup could cure all kinds of ills” (140). The other daughter is engaged, an engagement that the mother does not approve of. The mother wants to break up her daughter and the fiancee. Even though there hasn’t been any indication of it working, they have the bone soup every supper. Partway through the chapter it is revealed that the sisters’ father died when they were still young. The mother instructed them to wear red underwear, which would tell the dead father that they didn’t want anything to do with him. While with her sister, the eldest daughter reflects that “We had always worn our black panties instead, to tell him that he would be welcome to visit us” (152). Both siblings still want to interact with their father. They don’t want to cut him out of their lives. For months after his death, both had the same dream of him over and over, where they tried to run to their father but could never catch him. Despite having no dreams of catching him, or interacting with him in any other way, the girls continued to wear the black underwear, even years later, with the hope of getting
Mothers find hope in their beliefs not only for themselves, but also for their children. Danticat’s story “Night Women” shows a mother clinging onto the hope that her faith gives her for herself and her …show more content…
In “Caroline’s Wedding” Danticat demonstrates people doing things according to their beliefs, even if the things haven’t worked in the past. This chapter tells the story of a mother from Haiti, who is very superstitious, and her daughters. The oldest daughter claims that “Ma believed that her bone soup could cure all kinds of ills” (140). The other daughter is engaged, an engagement that the mother does not approve of. The mother wants to break up her daughter and the fiancee. Even though there hasn’t been any indication of it working, they have the bone soup every supper. Partway through the chapter it is revealed that the sisters’ father died when they were still young. The mother instructed them to wear red underwear, which would tell the dead father that they didn’t want anything to do with him. While with her sister, the eldest daughter reflects that “We had always worn our black panties instead, to tell him that he would be welcome to visit us” (152). Both siblings still want to interact with their father. They don’t want to cut him out of their lives. For months after his death, both had the same dream of him over and over, where they tried to run to their father but could never catch him. Despite having no dreams of catching him, or interacting with him in any other way, the girls continued to wear the black underwear, even years later, with the hope of getting