What Is The Theme Of Juxtaposition In Children Of The Sea Short Story

How can someone live in such a time and place where they have nothing to hold on to but pure hope? Where almost every day they are reminded of how hard things are for them and that no matter what they do or how hard they try they will never be able to be truly happy but only in their dreams. This book goes on to tell the story of different characters who have to go through such a horrible situations and how they try to cope with it. In the book, Krik Krak, a series of short stories, the author Danticat utilizes juxtaposition to create lonely characters that in return create the overall mood of sadness throughout the book. The following characters a young boy, Little Guy, and a mother have all dealt with the feeling of loneliness and they best …show more content…
The young boy left everything behind in Haiti which consisted of his family, friends, and girlfriend. He is saddened by the fact that everything he once loved has been taken away from him and he now has to flee his own home because he is not safe there anymore. The only thing he has to hold on to is a journal in which he can write whatever he desires and this helps him cope with his troubles. In this journal he writes down what he sees and what he is thinking about. “They say behind the mountains are more mountains. Now I know it’s true. I also know there are timeless waters, endless seas, and lots of people in this world whose names don 't matter to anyone but themselves” (p.3). The boy is now in a horrible situation, they have run out of tar and anything could go wrong, now they only have their prayers for safety. At the same time people begin to throw away their belongings since it is just excess weight. This means the boy has to throw out his journal. “In any case, I know that my memory of you will live even there as I too become a child of the sea” (p.28). Now knowing what happens to the boy creates the feeling of sadness because the reader grows to like this character and wishes nothing more but that he reaches his destination …show more content…
When the story began we were introduced to a typical family which consisted of a father, mother, and son. Little Guy admired his father so much and the reader sees this great relationship between both characters. “Lili lay peacefully on the grass as her son and husband played hide-and-seek” (p.62). However towards the end of the story this loving bond is broken when Guy gets in the hot air balloon and gets it to work but decides to end his life by jumping off. Little Guy witnessed the tragic death of his father as he jumped off which made the situation worse. He lost one of the only two people he can really depend on. “The boy continued reciting his lines, his voice rising to a man 's grieving roar. He kept his eyes closed, his fists balled at his side as he continued with his newest lines” (p.79). The change in character of the boy going from a happy child to a hurt child creates the feeling of sadness in which the reader feels deeply because they see this rapid change in him at such a young