The Immigrant Experience

The first chapter examines physical and psychic fragmentation in Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory and Krik? Krak! In Danticat’s work, folklore and flight intersect to highlight the relationship between dissociation, flight, and transformation. The works position the navigation of trauma as central to the protagonists’ emotional growth. Danticat’s work illustrates the transformative nature of flight and features Haitian and Haitian American characters who learn how to reconcile the effects of traumatic events. The works showcase women in various states of imprisonment, with flight, whether imagined or literal, serving as the vehicle for escape. Danticat fuses print and oral cultures and positions folklore as a tool for communicating values, solidifying relationships, and navigating trauma.