Daffodils are, throughout the novel, a symbol of
the strength and sacrifice it takes to
thrive in a place in which one is not meant to be.
What is the meaning of the title breath eyes memory?
About the Title
When Sophie considers the importance of Haitian culture and tradition in her life, she says, “I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one.” The title Breath, Eyes, Memory suggests
memory, or recalling the past
, is just as essential to life and to identity as breathing or seeing.
What does the color yellow symbolize in breath eyes memory?
Therefore, they are a symbol of strength, and the yellow is a symbol of
hope
, such as Martine’s hope for her future.
What does red symbolize in breath eyes memory?
The red of the Caco bird in its death throes symbolizes
passion and violence
and suggests a connection with Martine’s character.
What is the name of Sophie’s daughter in breath eyes memory?
Brigitte
. Sophie’s daughter by Joseph. The infant Brigitte has a remarkable face in which Grandmè Ifé can see the traces of generations of ancestors.
What is the tone of breath eyes memory?
tone Sophie’s tone is
empathetic but objective
, in the style of a testament. Though the narrative first person has access to Sophie’s private feelings, its primarily factual style is more suggestive of a third-person description, as if Sophie were candidly describing herself from afar.
Who is the protagonist in breath eyes memory?
Sophie Caco
. The novel’s protagonist and narrator, Sophie is a liminal creature whose search for resolution drives the narrative. The book opens as she leaves Haiti for New York on the threshold of adolescence, suspended between childhood and womanhood and between her aunt’s and mother’s worlds.
What place is associated with trauma in breath eyes memory?
In Breath, Eyes, Memory a Haitian woman, Sophie, tells her life story, which begins from her childhood in
Haiti
, where she lives in a small village with her aunt, Atie.
What does Sophie eat really often in breath eyes memory?
Martine makes
spaghetti
for dinner, and confesses that after Sophie left, she ate only spaghetti for a long time—everything Haitian, she says, reminded her of Sophie. After dinner, Martine gets ready to go out for a little while.
Where does Sophie spend the early years of her life?
Sophie Caco, age twelve, comes home from
school in Croix-des-Rosets, Haiti
, to the house she shares with her beloved, illiterate aunt Atie.
Where was Martine buried in breath eyes memory?
Martine tells her mother that she, too, wants to be buried in
Haiti
when she dies. Ifé tells her that she needs to be friends with Sophie to make that a reality. She has to explain to Sophie why she tested her virginity when it was such a humiliating thing to do.
What color are Sophie and Martine House decorations?
Sophie’s family name, Caco, is the name of a bird so scarlet it looks like fire, and Sophie and Martine decorate their first home entirely in
red
.
What is the main conflict in breath eyes memory?
The major conflict of the novel is
the main character’s battle with her inner self
. Because she is a child of rape (her mother had been raped at the young age of 16 by an unknown man), she is a reminder to her mother of the wounds that had been inflicted on her.
What does Martine say is Sophie’s only job?
In the summer months before school starts, Sophie spends her time at work with Martine. Martine works
days at a nursing home
, cleaning up after bedridden old people while Sophie watches TV in the lounge.
Who are the Tonton Macoutes in breath eyes memory?
Haitians called the militia members the Tonton Macoutes after a thieving bogeyman in Haitian folktales. Like the bogeyman, the Tonton Macoutes often kidnapped people—
opponents of
the Duvalier regime—in the middle of the night. Duvalier was responsible for nearly 30,000 deaths.
What year is breath eyes memory set in?
Historical Context of Breath, Eyes, Memory
Set in
the 1980s and early 1990s
, Breath, Eyes, Memory makes reference to many sociopolitical events and struggles both in Haiti and within the Haitian diaspora in Brooklyn.
