A Wall of Fire Rising Themes Analysis

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There are numerous issues that continue to undermine the quality of life of millions of people living in Haiti. The nation has long been struggling from a wide range of factors, including poverty, unfertile soils, and natural calamities. A Wall of Fire Rising by the Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat provides a bright explanation of the feelings many inhabitants of the country often experience during their life-long struggle for survival.

The author covers several themes in the book, focusing on the concept of freedom. For Guy, who toils long hours and has no prospects in life, a distant image of freedom that centers around the ability to build a house becomes an obsession. Once he realizes that leaving for a better place will never be possible, Guy decides to commit suicide by jumping from an air balloon. The inability to enhance the living standards for a family despite hard work destroys Guy. Edwidge Danticat describes death with a lyricism that reminds of a paradox – despite the loss and violence, the life force reasserts itself (Gleibermann, 2019). The air balloon brought from America by a wealthy family symbolizes numerous concepts, including the pursuit of freedom and wealth inequality.

The sky and the ability to fly, in general, give people a sense that they can escape extreme poverty and start lives from scratch. “My husband, he likes to look at the sky” (Danticat, 157). The name of the book is taken from the Little Guy’s school play that provides the family with the rare pleasure of hearing a forefather of Haitian independence (Danticat, 157). A lack of properly functioning social lifts and institutions continues to significantly lower the chances of escaping the vicious cycle in one of the first American nations to gain freedom.

A Wall of Fire Rising by Edwidge Danticat is a colorful story that holds numerous symbolic meanings and balances between melancholy and passion for the remarkable force that comes from people’s ability to dream. Guy is described as a common man who wants to provide for his family and be treated with respect. Nevertheless, his realization that he began to resemble his impoverished father diminished his motivation to continue the endless struggle for survival and eventually led to suicide.

Works Cited

Danticat, Edwidge. “A Wall of Fire Rising.” Krik? Krak!, edited by Edwidge Danticat, Soho Press, 2004, pp. 148–157.

Gleibermann, Erik. “The Story Will Be There When You Need It: A Conversation with Edwidge Danticat.” World Literature Today, vol. 93, no.1, 2019, pp. 68–74, Web.

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