the common theme of escape in krik krak

In Edwidge Danticat’s collection of short stories, Krik? Krak!, a common theme in the three stories we’ve read so far is the theme of escape. Characters in all the stories are constantly searching for escape through various means, whether by sea, land, or sky. In Children of the Sea, both of the narrators are forced to escape, with the girl being taken with her parents to retreat to Ville Rose, and the boy sent out to sea with various others in search of Miami and away from the horrors of home. In 1937, all of the women who were said to have “wings of fire” escaped from the massacre in the Dominican Republic. In A Wall of Fire Rising, Little Guy seemed to use the frantic recital of his lines as an escape, while Guy sought escape through death and the Assads’ hot air balloon in the yard of the sugar mill.

I find it interesting how the characters that seek escape seem to rarely achieve the freedom they’re searching for. Guy is notable, as his death could be interpreted to mean that through his suicide from the balloon, he’s managed to fall and die as a hero. In addition to this, the voodoo women from the Dominican Republic also have achieved escape, although in a more literal sense, and usually with sadder endings. While they manage to successfully escape from their deaths, they usually end up in the prison due to their religious affiliation, and the wings of fire they represent.

Personally, I feel that the entirety of Krik? Krak! feels as if it is marred with a constant sense of despair and a lack of hope, no true victory for our protagonists as they struggle with their various issues and challenges. This theme of despair and loss resonates through each story and other themes, especially the one of escape. While everyone seems to try and run away, they never seem to truly make it, always falling short at the last minute, right before the finish line. And more often than not, they seem to be unable to even see the finish line.