"Whenever she wanted to pray, she let her fiddle talk. Whenever she was angry, here came the fiddle."This fiction short was not very appealing to me when I first read it -- I enjoyed "Night Women" a lot more. However, reading it through a few more times and discussing it in class I was able to really enjoy this story. I especially enjoyed the above sentence because I perceived it as a clear description of a character trait possessed by the main character Indigo. She was clearly musically inclined and passionate about playing because it is a way for her to express her feelings.
"...this terrible-playing child of mine"I am noting this statement spoken by Indigo's mother because it points to minimal parental support. The fact that she describes her child as 'terrible-playing' (while speaking to her child, nonetheless!) does not show support for something her daughter truly enjoys. This could point to an extremely controversial topic of parental criticism: is Indigo's mother wrong for speaking the truth about Indigo's fiddle-playing? Or should she have encouraged her to continue?
"Mama, I'm happy with how the fiddles talk... sounding now. I don't want any lessons at all. I just want to play."This statement by the main character Indigo points again to the character trait of passion. Indigo does not care about the quality of her playing: she just plays what she feels because she truly enjoys doing it. She is carefree and she has an abundance of self-confidence and trust within her playing and capabilities. When her mother tries to convince her not to play her fiddle around the neighborhood because everybody would say mean things about her, Indigo says "No momma, that isn't going to happen." I think that Indigo also expressed the character trait of seeing the good in other people.
Night Women - Danticat
This was a really powerful short story to read. Although it was short, it had a lot of descriptive detail and you learned a lot about the main character through implications and without the author ever saying it out-right.
"An old lover who disappeared with the night shadows a long time ago."This is the statement made by the narrator and main character when describing the father of her child. This implication is what told me as the reader that she is a single mother, and the way he was described points to her having resentment and sadness toward him.
"Love is one of those lessons that you grow to learn, the way one learns that one shoe is made to fit a certain foot, lest it causes discomfort."I really like this sentence, but I am confused of what idea the narrator is portraying. Is it the idea that everyone only has one correct love? Or else it is uncomfortable? Or is it just that having the shoe on the wrong foot in general causes discomfort, and that is a lesson that people learn in life?
"One of my suitors gave [earplugs] to him to plug into his ears so he can stay asleep while mommy works."
"[The day working women] won't have to lie next to the lifeless soul of a man whose scent still lingers in another woman's bed."
"I see his wife's face in the beads of sweat marching down his chin."These few, short lines told me a lot more about the story. The first quote is really strong to me; the idea of a man giving a little boy earplugs so that he won't have to hear what is going on is disheartening: especially since you are hearing the narrators side of the story and you know that the current situation is not something she enjoys being in.
The second quote I felt had outstanding imagery to it; she continues to say "I want him [her son] to forget that he lives in a place where nothing lasts." This leads me to think she believes love is hopeless.
The very last quote I believe is the most powerful of all. The assimilation of sweat beads marching is such strong language and it shows a sense of guilt, even though she is not the one in infidelity. She feels responsible for the pain that would be felt by the other women if they were to know.
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