Storytelling Blog Post

Discuss the role of storytelling in Krik? Krak! and to Danticat. Why is it important? Consider the title as well as the epilogue and at least one story in your post.

I think that story telling is the most important aspect of Danticat's Krik? Krak! To me, while reading, I found a strong theme of storytelling to be the convincing aspect of Danticat's style, purpose and desire. She found a unique way of incorporating storytelling and identity to seamlessly combine a thoughtful and passionate approach towards telling her own, and other's, story's.

I think an interesting way to look at this book is with a similar lens of the TED talk, 'The Danger of a Single Story'. The woman, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, begins the talk by affirming herself as a storyteller. I believe that this relates to Krik? Krak! as the title itself resembles the identity of being a storyteller. It branches the gap between writing and living. The sound gives life to writing, and essentially brings the idea of telling stories to the forefront of a writer's purpose. The TED talk also talks about how the danger of a single story explains how every person has their own past and future. She explains how our stories are unique, rich, vibrant and always worth telling. I believe Danticat would agree, and does show this in her book. Krik? Krak! shows the diversity in the culture of Haiti, but also shows the community and love of the country. Danticat uses storytelling as her means to determine the necessity of her book. In my opinion, books like Krik? Krak! need a sense of urgency. Danticat wrote with a need to say something, the tone and themes of the book make readers feel a purpose. This is why storytelling is so important to this book, because it inherently encompasses the truth and purpose of the novel.

The epilogue sums this up perfectly. It talks mainly about the need to tell your story. She writes about how as a writer she feels the responsibility to bring her readers to places, communities, homes and characters, we otherwise would never know. She feels the need to tell stories to teach. Danticat reaches a point in the epilogue where she reaches out to the reader and inspires us to not only feel her stories, but begin to tell our own. She emphasizes the value in seeing the world through the stories we hear, not the assumptions or judgements we carry. I believe that this is the moment in Krik? Krak! where Danticat is the most obviously a writer who strives to find the intersectionality between art and activism. She writes with a purpose beyond her words, she writes to touch people. Storytelling is the main reason I enjoyed this book. A specific story where I believe story telling was the most exciting and relevant to my previous points was 1937. This chapter took a different look on a historical moment and bridged a gap between the past and modern gender roles, family and conflict. This is done in a way only specifically passionate and empathetic storytellers can.