The atmosphere is created by Edwidge Danicat’s use of diction, and the use of words such as ‘Vultures’, ‘dark, and ‘bullets’ shows how the night is a time of concealment wherein the woman hides with uncertainty that she could be killed next. She counts the bullets out of pure fear to pass away the time as there is nothing else to do but wait anxiously. Also, in the paragraph is the woman’s expressed concern for her lover and whether or not he made it out of the country alive. She constantly worries about his well being and she never feels that he is safe from the police, which is why she keeps writing letters to him to see whether he is alright. However, this is her only form of communication with him. She hates writing to him as she probably imagines what it was like with him when he was in Haiti and the pain of thinking of him is too much for her to bare. But by receiving some form of communication from her boyfriend she can feel at ease knowing that he is at least alive. She hopes that in the future, they would reunite and continue their lives as though ‘they lost no time’. Her very last sentence ends on a hopeful note even though the start of the paragraph was sad and depressing.
The next four paragraphs are of the boyfriend and him fleeing the country. It is as though he is writing the letter at the end of the day, which is why he uses the past tense. The man writes his letter in a more conventional style to that of the girlfriend wherein he shares his experience of the first day at sea. However, he is still fearful of other things such as sea sickness. Even though he gets used to the motion of the boat, other things are worrying him. He and the other members of the boat are now refugees, and are scared of being captured and sent back to Haiti. Furthermore, in the boat there is another man who has undergone terrible circumstances. He has a broken leg which is evidence that the violence back home is extensive.
The journey at sea is extremely tough on the refugees. The temperature is either too hot in the day time or too cold at night. One woman even faints from sunstroke and the layers of sunburn can be seen on people’s faces. People are sick and becoming weak. The smell of death is around them. However, they would rather be on this boat rather than being back in the violent and oppressing Haiti.
The forth paragraph shows this through the songs they sing. The male protagonist feels homesick and finally appreciates his country. The decision to leave was extremely difficult to make and reduces him to tears, as it is too overwhelming for him to even think about, yet alone sing about.
In his final paragraph he finally reveals to the reader that it was because of his involvement in political activity that forced him to leave, otherwise he would have been arrested, just like his friend with the broken leg. He will however, return to Haiti when it is safe. Till then he will remain in exile.
The passage ends with two more paragraphs from the girlfriend. It seems that she had a near death experience but was saved by her father, and she obviously is grateful. This is probably because she finally came outside for reasons that remain unknown. She sits under the banyan tree while listening to the transistor about more killings at sea. She is still fearful for her boyfriend’s life but remains hopeful that he is still alive. She still remains faithful to him even though her parents were trying to safeguard her from the boy’s political issues. The text leaves the reader hanging as the plight of the boyfriend and the others with him, is unknown. There still is hope that continues to run throughout the passage where the trials and tribulations of these two characters are shown with the simple themes of loss and freedom. It is achieved through the use of simplistic language and organisation. The lack of identification of both characters gives the text a more universal effect that is more open to the interpretations of the reader.
