“We were all the daughters of that river, which had taken our mothers from

us,” narrator Josephine of Edwidge Danticat’s “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” solemnly

contends. She continues to detail the significance of this river and the relationships

it cemented, asserting that “our mothers were the ashes and we were the light. Our

mothers were the embers and we were the sparks. Our mothers were the flames

and we were the blaze. The river was the place it had all begun.” (Danticat 41) This

river, known as the Massacre River to the characters of the story, serves as a place of

great cyclic contradiction; It bares witness to both horrific death and hopeful birth,

barbaric entrapment and auspicious flight, both misfortune and fortuity. The river,

this single geographical free-flowing entity, illustrates the shifting of generations

and the complex relationships and arduous lessons that define them. Josephine, a

young woman hardened by a trying life teeming with incomprehensibly harrowing

experiences of tragedy and oppression, is on the verge of losing her mother on top

of it all. Her mother, indicted for a preposterous crime she is obviously incapable of

committing, is withering away before her eyes in a federal prison. Her mother,

having had her own mother taken away from her in similarly horrifying

circumstances in her youth, feels compassion for her daughter but is stifled by her

own helplessness. “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” chronicles the journey of Josephine as

she, with the help of others, familiarizes herself with the cycle of suffering, pain,

recovery, healing, flight and subsequent rebirth all in the presence of

incompressible loss that has so boldly typified her generation in addition to

numerous generations of strong and resilient females that preceded her.

“Nineteen Thirty-Seven” opens with Josephine very bluntly articulating the

presence of her constant, all-consuming anxiety. After seeing a tear travel down the

face of her Madonna doll gifted to her by her mother, she confesses that “When I saw

the tear I thought, surely, that my mother had died (33).” Although this assertion

may seem irrational in theory, it is revealed early on that Josephine has legitimate

reason to fear her mother’s imminent death. Despite the unease and trepidation that

continuously plagues her given her current set of circumstances, Josephine does find

solace in the comfortable territory of speaking of her hometown. When asked where

she comes from, she declares with prideful confidence and lyrical assurance that she

is from Ville Rose, “the city of painters, and poets, the coffee city (34).” Pride in her

origins temporarily breaks through her thick veil of anxiety and shame, and she is

able to momentarily unabashedly boast of the land and people she once found

herself surrounded by in happier times. This momentary lapse of demeanor

divulges a part of Josephine that is unfamiliar to the reader- a Josephine that has

seen and known happier times. This knowledge is imperative in understanding that

there is incentive in Josephine attempting to rebuild her life and to reestablish that

sense of former contentedness she once had, despite the overwhelming cloud of

gloom overshadowing her current state of affairs.

While waiting to see her mother, Josephine recounts how she “sat on a pile of

bricks, hoping perhaps that my body might sink down to the ground and disappear

before my mother emerged as a ghost to greet me (35).” When her mother does

finally make an appearance, she remarks that she had “grown even thinner since the

last time I had seen her. Her face looked like the gray of a late evening sky (36).” It is

one world of horror for a child to watch a parent die, but it is an entirely different

realm of hardship to watch a parent suffer a slow and shameful death. Throughout

the story, parallels are drawn between the more optimistic positive elements of

daily life and the sun and light. The sun is capable of remaining a physical

representation of hope and good in the most bleak and hopeless conditions.

Comparing her mother’s face to the “gray of a late evening sky” does not bode well

for her current condition or for her future. Josephine’s mother later lets out an

uncharacteristic complaint about the lack of warmth crying out “What has the world

come to when the sun can no longer warm God’s creatures (42)?” Still, despite the

hopelessness of her circumstances, her mother sees her daughter’s debilitating

anguish and attempts to uselessly mollify Josephine with dishonest reassurances

such as lies that “they have not treated me badly (37.)” She says this, however, while

absentmindedly rubbing her hands over her shaved head that was so brutally forced

upon her. Josephine discusses the cold water that is thrown upon the women at

night too, as the guards hold false superstitions that it will prohibit the women from

being able to “muster up enough heat to grow those wings made of flames, fly away

in the middle of the night, slip into the slumber of innocent children and steal their

breath (38).”

Josephine reflects back on memories from when she was five years old,

recounting the first pilgrimage she took to the Massacre River with her mother. Her

mother would thank the river for sparing both of their lives on the fateful day of

Josephine’s grandmother’s death, and the two would return each year to repeat the

process. However, with each year, Manman would invite more and more women

who had also lost their mothers’ there to accompany them on their trip to the river.

The women who visited the river together became a unit of individuals who could

always relate to the horror of losing a mother to massacre. The sisterhood remained

devoid of much of a generational gap- for all women could associate to the loss of

losing a mother to such horrific series of events. While the name “Massacre River”

denotes a sense of horror and gruesomeness, the river also symbolizes the concept

of recovery and rebirth in the presence of such bad memories.

When Josephine leaves the prison after visiting her mother, her mother

insists that, “you go. Let me watch you leave,” but only before passing on the

departing prayer to her daughter that “let your flight be joyful. And mine too.” When

Josephine returns to visit her mother again, she finally works up the courage to pose

the question that has been causing her so much anguish – whether or not her

mother could fly or not. Manman doesn’t even blink in response to the question and

simply answers with bold assurance that “All the women who came with us to the

river, they could go to the moon and back if that is what they wanted (43).” Even in

her final days, despite the severity of her despair and her lack of contact with the

outside world, Josephine’s mother is able to assure her daughter with total

confidence that the women of the river were capable of the impossible by virtue of

their identity as survivors.

A week later, Josephine is greeted by an older women who addresses her

immediately and intimately as “sister,” and promptly informs her that her mother

has died or is at least in the process of dying, and that the two must voyage out to

the prison yard to confirm the news and watch the body get burned. When

Josephine voices her lack of understanding in regard to the situation and the

identity of the women herself, she simply corrects her by insisting that “You do

know me. My name is Jacqueline and I have been to the river with you (44).” When

Josephine continues to appear unsure, she begins to ask a series of questions of the

women, obviously seeking specific answers that would confirm their sisterhood as

women of the river. The questions that Josephine poses and the answers that the

women gives her all hint at an indestructible sense of resilience and strength so

obviously instilled in the women by virtue of their river sisterhood relationship.

Jacqueline eventually confirms her identity to Josephine when she expresses that,

“you can hear my mother who speaks through me. She is in the shadow that follows

my shadow. The flame at the tip of my candle. (45)” It is only through the insistence

that she is the daughter of a woman lost to the river and that the presence of her lost

mother lives through her that allows Josephine to accept that she is speaking the

truth.

When they travel together to the prison guard, Jacqueline’s news is

confirmed and the guard informs the two that “she will be ready for the burning this

afternoon.” The disposal of her body is fitting with the metaphor of flight. Like a

phoenix, her bodily remains are to be burned to ashes only to then host a rebirth of

sorts in the ashes of the remains. It seems appropriate that heat, the source of solace

that Manman so desperately sought out in her remaining days, was the catalyst in

recycling her remains and readying them for the potential of a new life. Jacqueline

echoes this idea, expressing to Josephine that “Life is never lost, another one always

comes up to replace the last (48.)” In that moment, Josephine remembers the story

her mother told her about “flying” across the river while pregnant with her in a

lucky escape to survival. Manman lost her mother but was then greeted with the

birth of Josephine- a birth that was made possible because of her mother’s sacrifice.

In understanding that this is a continuous cycle of death and rebirth that she

is now a part of, Josephine clutches the Madonna for lack of a better “new life”

substitute and steps out to watch the burning that is so essential to her identity and

the pattern of her heritage. Finally understanding the nature of her mother’s ability

to fly, made possible only by the strength of the sisterhood of the river, she

reiterates her mother’s wish to “Let her flight be joyful,” and turning to Jacqueline,

she expresses the same wish for “mine and yours too (49).”

Work Cited

Danticat, Edwidge. Krik? Krak!. New York, New York: Soho Press, Inc. , 1991. Print.

1

In Edwidge Danticat’s “A Wall of Fire Rising,” the main character claims that it will

take a "lifetime” for his son to learn the “hard” words of the Boukman for his school play.

(Danticat, 54-55) Had Guy been in his son’s shoes, he probably would’ve been as

enthusiastic and determined as his son was. However, from the experience of his own

lifetime, he has come to know the harsh realities of the words and the circumstances in

which the revolutionary speaks from. Little Guy is too naïve to know. Through the

characters of Guy and his son, Danticat shows the possibilities of miracles held in childhood

innocence and suggests that revolutionary action must come from a childish heart of

someone who understands the struggle.

Little Guy is seven years old, young enough to still be scared by nightmares.

(Danticat, 68) He learns the words because he has to, and he simply memorizes them. At

first, he can’t understand the depth of their meaning, but he knows that he is supposed to

be portraying a revolutionary hero. After the first recitation, he is happy to have correctly

remembered his lines, but his parents are moved to tears by what he has said. The words

he uses have so much meaning to the people, regardless that they are written by an

Englishman, and Danticat purposefully gave such an important role in the change of Haitian

history to a young boy. (Danticat, 56-57)

Danticat highlights the boy’s childhood throughout the course of the story. On

nights that the family went to the sugar mill, Guy and Lili hold onto Little Guy to protect

him from “accidently glancing at the wrong person.” (Danticat, 60) Little Guy is too young

to know who the “wrong people” are, similar to the way a kindergarten child will befriend

anyone around, regardless of race, age, or gender. He doesn’t differentiate between people

2

and he doesn’t understand the political or social tensions that cause strife between people.

His parents must protect him because of his childhood innocence.

When the family arrives at the sugar mill, Guy and Little Guy both look at the balloon

at some point. Although to both, the balloon is attractive and inspiring, they see the object

through different perspectives. Guy sees it as a balloon; he is very realistic in his

understanding of the object in the field. (Danticat, 61) Little Guy, on the other hand, sees a

rocket ship. (Danticat, 62) He sees possibilities that others, namely adults, might discount.

Why isn’t it Guy who see the “spaceship?” Guy thinks through experience: he has seen the

man flying the balloon. In addition, he has never seen a spaceship lying in a field during his

entire life, so he assumes that he wouldn’t see one now. Little Guy thinks through

possibilities: what if there was a spaceship.

In general, revolutionaries are the types of people to think about the “what if.” They

can see the possibility of change and question the status quo. Revolutionaries tend to reject

social norms in an attempt to strive for change. Although Little Guy is given the words of a

revolutionary, Guy takes revolutionary action as he challenges the norm in his leap from

the hot-air balloon. However, he cannot do so unless he has the heart of a child, which

Danticat shows through his childlike actions.

Guy and Little Guy have the same name, through which Danticat meant to not only

show the continuation of family, but to highlight the similarities between the two males. As

the story progresses, the reader can see Little Guy’s progression toward adolescence, or

even adulthood, as illustrated by “the bulging toes sticking out of [Little Guy’s] sandal,

which were already coming apart around his endlessly growing feet. (Danticat, 58) It seems

that while Little Guy is become bigger, his father is acting more like a child.

3

In his relationship with Lili, Guy is not as masculine and romantic as he would like to

be. He tells her, “Imagine this… I have never really seen your entire body in broad

daylight.”(Danticat, 69) He looks away when she changes (Danticat, 65). He is awkward

when it comes to romance, like a teenager on a first date; however, he is awkward with his

wife, a relationship that should be natural by this point. Lili tells him that any honest work

is respectable in an attempt to make him “feel like a man”, which implies that he usually

doesn’t feel that way on his own. (Danticat, 66, 72) He feels more like a boy then a man.

The night before he kills himself, Guy takes the role of a child. During the

conversation between Lili and Guy about riding the balloon, Danticat writes, “’Please don’t

get angry with me,’ he said, his voice straining almost like a boy’s.” (Danticat, 73) This is

the only explicit characterization of Guy as childlike and it takes place within a pivotal

moment in the story. During the same night, only a few minutes later, Guy falls asleep

while leaning on Lili. “Her back ached as she sat there with his face pressed against her

collarbone. He drooled and the saliva dripped down to her breasts…” (Danticat, 74) This

description is more applicable to a baby than to a grown man.

Even the idea of flight is childish. Although Guy is speaking of flying a sophisticated

machine, the way he speaks to Lili about it (“Can’t you see yourself up there? Up in the

clouds somewhere like some kind of bird?”) makes it sound magical and fantastical, like

Peter Pan flying off the Neverland. (Danticat, 68) The description of the balloon as

rainbow-colored and the note that Guy was in a bright flowered shirt adds to the youthful

color in the image. (Danticat, 76)

If a revolutionary needs to be childlike, why aren’t children the revolutionaries?

Why does Danticat give Little Guy the words but Guy the actions? Revolutionaries also

4

need to see the hurt in people, or within themselves. This is why Guy tells his son it will

take a “lifetime” to learn the “hard words.” (Danticat, 54-55) Guy has come to understand

the depth of the Boukman’s words through his struggle to find work. Guy told himself that

he would never be a “very poor man struggling all his life” like his father was, but he has

realized that he is exactly that. (Danticat, 75)

Guy tell Lili, “ I was born in the shadow of that mill… If anyone deserves to work

there, I should.” Yet he is still seventy-eighth on the list to get a permanent job. (Danticat,

66) Guy has little faith that anything will change. Based off of his experiences, he doubts if

he will ever get a job there and likewise doubts his son’s chances, leading him to suggest

putting Little Guy’s name on the waiting list. (Danticat, 66)

In Guy’s life, even miracles have become ordinary. When he comes home, Lili

expects a “peck on the cheek” and nothing else, lending towards their unromantic

relationship. (Danticat, 54) But yet he recalls when her eyes were “dark and deep,” drawing

him in. In light of the superstition about angled hair foreshadowing a troubled life, it truly

seems to be a miracle that the two are even married. (Danticat, 65) In the same way, the

miracle of the balloon has become ordinary. Guy watched the owner fly so many times that

it no longer seems special, there is nothing mysterious about it. Guy knows how to work

the balloon inside and out. (Danticat, 67)

If miracles become ordinary, are there any miracles? For most people, the

frequency of miracles fades as they age and rely on experience. Lili’s response to Guy’s

mention of miracles is, “ If God wanted people to fly, he would’ve given us wings on our

back.” (Danticat, 68) The statement could’ve gone on to say, “but he didn’t. We aren’t

supposed to fly.” Lili takes what she knows and accepts it. Although at times she questions

5

superstition, she doesn’t question the way life should be or use her imagination nearly as

much as Guy does. Lili is grounded in reality. Guy is different from Lili in his ability to be a

child, to imagine the what if’s.

If a revolutionary needs a child’s imagination and knowledge of struggle, does Little

Guy need a lifetime to understand the words of the Boukman? By the time his father dies,

he understands them well enough to know the perfect moment to say them. He may not

know what propelled his father to take such action, but he understands that there is

sadness and struggle in his family and others. He knows it from the way the family would

need to drink boiled sugarcane pulp, or sweet water tea, when there was no other food. He

knows it from the way his toes are bulging out of his shoes. (Danticat, 58) However,

although he might ask what if the balloon was a rocket ship?, what if we had enough money

for food?, what if Papi got a job at the sugar mill?, what if miracles really do happen?, he is

only a boy. He can incite his parents, but most people would not listen to him. From

Danticat’s perspective, the only way for a revolutionary is born is if he or she keeps the

childhood possibilities of the what if’s open. It may not take a lifetime for Little Guy to

learn the words, but it could take a lifetime for a revolutionary to convince others of the

words, to convince others into action.

6

Works Cited

Danticat, Edwidge. Krik? Krak!. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. Print.

Hope is an expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen. Many people

feel that hope is an optimistic view and is a feeling that most should have. Although

majority of the time this is true, at times, hope can pull people away from reality.

Hoping is like wishing and dreaming, a wonderful thought but not always

reasonable for one’s lifestyle. In the book Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat shows how

the strengths and weaknesses of being hopeful can affect a person. Specifically in “A

Wall of Fire Risings” Danticat shows Guy’s struggle with hopefulness creating such

an epic ending. Such intense hope answers the question that it is better to reach for

the stars despite potential demise, rather than to be realistic and make life only

what one thinks is the best one can.

Guy, his wife, Lili, and his son, Little Guy, do not live the most fortunate life

because it was not easy for Guy to find work. At times things were so bad that Lili

would boil sugarcane pulp, which was “supposed to suppress das and kill the

vermin in the stomach that made poor children hungry” (Danticat 58). It was a

battle of Guy looking for any work and Lili trying to find spices to sell at the

marketplace. Nights were not always good, but news that Little Guy was going to be

Boukman, a rebel leader and hero of his play, was spectacular. As he read aloud his

lines Guy and Lili looked at their son with such extreme admiration. When Little Guy

finished Lili reminded him to be “a great rebel leader” (55), to which Guy responds,

“Do we want him to be all of that?” (55). This shows the first breaking points of Guy

realizing what his life has become, in comparison to what has happened and what

will hopefully happen in Little Guy’s future.

Guy was very happy to see Little Guy thriving and speaking such beautiful

words, but he himself had news, news that was being overpowered by his little son.

He had received a job, cleaning the bathrooms, and was so excited, until hearing that

his younger son was far more successful with his day. His great news that he wants

to happily share turned into “I got a few hours of work tomorrow at the sugar

mill…That’s what happened” (65). The reader becomes aware that Lili knows how

sensitive Guy is about what his life has amounted to and apologizes for not paying

attention to the good news. Lili is just so proud of Little Guy and is convinced he will

have a future that is much more than either she or Guy could have dreamt. Lili is so

hopeful for Little Guy, but Guy does not want to believe in hoping for the best. He

wants to sign Little Guy up in order to have a future available for him; he does not

want his hope to get the best of him.

This is significant to the character’s name being Little Guy, almost as if Guy is

not ready to focus on his son having a successful future because he is not giving up

his own hopes. He feels that when passing on dreaming to Little Guy, he will take his

identity and become what he has always wanted. Guy had tried numerous times

throughout the day tried to share his good news, but already was becoming

insignificant in comparison to his son. I feel this also adds to his unwelcoming

feelings towards Lili. The lackluster and thoughts of only being able to “imagine

their son’s lips around those breast than to imagine his anywhere near them” (65),

shows how every part of his life reminds him of what had happened and what he

had not achieved in that time. Guy does have his hopes set on another path in life

though, one that had him reaching beyond all expectations.

Guy has hope that he will achieve much more in life than the little he has

done so far. He has lived in the shadows of the sugar mill, having spent all of his life

eating food from there or trying to get any subpar day work there, but never will he

be able to get a job there. He wants to be remembered for more, he wants to fly one

of the hot air balloons. He studies the way the men fly the balloons and at first “it

looked like a miracle, but the more and more I saw it, the more ordinary it became”

(67), the more he felt he could do it. Lili could see this hopeful future in Guy’s eyes,

and knew how he wanted to get away from this area, leave it behind him, but she did

not want to be left behind too. Lili is realistic on most aspects though and realizes

their time may have passed for a better future, which is why she has such a desire

for Little Guy to be successful. She wants Guy to be a part of this, but knows his mind

is transfixed on those balloons. Guy does not want to leave his family, but is just not

prepared to be remembered as someone like his father “who was a very poor

struggling man all his life. I remember him as a man that I would never want to be”

(75). As he becomes convinced that this is what he will eventually becomes, he

knows he must not wait any longer to change it. The decision to achieve his goal of

flying the balloon slowly becomes more and more clear.

What appears to be the breaking point from wanting to doing is when Little

Guy receives his next set of lines. Whether it is due to the way the words of this past

Revolutionary figure affected him, or the continuous growing future for his son, Guy

walks out after hearing the lines. Lili knows how much this has influenced Guy and

tries to talk to him, at least remind him of the importance of family. She feels that a

man will be remembered “by his deeds, she said, the boy never goes to bed hungry.

For as long as he’s been with us he’s always been fed” (74). Guy’s aspirations were

much greater than these words could change though and he begins to share his

dreams with Lili, dreams of taking “that big balloon and ride it up in the air. I’d sail

off somewhere and keep floating until I got to a really nice place with a nice plot of

land where I could be something new”(73). Lili knows his mind has been made up

the minute he shares this news, and is just confirmed when Guy assures her that she

will make a great actor out of Little Guy. Almost as if now that he knows he will live

a life worth being remembered, it is acceptable for Little Guy too also. Lili does not

want to be left though and ask if she and Little Guy are a part of these dreams, but he

just lays his head on her.

As Lili and Little Guy walk into town the next morning her worst fears have

come to reality, Little Guy has spotted his father up in the sky in one of the balloons.

Everyone in the area was looking at him, amazed by the common man who was able

to achieve such a difficult task. The crowd cheered and clapped, “a few of the women

were waving their head rags at the sky, shouting, ‘Go! Beautiful, go!’” (76). Guy’s

ability to fly the balloon was a mystery to the crowd because it is a normally a task

that takes a group of men who have the knowledge to do it. He has entranced the

crowd; they are perplexed and proud until these emotions come to a halt when he

begins to jump out. Guy had a goal to fly these balloons and forever be in people’s

memories as the common man who did more than just scrub the latrines, once he

had achieved this what else was there to do in life? Return to his old life, or if in a

new land become another irrelevant citizen. As if he wanted to cut his loss while he

was up, having achieved what he had hoped for, he jumped from high up in the sky

and came spiraling down to the crowd. His body landed near Lili and Little Guy, “his

blood soaking the landing spot” (77). Making the permanent impact of his life on the

land he had always been a part of. Whether or not Guy’s choices were worth it in

these final moments are up for debate, but as Little Guy begins to recite his lines I

believe it is proven that his death was worth achieving what he has wanted in life.

Little Guy shared the words of the deceased Revolutionary who was also not afraid

to fight for what he desired in life. Boukman speaked of the sadness and repression

the people were going through, which they were still going through today, calling

“on our mighty and the weak. I call on everyone and anyone so that we shall all let

out one piercing cry that we may either live freely or we should die” (71). Guy had

chosen to live freely and not just be satisfied with his day-to-day, mediocre jobs; he

was willing to die in order to make what he had hoped for in life come true.

When the time comes to take Guy’s body away, Lili is asked whether or not to

close Guy’s eyes. Lili realizes that what her husband has done was a beautiful act,

not selfish to him achieving his dreams, but also a message to all of the poor workers

out there. They all had the ability to be much more successful in life, as long as they

had the passion and hope to do so. This is why she decides to keep Guy’ eyes open

because “he likes to look at the sky” (80). He looked far beyond what was in front of

him and made a miracle happen. He proved that hoping is not a dangerous thing to

do because he can say that he dedicated his life to what he wanted and influenced

others to follow in that path.

Works Cited

Danticat, Edwidge. Krik? Krak! New York: Soho Press, 1995.

Pathe 2

Edwidge Danticat’s “A Wall of Fire Rising” depicts the struggles of a lower class family

to find a new foundation of hope that will allow them to escape the burdens that surround them.

Guy is trapped in a society where miracles do not exist, and where escaping the troubles of

everyday life seems out of reach. He is torn between keeping his responsibility to his family and

breaking the ties he has to his mundane lifestyle, one that has become a constant cycle of

searching for work and lamenting the degrading jobs he must take to earn a living. It takes the

words of Little Guy, his namesake and only son, for Guy to question his own existence and

recognize his failures as both a role model and an ambitious human being. In “A Wall of Fire

Rising,” Danticat examines how poetic language changes the perceptions we have of ourselves;

observing our own character through images and metaphors leads us to question our

relationships, our goals, and ultimately our own existence.

Guy realizes his failures by comparing himself to his son, who was born into a generation

of conflict that is striving for a wider scope of opportunity for the future. What Guy thinks to be

progress for himself is constantly overshadowed by the steps that Little Guy is unknowingly

making toward freeing himself from the exploitation of his family’s lower class lifestyle. After

receiving news of acquiring a day’s worth of work at a local sugar mill, Guy is faced with his

son’s recitation of a speech made by the Haitian revolutionary Boukman. The repetition of these

lines, in which Little Guy sees “sadness in the faces of his people” who must “live freely or

should die,” grows to be a constant reminder of Guy’s own social confinement within the

generation to which he was born (Danticat 71). Hearing the words of a revolutionary hero

Pathe 3

through the voice of his son haunts Guy; it is as if Guy is face to face with Boukman himself.

The power in the images of suffering and sadness dwells in Guy’s mind as he realizes that he is

on of the people that Little Guy is talking about – he is one of the “dark hollow faces” who must

learn to live freely by breaking from the social institutions that have caused him years of pain

and distress (Danticat 56). The poetic images portrayed in the Boukman speech serve as more

than a portrayal of human strength in a historical manner; Guy sees himself in Boukman’s words

and realizes that he is running out of time to make something out of himself.

Through the lingering images of Boukman’s speech as voiced by his son, Guy realizes

his greatest weakness is that he allowed himself to develop in the exact image of his father – his

ultimate fear that has now become a terrifying reality. When he hears Little Guy calling on the

weak and the poor to rise up and find power and courage, he is struck with the memory of his

father as the “very poor struggling man” that Guy “would never want to be” (Danticat 75). His

father’s misfortune is reflected as his own, and it nearly kills Guy to admit that he, just like his

father, is living a life characterized by perpetual disappointment, distress, and hopelessness.

What is most devastating for him is the realization that he has failed to follow his own advice,

that “when people give you big responsibilities, you have to try to live up to them,” that he

relentlessly imposes on his son (Danticat 74). Even though he wants the best for Little Guy,

Guy’s true desire is to be acknowledged as an inspiration for his family, to create a path for his

son that will lead him to the happiness and success that their current lives lack; yet the only

positive example he can set for him is restraining himself from smoking a cigarette after a long

Pathe 4

day of washing the latrines at the sugar mill. Guy fears that if he does not provide a sense of

hope for his family, his son will end up in a situation similar to his.

In his search to find a means to break away from his suffering, Guy is held back by his

wife, who recognizes the hopelessness of her husband and the potential of her son. The pressure

to make ends meet imposes a great deal of stress and takes a significant toll on the couple,

leaving their physical passion for one another blatantly waning; Guy notes that it is far easier for

him to “imagine his son’s lips on Lili’s breasts than to imagine” exhibiting any romantic gestures

of his own (Danticat 65). Lili’s character is more realistic than Guy’s; she accepts the fact that,

though not ideal, Guy’s job at the sugar mill is a step in the right direction, which is all they can

as for in their current situation. She does, however, grow defensive when Guy proposes the idea

of Little Guy having a job at the mill as a back-up plan in the future, arguing that “for a young

boy to on any list like that might influence his destiny” (Danticat 66). Lili sees so much potential

for Little Guy that even the act of merely putting his name on the list as a back-up plan gives the

notion that he could possibly end up like his father.

Although he understands that Lili just wants the best future imaginable for her son, Guy’s

ego is severely damaged by her unwavering language. Danticat describes Guy as being “born in

the shadow of the mill;” his connection to it serves as the last remaining link to a happier life; it

is part of him, it is in his blood, and he sees it as a source of stability for his family (Danticat 66).

Lili’s disapproval of the mill for Little Guy only increases the heaviness of Guy’s feelings of

Pathe 5

failure and disappointment; if the mill is not good enough for Little Guy’s future, Guy does not

want it to characterize his son’s memory of him.

While he expresses pride in his son for taking the voice of Boukman and memorizing

lines filled with words beyond his vocabulary, Guy cannot help but feel the pain from being

reminded that the best he can be is a prisoner of the sugar mill. He is skeptical of the Boukman

speech at first; he does not expect Little Guy to embody Boukman’s character and understand his

words, which “seem so long and heavy” that Little Guy sometimes forgets them (Danticat 54).

Rather than accepting the words in the context of Little Guy’s play, Guy sees them in the context

of their own lives; it took him almost “a lifetime” to learn the “hard words” of opportunity and

hope for a brighter future, so how will Little Guy understand them too without an example to

learn from? When Lili forbids her husband from adding their son’s name to the list at the mill,

Guy’s pride and self-esteem are nearly diminished because he realizes that no matter what, his

son will never take after him – Guy will have no lasting legacy except as an example of how not

to live.

Amidst the difficulties he faces in order to support his family, Guy’s only source of hope

is found off the beaten path in the form of a gigantic hot air balloon that lies in a field behind the

sugar mill. In its presence, Guy becomes “lost” to the world around him, a world filled with

constant memories of his shortcomings as a father and a husband (Danticat 61). The balloon in

its deflated state symbolizes the ultimate form of escape for Guy; day after day he finds himself

fascinated by its ability to glide through the sky away from the world as he knows it. He dreams

Pathe 6

of the day that he climbs into its wicker basket, ignites the flame, and sets off with only one

destination: a place where he can “just be something new” and forget about his past (Danticat

73). This is the only thing he has confidence in; he sees it as his final attempt to do good for his

family and finally “feel like a man” after suffering for so long (Danticat 72). It is Guy’s

weaknesses that draw him to admire the balloon so fondly, and the balloon is what allows him to

discover his greatest strength and moment of glory – his ability to create a wall of fire that allows

the balloon to rise. And with that Guy is memorialized in that moment in time, for immediately

after he takes flight he plunges to the ground, dying in the shadows of the mill.

Despite his tragic death, Guy is celebrated for finally disconnecting himself from his

social misfortunes and escaping the endless reminders of his own failure. Without the poetic

language and powerful images of Little Guy’s Boukman speech, Guy would have remained a

prisoner to the pressures of the Haitian society – just like the rest of the workers at the mill, who

ultimately praised him for his actions. His death proves the influence that language has on

humans; Danticat portrays how the strength in a voice can inspire a moral awakening that

reestablishes a sense of hope and self-worth in an individual who is hindered by society.

In Edwidge Danticat’s novel Krik Krak the short story “Nineteen thirty seven” rewrites

the meaning of the mythical creature of the lougarou and the mythical figure Defilee as symbols

of strength and unity, in order to highlight the power of female authorship in folklore. The short

story “Nineteen thirty seven” is riddled with references to Haitian folklore and myth. Through

the themes of flight and female solidarity, Danticat reimagines Haitian female folklore as

powerful and courageous to challenge the male dominated folklore that is already in place in

Haiti. Danticat reclaims these myths and transforms them into a narrative of the power of Haitian

female solidarity.

Danticat re-appropriates the mythical creature of the lougarou to instead represent the

power and beauty of the women who were able to “fly.” Traditionally, the lougarou is woman

who is thought to turn into a bird on fire and steal children. A person that is accused of being a

lougarou, could literally be any woman who was nearby a child when it died. Manman’s

imprisonment was for the reason of being a lougarou. The tortures that the women endure

during their stay in the prison seemed to be gender based. The prison system that they are being

degraded in seems to specifically target their womanhood. The guards shave their heads to,

“make them look like crows, like men” (Danticat, 39.) More importantly however, Danticat

states that, “each time they shaved her head, my mother would keep the hair for her pillow.” In

some ways, it seems as though their femininity is being taken away from them as a punishment

for their ability to “fly.” Although Manman’s femininity is being taken from her, this statement

shows that it can never truly be taken from her. Despite this inhuman treatment, Danticat

portrays Manman as a woman who recognizes the strength of herself and other women. In fact,

in response to Josephine’s question if Manman really did fly, Manman states that, “the woman

that came to the river with us, they could go to the moon and back if that is what they wanted”

(Danticat, 43.) This is a sentiment that speaks to the fact that the unity and strength of the women

of the massacre. By portraying Manman and the other women of the prison as strong and

unbreakable, Danticat effectively re-appropriates the myth of the lougarou as a symbol of female

strength rather than a demonic possession. Manman and these women are able to “fly” to the

moon and back because of their strength, not because they kill innocent children. In this way, she

is re-writing a piece of Haitian folklore to embrace women rather than to persecute them as is

done by the myth of the lougarou.

In “Nineteen Thirty Seven” Edwidge Danticat rewrites the negative connotation of the

lougarou into a positive symbol of female strength using, more specifically using the theme of

flight in an empowering manner. Flight seems to function as a symbol for female resistance.

Throughout the text, the imagery of flight is reused again and again, and is perhaps most literally

mentioned in the end of the story. The entire story hinges around the question of whether or not

Manman can really “fly” or if she really is a Lougarou. Josephine concludes for herself that, “On

that day so long ago, in the year Nineteen-hundred and Thirty-Seven, in the Massacre River, my

mother did fly....looked as though it were flames” (Danticat, 49) The language used to describe

this flight are words like, “leaped” and “glowed” which create a tone of gracefulness. The

imagery of the blood is very visceral and empowering as Manman, “blood clinging to her skin,

which at that moment looked as though it were flames.” (Danticat, 49) The tone of this passage

paints an image of a woman who did in fact fly, but she flew gracefully and courageously. In this

way, Danticat is claiming that in some way, Manman was in fact a Lougarou who was a woman

who grew wings of fire. However, this image of a woman with wings of fire is not one that kills

babies, but rather escapes death and saves her own baby. Danticat uses the imagery of flight

across the Massacre River to instead reimagine the lougarou as a strong and powerful woman

with “wings of flames.”

Another important aspect of this small passage at the end of the story is that, in many

ways Josephine herself is rewriting the story of her mother in an empowering lens. She begins

her statement with, “On that day so long ago...” as if she is telling a story to the audience.

Danticat’s own retelling of Haitian folklore is reflected directly through the character of

Josephine as she also retells her own mother’s history. This reflects how powerful female

authorship in folklore can be, as it can be used to reimagine a woman’s’ being and highlight their

strength and courage rather than the preconceptions society has imposed upon them.

Alongside the re-appropriation of the mythical Lougarou is the retelling of the story of

Défilée. The linages of the women of the story are presented in a way that intends to evoke the

imagery of the feminist mythical and historical figure of resistance Défilée. Haitian history is

primarily filled with male figures; among these figures are Toussaint L'Ouverture, the self-

educated slave that lead the revolution, Dessalines the first dictatorial leader under the free

republic, and many others (The Haitian Revolution.) However, Haitian history erases the

presence and significance of women, and instead women emerge throughout Haitian folklore.

Among these women is a woman named Défilée.

Within the text, it is mentioned that Défilée is the name of Josephine’s great-great-great

grandmother. Défilée is also the name of an important feminist figure in Haitian revolutionary

folklore. The myths surrounding her all vary, but most important is the popular myth that Défilée,

“..saw the Founder of Independence fall under Haitian bullets, and when the people of

Port-au-Prince seemed suddenly to go mad, she gave to everyone an eloquent lesson of

reason, wisdom, and patriotic piety” (Braziel, 62.)

She is popularly portrayed as this “mad woman” who went insane over the death of the

Dessalines, the first leader of Haiti, but in fact her historical origins are unknown. As many other

important women of the revolutionary movement, her historical origin has been replaced with

folkloric retelling of her story. In recent authorship, the folklore of Defilee has been reclaimed

from a madwoman to something more nationalistic. In Petit’s work “Défi lée-la-Folle” Defilee is

described as,

“herself re-embodied Mary’s sacrificial paragon in order to safeguard and vouchsafe

Haïti and our nationalité haïtienne, which he sees as threatened by US imperialism and

military occupation” (Braziel, 64.)

Petit’s redefining of Défilée is significant in that Danticat seems to take a similar approach.

Danticat seems to have intentionally alluded to Défilée as she states, “the small statue that had

been given to my great-great-great-grandmother Défilé by a Frenchman who had kept her as a

slave” (Danticat, 34.) The importance then is that Josephine’s mother has handed down an image

of Mary that is used throughout the story as a symbol of female strength and unity.

Throughout the story, the theme of female solidarity is directly explored through the

symbol of the Madonna. The Madonna is first mentioned on the very first page of the story,

stating that, “my Madonna cried...when I saw the tear I thought, surely, that my mother had died”

(Danticat, 33.) At the very first mention, it seems that the Madonna functions as a tether between

mother and daughter. This mother-daughter relationship with the Madonna occurs again when

Josephine clutches it once more at her mother’s death, holding it, “so close that I could smell my

mother’s scent on the statue” (Danticat, 49.) The Madonna is used to tie together the lives of

generations of women, all returning back to Defilee. The Madonna is evoked in an interaction

between women again when Josephine is on her way to the prison and an old woman appeared,

“her gazed was glued to the Madonna tucked under my arm” (Danticat, 34.) This woman speaks

in the same poetic language seen on page 44-45. On page 47, the Madonna is once again stared

at by a woman, “wearing my mother’s dress.” Over and over again, the Madonna becomes a

center point for these women; it unites and connects them throughout the text. Most importantly

though is the fact that Manman, “knew how to make the Madonna cry” (Danticat, 48.) What is

special about this fact is that as the woman who could make the Madonna cry, Manman now

serves as a woman who affects and unites the women of the story by connecting through the

Madonna. Her death unites all of the women in the story together, as both Josephine and

Jacqueline watch her death as, “They will make these women watch, and we will keep them

company” (Danticat, 48.) In turn, the legacy of Défilé exists through the Madonna that exists

again through Manman and once again through Josephine.

In this reclaiming of the folklore of Défilée, Danticat is effectively also reclaiming

women’s unity and strength throughout Haitian history. Danticat reimagines the imagery of

Défilée as Petit’s definition of her rather than the popular definition of her being a “madwoman.”

By doing this, Danticat has painted a picture of a matriarch whose legacy of female solidarity is

handed down from generation to generation, and has effectively retold the story of Defilee.

Throughout “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” Danticat effectively reclaims the folkloric images

of the lougarou and Défilée as a way of rewriting Haitian folklore to represent the strength and

unity of women. Through this, Danticat makes powerful commentary on the nature of women,

and the story she tells becomes in and of itself empowering to the female reader. By re-

appropriating more negative aspects of females in folklore as instead positive figures of females

in folklore, Danticat reclaims autonomy for Haitian women in the telling of their own stories.

What this paper left out, and what I feel I’d really like to explore further is this concept of rebirth

and ancestry that is occurring throughout the text. How does the image of rebirth relate to

female interactions? How does reimaging Haiti as a matriarchal society based on ancestry of

women help to reclaim Haitian folklore as something that also belongs to Haitian women? There

are many more questions I’d hope to explore, but the scope of my paper is limited to two very

specific topics. Overall, I feel that Danticat uses “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” as a way to give a

voice to forgotten strength of Haitian women within Haitian folklore who have “wings of flames.”

Works Cited

Braziel, Jana Evans. "Re-membering Défilée: Dédée Bazile as Revolutionary Lieu De

Mémoire." Small Axe Number 18 9.2 (2005): 57-85. Print.

Danticat, Edwidge. Krik? Krak! New York: Soho, 1995. Print.

"The Haitian Revolution." The Haitian Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

Barakat 2

Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak! is a compilation of short stories following the lives of those

suffering the effects of political turmoil in Haiti. In “Nineteen Thirty-Seven”, the story focuses specifically

around the 1937 Massacre that took the lives of many Haitians living and working in the Dominican

Republic. At the time of the massacre, a group of Haitian women that fled the hands of death came

together as one community and sought strength from one another. In partaking in certain rituals and

superstitious beliefs, these women of the river are still able to be empowered in light of extreme

tragedy. The bond shared amongst these women signifies where the Haitian women were able to regain

their strength, find solace and relief, and overall courage to combat life. Danticat shows a stark contrast

between reality and fantasy to further illustrate where these women were able to find the strength

despite the many adversities they faced.

In “Nineteen Thirty-Seven,” Danticat emphasizes the importance of the bond shared between

women especially that of which shared between a mother and daughter. Throughout the story, there is

a constant cycling of mothers; mothers are continuously being introduced and ejected from the scenes.

Josephine’s birth and the death of her grandmother help illustrate this principle. Manman recollects to

Josephine, “’At least I gave birth to my daughter on the night that my mother was taken from me,’ she

would say. ‘At least you came out at the right moment to take my mother’s place’” (Danticat 41).

Manman risked the life of her own mother to allow her daughter at a chance of life. If it was not for the

death of Josephine’s grandmother, Josephine’s existence would not come to be or make sense. By

allowing this series of events to occur, Danticat is emphasizing the importance of one’s own ancestors in

one’s life. Josephine is able to carry on the legacy and history of her grandmother, in that she took her

grandmother’s place in her own mother’s life. Jacqueline tells Josephine towards the end of the story as

her mother is dying, “life is never lost, another one always comes up to replace the last” (48). By

reiterating this concept to Josephine, she is fully able to understand her life in terms of her ancestors,

and appreciate the history behind her own existence. This constant cycling of mothers brings hope to

Barakat 3

these women, letting them know that no life is lost without one coming up right behind it to take its

place.

Manman’s constant reiteration of the words “at least” demonstrates how she was able to find

hope and optimism despite losing her mother in a horrific massacre. She is able to look past the tragedy

and find consolation in the birth of her own daughter. This illustrates the Haitian woman’s ability to

remain hopeful and look to the brighter side of things despite enduring misfortune.

The women of “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” validated the strength and persistence that the Haitian

women had during troubling times. Much of their strength came from the various rituals the women

were obliged to perform as a community. One of these rituals included the line of questioning

Josephine puts Jacqueline through to ensure that the privacy of the daughters is fully protected.

“’Where do you drink when you’re thirsty?’ // ‘I drink the tears from the Madonna’s eyes.’ // ‘And if not

from there?’ // ‘I drink the dew.’ // ‘And if you can’t find dew?’ // ‘I drink from the rain before it falls.’ //

‘If you can’t drink there?’ // ‘I drink from the turtle’s hide’” (45). This back and forth discourse shows the

women’s persistence and their ability to remain hopeful even in the face of disaster. If they can’t find

water in one place, they search another, and if not there, they keep searching until they find the water

and can be fulfilled.

Jacqueline pronounces, “You hear my mother who speaks through me. She is the shadow that

follows my shadow … Yes. I will eat my tongue if I ever whisper that name, the name of that place across

the river that took my mother from me” (45). Another ritual these women respected was to make sure

not to mention the name of the country that took their mothers from them and therefore, place little

emphasis on its identity with regards to their own lives. In doing so, the women are able to gain their

own identity in light of the tragedy they all endured as a community. The loss of their mothers helps to

connect these women in a strong union, proving that in light of tragedy there is some good; although

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they faced a massacre, it is only after this massacre that these women were able to meet each other and

form this tight society. Jacqueline also mentions that it is her mother that speaks through her, which

alludes to the fact that Josephine’s life was the replacement of her grandmother’s. The lives of these

women are heavily linked to the lives of their ancestors. The continuation of their lives helps to keep the

history and ancestry alive in the face of adversity.

Danticat uses various symbols throughout “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” to fully emphasize the bond

that these women shared. One of the more striking symbols comes in the form of a doll, the Madonna.

Madonna is another name used in representing the mother of Jesus. In turn, this statuette comes to

symbolize motherhood and overall what is means to have a mother. When the Madonna is mentioned,

she is always held so tightly. In this instance, Danticat is able to show a connection between the fantasy

and the actuality of motherhood. Realistically the doll is being held tightly, while figuratively, the

characters are clinging on to the thoughts of motherhood. In holding onto the doll so tightly, Danticat

shows how the women are able to hold onto the memories of their mothers and the bonds they

created; the doll brings the women tranquility and relief. The doll was also used as a means to show the

suffering these women faced. When the reader is first introduced to the doll, it “magically” starts to cry

and Josephine knows immediately that it is referring to her mother’s death. The doll served as an outlet

for Manman to release her suffering and let others know of her suffering.

As Manman nears the end of her life she tells Josephine, “’Keep the Madonna when I am gone,’

she said. ‘When I am completely gone, maybe you will have someone to take my place. Maybe you will

have a person. Maybe you will have some flesh to console you. But if you don’t, you will always have the

Madonna’” (43). Similar to the way that Josephine took the place of her grandmother, the Madonna will

take the place of Manman. Even though Manman knows she will die soon, she still passes on all her

strength to her daughter, letting her know that she will always have a mother. Passing the Madonna on

Barakat 5

to Josephine as an alternate for a mother, Danticat is able to show how important a mother is in a

daughter’s life as a source of strength. Again, we see another example of perseverance resonating from

a mother despite harsh suffering. Manman reminds her daughter that even if all else fails and she

cannot find some flesh to console her she will always have the Madonna to serve as a mother.

On their trips back to the river, “the women would all dress in white” (41) and even in the jail

cells Manman wore “a very loose fitting white dress that she made herself from the cloth that I had

brought her on the last visit” (36). White is typically symbolic of purity, innocence, and hope. These

women were all innocent in the accusations made against them of having wings of flame and preying on

innocent children. In reality, these women were innocent themselves and show this by wearing the

white dresses in the jail cells and on their journeys to the river. Danticat makes sure to dress Manman in

white even when she is in the jail cell to show that she remains hopeful, and overall tranquil, as she

faces hardships each day. The women participate in this ritual of wearing white to also create the sense

of equality and unity amidst them.

In “Nineteen Thirty-Seven”, it is evident that the ties within a community were one of great

importance. The persecution of many of the women is due in part to accusations of having “wings made

of flames” (38). Josephine recalls on the night her mother was beaten and arrested that “a few other

people agreeing with these stories was all that was needed to have them arrested” (38). Danticat shows

the consequence of a whole community coming together to combat against a common enemy. In a

country stricken with political uproar, the citizens are left vulnerable to any other cases that pose a

threat to their already fragile country. Danticat characterizes their vulnerability by showing how they

associated an old superstition with the actual events of the night to make a strong accusation. The

actual passing of the baby boy is linked with the belief in the “lougarou.” A “lougarou” was a term used

to characterize a “dreaded mythical creature who sheds her skin at night to fly about and prey on

Barakat 6

children.” (Chen) Because the child had just died, although clearly suffering from cholic, it only took one

neighbor or friend to make the accusation of the presence of a “lougarou” before everyone else came

together and agreed. This is another example of how Danticat shows the relationship between the

actual events linked with superstitions the Haitians followed for generations to fully understand the

events.

One of the more unusual facts about “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” is Danticat’s conscious lack of

male characters within the community coupled with a large accent on female characters. The only times,

however, men are introduced are the times that violence is strongly associated or with the case of the

prison guards. For example, Josephine remembers when she witnessed her mother being dragged off

after being accused of having actual wings of fire. “She was being pulled along by two policemen, each

tugging at one of her arms as she dragged her feet. … The policemen made no efforts to stop the mob

that was beating my mother. // ‘Lougarou, witch, criminal!’ they shouted’” (39). Without much

distraction from these male characters, the reader is coaxed into focusing on the female characters and

the strength they all possess. The men are only present to condemn the women and do not aid in any

strength. In allowing this to happen, Danticat illustrates how the women of Haiti were able to find

strength within each other, without having to seek strength in a man.

The relationship between superstitious beliefs and actuality is also seen when Josephine recalls,

“These days, her skin barely clung to her bones, falling in layers, flaps on her and neck. The prison

guards watched her more closely because they thought that the wrinkles resulted from her taking off

her skin at night and then putting it back on in a hurry, before sunrise” (36). Danticat reveals how one

mere fact can cause a great stir amongst the delicate community causing them to refer back to their

beliefs in superstitions to persecute these women. The literal falling of the skin was linked to the

Barakat 7

superstition that this skin was used as a form of wings. The Haitian community used the superstitions

that their ancestors taught them to justify all actions and recent events.

This contrast between fantasy and reality is also exemplified in Josephine’s dynamic character.

Towards the beginning of “Nineteen Thirty-Seven,” Josephine is unable to fully come into terms of what

it means to be a daughter of the river. Initially, when going to the river, Josephine remembers, “When I

was five years old, we went on a pilgrimage to the Massacre River, which I had expected to be still

crimson with blood, but which was as clear as any water that I had ever seen … when we dipped our

hands, I thought that the dead would reach out and haul us in” (40) Josephine’s lack of understanding is

characterized by her naïve beliefs in that the entire river would remain filled with blood. Still unable to

fully understand the persecution of her mother, Josephine attempts to understand what happened in

the literal sense. She asks, “Manman, did you fly?” (43) Perhaps she expected a simple yes or no to

answer her literal question of flight, where her mother responds figuratively, “all the women who came

with us to the river, they could go to the moon and back if that is what they wanted” (43).

It is not until after the death of her mother that Josephine is able to link the reality with the

fantasy of her mother’s flight. “Then the story came back to me as my mother had often told it. On that

day so long ago, in the year nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, in the Massacre River, my mother did

fly. Weighted down by my body inside hers, she leaped from Dominican soil into the water, and out

again on the Haitian side of the river. She glowed red when she came out, blood clinging to her skin,

which at that moment looked as though it were flames” (49) Danticat shows how Josephine has been

able to fully accept the history and culture her mother has created with these women from the river,

and as a result, fully understand what happened. The flight is characterized by her courageous “leap

from Dominican soil” in an attempt to save the life of her unborn daughter. Josephine is able to

appreciate and understand fully what her mother has done for in sacrificing the life of her own mother.

Barakat 8

Danticat uses the daughters of the river to embody the strength and resilience that the Haitian women

had in light of tragedy. The final flight is taken when Manman soars to heaven and Josephine is able to

remark, “Let her flight be joyful ... and mine and yours too” (49). Now fully aware of her mother’s initial

flight across the river, Josephine is able to understand the flight her mother will now take to the

heavens.

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Works Cited:

Danticat, Edwidge. "Nineteen Thirty-Seven." Krik? Krak! New York: Soho, 1995. 31-51. Print.

"W.C. Chen: Lougarou." W.C. Chen. N.p., Jan. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.