Psychological Lens by https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj Analyzing "Between the Pool and the Gardenias" by Edwidge Danticat en-us 2018-09-14 16:05:45 UTC 2024-11-21 11:24:58 UTC hello@padlet.com Reading "Between the Pool and the Gardenias" Through the Psychological Lens amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283248440 The psychological lens asks us to explore why certain characters act the way they do, to consider the range of human emotions and how they come to play in the text, to consider our opinion of the moral choices the characters made and what we would have done, as well as to think about the broader social issues that the text attempts to address (Von Steuben). I will discuss all of these parts as I move through the short story “Between the Pool and the Gardenias” written by Edwidge Danticat in her 1996 collection of short stories “Krik? Krak!”.

"Eight Critical Lenses Through Which Readers Can View Texts," Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, 2016.]]> 2018-09-19 04:28:19 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283248440 Why Certain Characters Act the Way They Do amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283248698 The woman decided to bring home the dead child because she thought it would have been something her mother would have wanted her to do. The woman thought that she was being visited by her mother, great-grandmother, grandmother, and her godmother. She said she always though they would want her to make some good for somebody so maybe she was to “do some good for this child” (Danticat 82). Economic conditions in Haiti range from, “a low literacy rate…to the inferior health conditions and finally, the country's vulnerability to natural disasters” (“Haiti Population 2018”). Because of the economic and social struggles that many Haitians face, I think that the woman wanted to do something positive for a child who never got a chance to see good the world, and because she wanted to believe that for herself. 

Despite just taking the baby off of the street, the woman pretended that the Madame's estate was her's, "it belonged to us: him, Rose, and me", him being the Dominican pool cleaner (Danticat 83). Psychologically, creating fantasies is vital for the human mind. "Taking one step away from reality to that 'safe' place of pretend, prepares us to look the world's harsh realities in the face. From there we can name the horrors and celebrate the joys before going back, with a clearer perspective on situations that bother us" (Webb).

Danticat, Edwidge. “Children of the Sea." Krik? Krak! New York: Vintage, 1996.
“Haiti Population 2018.” World Population Review, worldpopulationreview.com/countries/haiti-population/.
Webb, Beth. “The Real Purpose of Fantasy.” The Guardian, Guardian News and   Media, 23 Apr. 2007, www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/apr/23/bridgingthegapswhyweneed.
]]> 2018-09-19 04:30:10 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283248698 Range of Human Emotions in the Text amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283612697 The main emotions used in this text are depression and confusion. I think the woman was depressed from working in the lower class, her miscarriages, and from her husband leaving her. I think this came into play in the text because the baby on the street seemed like a glimmer of happiness and hope that the women so desperately wanted to feel. “At night, I could rock her alone in the hush of my room, rest her on my belly, and wish she were inside” (Danticat 80). 
 
Once the baby started to decompose, I think the woman started to become confused on why she had made the decision to bring her home in the first place, and what she should do with it now. “Emotions influence, skew or sometimes completely determine the outcome of a large number of decisions we are confronted with in a day” (Whitener). The woman’s depression led her to a decision that she normally wouldn't have made, and it was this decision that led to her feeling confusion. I also think that her overwhelming emotion of confusion caused her to be blinded by the possibilities of somebody discovering the child while she left it alone and at the time when she was discarding it.

Danticat, Edwidge. “Children of the Sea." Krik? Krak! New York: Vintage, 1996.
Whitener, Svetlana. “How Your Emotions Influence Your Decisions.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 May 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/05/09/how-your-emotions-influence-your-decisions/#2b5589353fda.
]]> 2018-09-19 19:12:08 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283612697 Moral Choices & My Thoughts amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283621632 I thought that the moral choice the woman made to take the baby off of the cruel street that she was left on was a positive decision for both of them. The woman described how she took on the baby’s soul as her “own personal responsibility” (Danticat 85). I think I would have done the same thing in this situation, even if the baby was dead, it deserved a chance to rest at peace in a more respectful way. I also would have done the same thing that the woman did, dress her up in a fancy gown and bury her, it's the least that the woman felt she could do for a baby that was abandoned and died on the streets alone.
 
I thought that the moral choice of the Dominican pool cleaner to call the gendarmes on the woman without fully understanding the situation was wrong. He said that he didn’t know the woman at all but that she kills and eats, “’little children who haven’t even had time to earn their souls” (Danticat 86). I think he should have asked the woman what she was doing before contacting the authorities because she really wasn’t doing anything wrong. I think his fear of what he had seen made him feel inclined to do so, when maybe he wouldn't have normally made a decision like this.

Danticat, Edwidge. “Children of the Sea." Krik? Krak! New York: Vintage, 1996.
]]> 2018-09-19 19:30:39 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283621632 Poverty and Hunger as Social Issues amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283635957 The text addresses the issue of poverty by describing how some women in Port-au-Prince have to “throw out their babies because they can’t afford to feed them” (Danticat 80). This is such a heartbreaking reality, but in this case, there is nothing else that women can do. About 59% of Haitians are living below the national poverty line, with 24% living below the extreme national poverty line of $1.23 a day ("The World Bank in Haiti: Overview"). There is virtually no way that a woman would be able to support herself and a child with that little of money to spend in a day. I think it was important that Danticat included that fact in the text, so that we could understand that the woman who left Rose lay there wasn’t doing it out of hate, but out of desperation, and out of hope that somebody would take her child and feed it.
  
Danticat, Edwidge. “Children of the Sea." Krik? Krak! New York: Vintage, 1996.
“The World Bank in Haiti: Overview.” The World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview.

Below is a video showing how some people in the poorest parts of Haiti must rely on dirt in order to fill their stomachs. 
]]> 2018-09-19 20:08:09 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/283635957 Economic Class Differences as a Social Issue amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284209876 The upper class is represented by the Monsieur and Madame that the woman worked for. The woman said they had a, “terrace with the sight of the private pool…the large television system and all those French love songs and rara records…the bright paintings with white winged horses and snakes…the pool that the sweaty Dominican man cleaned three times a week” (Danticat 83). She also described how she thought they said things about her when she was gone like how she is probably “one of those stupid people who think that they have a spell to make themselves invisible and hurt other people” (Danticat 83). The upper class demographic is represented as people who are overly wealthy and who look down on the lower classes as they think it is those less fortunate holding their societ back.

The middle to lower class is represented by the woman herself, being a country maid, and the Dominican who cleans the pool. The woman describes that as a child she and her friends would play with mango seeds (pretending that they are dolls) and how they would enjoy colas and cassavas and "when we could get them" butter cookies (Danticat 81). Later in her life, working as a maid, she describes how she thinks her employers look down on her, saying that she probably practices "voodoo nonsense" (Danticat 83). According to Estimé, the poorest in Haiti, and some of the middle class, would rather see a Voodoo when they are sick. "Voodoo is a common practice and could be use for good or mad intention toward the population" (Estimé). Danticat not only describes the environment that the woman is experiencing, but also includes references to specific details of Haitian's lives.

These differing classes help explain some of the psychological situations that the characters may have been feeling. Being a part of a lower class when you must work for the higher class, even when they may mock you, may lead you to do unusual things, as in the case of this woman in the story.

Danticat, Edwidge. “Children of the Sea." Krik? Krak! New York: Vintage, 1996.
Estimé, Johanna. “The Social, Cultural, and Political Issues of Poverty and Hunger in Haiti.” Club De Mediapart, 27 June 2017, blogs.mediapart.fr/johanna-estime/blog/270617/social-cultural-and-political-issues-poverty-and-hunger-haiti.

There are many other social, cultural, and political issues in Haiti: ]]> 2018-09-21 03:25:15 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284209876 amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284213341 2018-09-21 03:52:00 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284213341 amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284431844 2018-09-21 15:35:58 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284431844 amandaeiden17 https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284432596 2018-09-21 15:37:20 UTC https://padlet.com/amandaeiden17/lh2gco9eqglj/wish/284432596