A wall of fire rising
In 1995, Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat published a collection of short stories known as ‘krik?Krak!’ based on the cultural experiences of the Haitians. The title a wall of fire rising originates from a line in the play that Little Guy is acting. The story represents less of Haiti’s politics and more about Haitian life. The economic, social, and political struggles take part in the story’s occurrences, but they are the backdrop of the drama. The triumphs and tragedies of the three characters are what take center stage. From the play, many monologues are all over, inculcating the atmosphere of the story with both fires a passion. Including a figure like Boukman in a story that resonates with feelings of freedom and hope allows solidifying the themes in the whole story.
A wall of fire rising revolves around the three-person family who lives in a one-structure inn a Haitian shantytown and comprises of Lili, her husband Guy, and their seven-year-old son named Little Guy. Guy is spellbound by a hot air balloon that belongs to another family who also owns a sugar mill, and he dreams of flying it himself one day. On the other hand, the little guy is given a role in a school play Haitian revolutionary Dutty Boukman. Eventually, Guy steals the hot air balloon and flies it over the town before landing into his death. Upon seeing his father’s body, Little Guy recites all his lines for the play.
Dutty Boukman was a slave and a religious leader in Saint Dominique who was a French colony on the island of Hispaniola that existed from 1967 all through to the 18th century. He incited a revolution against slavery of the natives by the Fench colonialists, and it succeeded when the colony became the Republic of Haiti. Dutty stands as the catalyst for the freedom about which Little Guy shouts about in reciting his lines. Little Guy’s role gives the family hopes that his future will be better than that of his father. He tirelessly works to know his lines, and when he practices, his parents enjoy the uncommon pleasure of hearing the voice of the founding fathers of Haitian independence in the forced baritone of their only child. At some point in these speeches, Guy comes close to the point of tears. The role, however, is ironic in its way: it is authored in Boukman’s authentic voice, and formal English of a European, and Guy identifies that the words are destined to remove the yoke of the Haitian slavery are heavy and prolonged. Additionally, the lines accorded to Little Guy to practice foreshadow his father’s death and his loss.
The moon and the hot air balloon are also important symbols in the short story as they represent Guy’s dreams of a better life. He fancies saying that the moon is ‘on its way to the brighter shores.’ Similarly, he tells Lili that he had like to utilize the balloon and fly away to find a place to start over. However, since the balloon is not his, neither it or the promise of escape can never be his. After his death, the ballon symbolically interrelates with the moon when it ”floats free, drifting on its way to the brighter shores.” It also stands in for the dream that Guy will never achieve, and it also reminds Lili that her husband liked to look at the sky.
Apart from being the primary source of conflict in the entire story, the hot air balloon is also a symbol of class, freedom, hope, and even economic prosperity. It is in no coincidence that the Assads who are the wealthy owners of the most profitable business in town also own the hot air balloon. The balloon personifies decadence, excess wealth, and exclusivity. As for other residents of the shantytown, they know well that the hot air balloon is something that they can never hope to own. Nevertheless, Guy fantasizes about using the hot air balloon to fly away from responsibilities and the harsh realities of his life. It is the representation of his hopes for a better future. In one of his fantasies, the hot air balloon takes him to a place where he is free to build his own house. The hot air balloon acts as his locomotive to freedom.
A wall of fire rising reveal is one man’s desire for freedom and also the void between reality and fantasy, which is created by the desire. Two varying perspectives create a rift between the parents in this family. In the entire story, Guy implies that he wants to do something that people will remember him of, but his wife opposes and tries to calm him down and to keep up with the healthy life that they are used to. However, Guy is aggressive, adventurous, and reckless while his wife Lili is responsible and realistic. The wall of fire is the metaphorical expression of the boundary where the division comes in between two people.