Gerri Stewart
Professor Maselli
English 103
17 January 2016
Two Is Always Better Than One
In this life people are destined to have one father that is responsible for the creation of their life. However Danticat was blessed to have two fathers who loved and taught her the essence of strength. While reading the book “Brother, I’m Dying” Danticat tells a story about her life in Haiti, being raised by her uncle, and her father who lived in America. She later reunited with her father and joined him in the United States. The story shows how two different influences ignited her passion for writing. Uncle Joseph was a man who exemplified courage. Miracin was a man who fought through his sickness. Both men had their own struggles, however, they were able to persevere through them and teach Danticat how to be a fighter, and how to proclaim courage despite adversity. Next Danticat saw her uncle Joseph go to the ends of the earth for a child he raised as his own in hopes to save Marie from the hands of death from another man. She has seen him fight through the disease that left him with no voice, and she even saw him endure the loss of his wife. Yet he still was able to continue on despite the feelings of loneliness and pain. The time when Uncle Joseph continued to stay in his home while war broke out. Or the time when he told his family to leave his home and let him stay behind. He never gave up the fight for justice, and peace. This gave Danticat knowledge on how to defeat any obstacle, and to push through them no matter how hard it is. I am certain the reason she wrote this book was because of the gratitude she had towards her amazing uncle and father. Danticat states, “ I am writing this only because they can’t”.
In later chapters of the book I learned that Danticat’s father has a disease as well. Which caused him to cough more, to lose weight, and to lose his appetite. Miracin despite his condition chose to continue to drive his cab, continues to be the provider for his family, and continued to be a father for his children, all while experiencing major pain and discomfort. Her father fought to work until her could no more, her father fought through adversity until he couldn’t fight anymore. The strength her father had towards life and people was loving and compassionate.
Finally after the unexpected death of her uncle Joseph and then later her father Miracin, Danticat was able to give them back two things. First she made sure that they both were buried together, and last she wrote the book for both her uncle and her father. Even though the culture that they grew up in Haiti they did not want to be buried in America. But in hopes that her father and his brother could be together in the next life, was all she really wanted since she could not fulfill the cultural tradition. Danticat knew at just nine years old knew what bravery looked like and what it meant to portray bravery even if you were scared internally. She stated: “ If what appeared to be bravery was a simple attempt at shielding his pain from others.
In Conclusion I strongly feel that if it weren’t for the two fathers being there for Danticat and being a living example of preserving through adversity, showing her that the struggles they had were nothing compare to the fight they had within themselves to continue on, and showing her to fight with courage through the adversities. Their courage sparked something within Danticat to be open with the information in the book, which was given from both her uncle and her father because of their faith in God. Which I strongly believe had a major impact on uncle Joseph’s fight to rescue Marie Micheline from Pressoir Marol, and gave Miracin courage to continued to be a taxi driver while being extremely sick. Danticat has opened my own heart and mind to gain courage and fight to continue my education despite the obstacles that are surrounded by me daily. The message that she wants to give everyone is so clear and evident. We all must never give up no matter how hard it gets at the end of that dark tunnel there is always light. There is no blueprint, no fairytale life style to study or even model after. If you gain courage within your self you can conquer many difficult things.
Word count 751