what really interest me about this section is how when martine reveal why she tested sophie back in newyork and martine says that it wasn’t nothing about not trusting you but it was more about not knowing what else to do cause her mother did it to her, like i said in class, martine only did it to sophie because its her first time in the position of being a mother so she didn’t know what else to do, but at the same time there is a contradiction between she testing sophie and when her mom use to get tested because the mom hated the test so much that she says that she was basically happy she got rape because the testing stopped, but in return she has to live with these nightmares she has been having and when she came down to haiti it appears that the nightmares has gotten worse

In chapters 20-27 I noticed that Sophie starts to look more into her family. For example she looks more into her past of how her mom grew up and how her dad was dressed in a way you cant identify him. So to conclude that statement Sophie’s father was a dead beat dad. Next her mother appears to her after two years of hiding from her. When the both reunite, they both feel tension among one another. Then Sophie’s grandmother went and told her how it cursed the family to know that mother daughter can’t be enemies from each other for too long.

One interesting part was when Sophie and Martine started talking to each other even though Sophie was stubborn when her grandmother told her to get close to her mother. Sophie didn’t move but her mother did. I felt that Sophie’s mother was feeling guilty or I don’t know but she really wanted peace with Sophie and forget about the past. In one part of the story Martine said “I want to be your friend, your very very good friend, because you saved my life many time when you woke me up from those nightmares.” It felt like if Martine own so much to Sophie that she feels bad that they haven’t speak in long time even though Sophie was writing letter to het but Martine never replied. This was the moment that was the most meaningful to me because I believe everybody have been in this situation when we get mad to our parents or vice versa and we feel guilty even if we didn’t cause the problem.

When reading this section of the book Sophie leaves from her home in New York City and goes back to her home country of Haiti. When arriving to Haiti she meets with her Tante Atie and her best friend Louise, They began to speak and Tante Atie telling Sophie she looks just like how she did before she left for NYC. The part that surprises me while reading this was when Atie explains to Sophie how Louise taught her to read and she even wrote poems. I found this to be interesting because when Sophie wanted her to come to school she didn’t want to go because she taught that kids teaching her to read was pretty absurd but then she gets taught to read by Louise. So it makes me wonder what made her change her mind and take lessons from Louise and not from Sophie when she was younger.

Based on what I have read Sophie is still in Haiti. During her time there Sophie had many discussions with her family members about the test and why women go through it. Tante Atie stated that “men insist that their women are virgins and have their ten fingers, Atie would then explain that each finger had a purpose “mothering, boiling, loving, baking, nursing, frying, healing, washing, ironing, scrubbing”.  This was the way Atie was taught in order to prepare herself to become a women. This sentence reminded me of the class discussion we had on Tuesday about how women where often seen as tools or objects by men. Another moment in the book that showed me that women where just seen as objects by men was the story the grandmother told about the “extremely rich man who married a poor black girl”. In their culture its seems to be very important that a man married a women who is untouched (virgin) or else the man’s honor and reputation would  be relinquish. The rich cared so much about  his reputation that he cut his soon to be wife between the legs so he can prove to the people in the town that she was a virgin, later on his actions against her would result in her death. When Sophie ask her grandma “why mothers put their daughters through the test” I was able to learn that if the daughter doesn’t pass the test not just her but the mother as well would be thought of as a disgrace, also the test in some type of way is preparing the daughter for a husband. Another moment I found interesting was when Sophie built up the courage to ask her mom “why you put me through those tests”. The mothers respond “because my mother had done it to me”, wasn’t really a shocker for me because I already had a feeling that the “test” was some type of family tradition.

The significant moment that I found in the reading is when Tante Atie got the leeches for the lump that she had in her calf. She puts the leech on her skin as a means to heal her and stop the pain that she is in by removing her blood. I think that the moment is significant because Sophie witnesses this and she states that she can feel her head spinning and her stomach tuning inside out. I believe this is because she witnessed all the blood that the leeches were sucking out of Tante Atie, it could be that she thinks that all this blood was a waste, as she had wasted her own blood with the pestle. We read early in the text where she herself lost her own blood in a different manner when she used to pestle on herself. Or maybe she looked at the leeches as something small but was able to pull so much blood from Tante atie, in contrast to the pestle that might have seemed to her a small act to inflict on herself but in the end caused huge outcomes as it gave her freedom and the chance for her to be with Joseph.

This reading continued with Sophie in Haiti, along with Tante Atie, (who is starting to act different) and with Grandmother Ifé. The reading picks up when Martine says she doesn’t know where Sophie is, and has been contacted by Joseph that he doesn’t know where she is either, meaning, Sophie has told no one that she was going to Haiti. A question that is raised is ‘Why would Sophie leave without telling Joseph?’. When Martine arrives in Haiti, Sophie is tense and does not want to approach her, and Martine tells her family that she will only be in Haiti for 3 days. Something that stuck out to me during this reading were 3 things. 1 was describing what would happen if a male child, or a female child was born. If a male child was born, then there would be a light on, however, if a female was born, the mother would have to walk in darkness. Light can be used as a symbol for freedom, and hope, meaning that females are born with no freedom and no hope. Another thing that stuck out was the story where the man had cut open the female because he wanted her to bleed during her first time, but she didn’t. It shows that a man would kill a woman, to prove to others that she is pure, for his own sake. The last thing that stuck out to me was when Martine was telling Sophie why she had tested her. What stuck out to me was when Martine said that when she was raped, she was happy the testing stopped. This only proves how much torture being tested was to these women. If you would gladly get your “freedom” through rape, what kind of torture were you enduring before. This can be seen from both the eyes of Martine, and Sophie.

In the beginning of these chapters, Sophie is given a cassette from her mother and learns that although she has disconnected from Martine, Martine has sent money showing that she still cares for Sophie and wishes to reconcile with her. Sophie’s husband, Joseph, and her mother Martine are both concerned about her whereabouts and this may indicate that Sophie may want to reconnect in the future. Sophie also makes the connection with the Macoutes and the possibility of how she was conceived. Sophie also tries to forget about the past and the hymen test that was given to her by Martine. This is rather difficult because she can’t erase those memories that have turned into nightmares. Furthermore, Sophie has an in depth conversation about the tests with Grandmother Ife and the purpose of these tests. When Martine comes to Haiti, Sophie uses this opportunity to confront her mother about the tests. Martine does not give an apology but gives an explanation instead. We learn that Martine’s nightmares might not only be from the rape but also from the tests. However, Martine is thankful for Sophie when she wakes her up from her nightmares. The constant reminder of these tests in the text shows the reader how Danticat feels about this “tradition”.

As I continued again reading the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat I witnessed a great change to new places and people in the book. I was surprised that Sophie now has a baby girl. For some reason I thought Sophie would pursue her life in a more educational way graduating from college with a degree or becoming a doctor. Perhaps her mother’s mindset of Sophie made me to believe that Sophie was really like that. Thats what I found astonishing. That although most of the reading was about Sophie finally setting herself free from the person her mother encaged her in. That I too saw her as a very almost angelic girl/ or perfect girl. I was surprised that when Sophie finally got away from her mother she did thinks a totally different way then her mother wanted her to.

To continue Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat Sophie has been following all of the rules her mother gave her. Her mother wants her to practice religion, go to school and educate herself, and come straight home. Sophie has truly been an obedient daughter up to this point. Something that stood out throughout this chapter is Sophies infatuation with her neighbor Joseph. Joseph is a much older than Sophie which I find to be very creepy that Sophie likes him. However, being that Sophie’s mom has always been strict with Sophie telling her she can not date until the age of eighteen, or always expecting things for Sophie like her becoming a doctor, Sophie never really had the chance to live her life her way. So I believe now that a man is finally looking upon Sophie in a new way than anyone has ever, she is falling for him and falling in love. Joseph soon goes from stranger to lover to Sophie and they both seek ways to seeing each other as long as Sophies mother is not around. When Sophie mother finds out she likes a boy, she starts to perform ‘testings’ to Sophie to make sure she is still a virgin. Due to the hate that Sophie has against this performance of ‘testing’ she sacrifices and takes her own virginity. When Sophie mom finds this out she kicks Sophie out. I quickly wondered if Sophies mom even loved her to kick her only child out for something she caused?