Based on what I have read so far, the book is about a young girl named Sophie who is living with her aunt Atie in Croix-des-Rosets (located in Haiti). One thing I found interesting in the read is the fact that aunt Atie believes that the “old bible” has the answers to everything, but she doesn’t know how to read and refuses to learn from children (Even though its her dream to be able to read). Another thing I found interesting was the way Atie acted around Monsieur Augustin, I had the sneaking suspicion that Atie has feelings for Mr. Augustin. Coming closer to the end of chapter 4 I got the feeling that Sophie didn’t really want to leave Atie and move to New York with her mom, in my personal opinion it felt like Atie was more of a mother figure to Sophie than her actual mother.

while reading the assigned section i realized how different the book is from the other two we have read. so far for what i have read its a later time and its not as aggressive as the other books where the details and descriptions demand your attention. the part that stood out to me was after sophie finds out shes being sent for by her mother. this part stood out to me because after madame augustin dishes the information tante attie feels betrayed by monsieur Augustin for telling his wife her secret. from this scene you can tell that there was a close relationship between attie and augustin because when he went inside with his wife she watched their every move and shed a tear as if it almost hurt her to see them together.

A lot reminded me of life in the Dominican Republic how the aunt is playing numbers just like the lottery system in the Dominican Republic. When she wins she even attributes it to Sophie’s mother bringing luck just like the people in D.R who say certain people bring them luck. She also talks about how people are poor and cant afford to live alone that they have to live with a lot of family members. Sometimes they have to even build their own house’s just like the Dominican Republic. Tanta Atie tells her everything Sophie owns is yellow like flowers that were rare that grew where they weren’t supposed to grow. I wonder if the color yellow symbolizes happiness for them? Yellow in her dreams symbolized something else as seen by when her mother was taking her away while wearing a yellow dress.

In chapters 1-4 of breathe, eyes, memories we meet Sophie a young Haitian girl, who lives with her aunt in Hati. The town Sophie lives in full of culture and it’s own struggles. One thing that becomes evident in the text is the relationship of women amongst each other. We see several signs of women relationships such as, Sophie and her mother, Sophie and her aunt, and the women in the culture with one another.

In the text we see that Sophie’s mother is thousands of miles away trying to obtain a better life. Yet on this search she has lost the chance to raise her daughter and thus obtain the important bonds that mothers have with their children.

Another relationship is Sophie relationship with her aunt, a woman who has stepped forward in the role of caregiver and mother. Sophie struggles with these two relationships because she sees her aunt in the mother role and her mother as a stranger.

Lastly another relationship I find interesting is the relationship of woman in the culture. In the potluck scene we see the women gathering giving the feeling of a strong community bond. At the potluck the women gossip about one another and even give their opinions on one anothers lives. I found this interesting and feel it helps add to not only the culture but to the characters image.

I am interested to see how all of these relationships shape Sophie, and am interested in seeing how she develops.

When beginning to read the book the two characters that were introduced in the story was Sophie and her Tante Atie, During the story Sophie made a letter for her Tante because of it being mothers day but Atie didn’t want to read the letter. The reason she did not want to read the letter was because of her inability to read. What stood out to me during this section of the reading was Atie doesn’t want Sophie to be like her mother and her growing up in the fields all day. She wants Sophie to get an education and be a better person than her. Atie also feels a way about going to Sophie’s school and having her read to her, she believes that kids should learn from the elders and it shouldn’t be the other way around. This stands out to me because it shows a little dominance over Sophie, I guess she does not want to feel belittled by having her niece read to her. It shows dominance over Sophie as a guardian.

In the beginning there is a little girl named Sophie who lives with her aunt Tante Atie in Croix-des-Rosets, Haiti because her mother Martine lives in New York. Sophie is disappointed by Atie refusal to come read with her in school. Atie never learned to read and she thinks she’s too old to learn to read. So, mothers day is coming up and Sophie wants to give Atie a card that she make with a daffodil on it and a poem inside. But, Atie refuses to read the card or even open it because she feels that it should be given to her real mother Martine. She said she will only accept cards on Aunt’s day. Later on, Atie gets a package from Martine and it is a plane ticket and a cassette with instructions on to send Sophie to New York. Now, what stuck out to me is the bond between Sophie and her aunt Atie. Sophie doesn’t even know her mother she has only seen her in photographs. You can tell how hurt Atie was because she was crying and you can also tell that Sophie doesn’t want to go. I feel like you can’t just take a child out of their comfort zone and just expect them to be okay or the same they were with the other person, It’s kind of selfish. Also, you can obviously see that Atie doesn’t want Sophie to go

The novel “Breath, Eyes, Memory” by Edwidge Danticat is about a girl named Sophie and she is the main character. Sophie is Haitian and she lives with her aunt Atie. Both Sophie and her aunt Atie live in Croix-des-Rosets, Haiti and also Sophie is 12. Although the story is just starting I noticed that the author is giving the reader a better idea of who these characters are and what they are even reading about. Continuing on that thought, what stood out to me the most is the mention that Atie can’t read because Danticat probably has this in not only to have it relate to the plot of the story some way, but also give more descriptions to her characters. Sophie tries to persuade Atie into taking the night classes that are offered at the school she herself attends but it never works because Atie just makes excuses about going. Sophie mom sends a ticket for her to come join her back in New York but Atie tries to keep this a secret because she is shocked she will lose the child she basically raised. Sophie finally finds out though and she is shocked herself but she literally doesnt have a choice and she has to get ready to leave.

To begin, chapters 1-4 of the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat is very brief. However, although it doesn’t jump right into the main idea of the novel it gives us a lot of detail on the characters. Sophie Caco and her Tante (Aunt) Atie both live together in Croix-des-Rosets, Haiti. Sophie is twelve years old, goes to school and knows how to read so she is educated. Her school offers night classes for the adults/parents to attend to learn to read with the children being involved in the teaching. Sophie often finds her self longing for her aunt to go to the reading classes, but Tante Atie is very against it. When Sophie constantly asks her aunt to go to these classes, Tante Atie says things like, “I do not want a pack of children teaching me how to read.”,  “The young should learn from the old.”, and, Besides I have to rest my back when you have your class. I have work. ” What stood out to me is Tante Atie’s personal beliefs that were similar to how many older generations of people think. For example my mother would always tell me about how difficult it was for her growing up due to the heavy load of work, and chores that she had to take part in helping my grandmother out. It hurts me when my mom tells me her stories of her not getting the education she would have liked, or choose the path in life she would have much better preferred. I do think of my mom as being a very successful women, but it wasn’t easy for her. And just as Tante Atie believes in education for her younger generation, my mom does too because if they had the choice, the easy choice, education would have been top priority.

The part that stood out to me was her reluctance to join her mother. Plenty of times people have left Caribbean countries and ventured to New York to better their lives and that of their loved ones. Sometimes It takes years before seeing or living with each other again so I can understand why she wouldn’t want to leave. Yes she may be leaving to be with her biological mother, but Atie was the mother she knew, the woman who nurtured and raised her. They shared a bond with each other over the time spent together, a bond she yet had with her mother. Atie probably saw her as a daughter as well but didn’t want to impose on the relationship she could have with her real mother.