Journal 6- “New York Day Women”

Joyce Wu 

English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)

Journal 6

April 26, 2020

 

“New York Day Women”

 

I chose “New York Day Women,” by Edwidge Danticat as my favorite. A background given was that she was born in Haiti and moved to the United States at the age of twelve. The narrator mentioned a few people throughout the story, but the story focuses on two characters, Suzette and the mother. In the beginning, Suzette was having a normal day until she caught sight of the mother. She was astonished at the fact that she even leaves her house. Because from Suzette’s knowledge she never sees her anywhere beside Brooklyn. The narrator said that his mother was afraid to take the subway. This issue got Suzette worried, so she decided to follow her. The setting here is Manhattan, New York. For example,“She has never seen the advertising office where I work.” The way this narrator outlines quotes before each paragraph begins is so unique. I’ve never read anything like this. The fact it’s also in bold means the significance to Suzette. These were what her mother had said to her. For instance,“Would you get up and give an old lady like me your subway seat?” This response gave her a recall that her mother is right in some cases it really depends on how pregnant the woman is. 

When the mother was standing in front of Carnegie Hall and a taxi driver yelled at her for being in the way and said “what do you think this is, a dance floor?” This person gave Suzette a flashback call because growing up in Haiti their lifestyle was more rough. The narrator said, “In Haiti when you get hit by a car, the owner of the car gets out and kicks you for getting blood on his bumpers.” Just from reading that description, I think it’s so brutal. I can’t believe there are places that can do such a thing. 

In the end of the story, Suzette had a realization that her mother never went to any of the parent-teacher conferences. But I think the point of this story shows that each family’s relationship is not perfect. It just depends on heritage, and the way someone interprets it. 

 

Word count: 381

 

1 Comment

  1. Professor Sean Scanlan

    Joyce, thanks for your journal. Good summary.
    -Sean

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