“New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticat

Humaiya Sawda
Journal #6
English 1121 (Prof Scanlan)
April 24, 2020

Journal #6

In class, we have been going over different types of short stories. However, I feel “New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticat would have to be my favorite. It is my favorite because “New York Day Women” is a sweet and short story that changes us from Haiti to America. Its extraordinary structure permits the reader to see depictions from the lives of Haitian ladies in their new environment. To Suzette’s eyes, while her mom’s body may have arrived at America, her essence never made the excursion. Suzette has looked as her mom battles to grapple with certain “American” practices, such as “eating out” and providing for Goodwill. Even though these perceptions are hilarious inside the setting of the story, they are instances of the  genuine battles foreigners have while showing up in the United States. For such a great deal of, culture stun and the trouble of digestion are incapacitating and make progressing to America an about incomprehensible undertaking. That is the reason “New York Day Women” is such a refreshing story to read. In the wake of seeing firsthand her mom’s challenges with American culture, envision Suzette’s stun when she sees that equivalent lady enduring and flourishing in Manhattan. Suzette’s mom strolls the road certainly “with a cheerful step,” as though she has lived in New York her whole life. She collaborates effectively with merchants and has no issue being with the kid she looks after children his mom. At a certain point of the story, Suzette goes to step in and “spare” her mother from an excessively energetic bike courier, only to find that her mom needn’t bother with sparing. It’s subtleties like these that make “New York Day Women” a comedic story, yet additionally an account of triumph. A lot of “New York Day Women’s” humor is gotten from the “call and response” esque format of the story among Suzette and her mom. For instance, when Suzette ponders the activity bicycle she needs to purchase, she reviews her mom saying, “You are pretty enough to be a stewardess. Only dogs like bones”. By comparing Suzette’s feelings about a subject with cites from her mom about a similar point, Danticat enlightens the generational holes that can exist between a mother and her girl. She likewise shows the quality of the mother-girl bond. In spite of their contradictions, plainly love penetrates Suzette’s relationship with her mom. This affection is uncovered in nonlinear manners. Suzette utilizing her whole mid-day break to chase after her mom Manhattan, ensuring that her mom needn’t bother with her assistance, is one case of this adoration. Suzette’s mom declining to go to Parent-Teacher Association gatherings since she wouldn’t like to humiliate Suzette with her “strangeness” is another case of this adoration.

1 Comment

  1. Professor Sean Scanlan

    Humaiya, thanks for your journal. Great job of noticing the nuance in this story.
    -Sean

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