Brother, I'm Dying

Besides being a family memoir, this book is also a document of political history in Haiti. The author infuses her narrative with the idea that homeland is a symbol of a person’s belonging to a place, a people, and a family, rather than being just a geographical determinant. Danticat combines personal with collective memories, individual recollections with documented facts, creating the notion of homeland as the essential core of human identity, a mélange of influences, memories, people, and events that make up one’s character and sense of belonging.

In the present time of her memoir, Edwidge is 35 years old, and she has spent two thirds of her life in the US. However, the first 12 years spent in Haiti represent the essence of her personality, which is why she keeps going back to her homeland, both physically and in her writing. This memoir is her way of confirming her connection with her roots and, as explained previously, a way of giving a voice to her country of origin, which has shaped her and her life. In that sense, she develops this symbol in a similar way as she does the symbol of voice: Starting from the factual and literal, she moves on to the spiritual and symbolic to underscore the life-long significance of the place we call home. 

The author uses the leitmotif of faith in her memoir in several ways. Each of the two parts of the book begins with a quote from the Bible, introducing an element of religious faith that she threads through her recollections of Uncle Joseph as well. As a preacher and an educator, Uncle Joseph has a faith that is both religious and spiritual; he has faith in the divine presence, but also in his fellow man. He dreams of a future in which Haiti is a free country and his compatriots live in peace, enjoying the fruits of their own work after centuries of working for others. In this context, Danticat utilizes irony to underline how much faith Joseph has in contrast to how life unfolds for him and for Haiti. Even against all odds, her uncle’s faith guides him through to the bitter and sad end.

The author also explores the motif of faith in the context of young Edwidge’s belief in her family, and especially her parents. Although she often feels abandoned in Haiti, Edwidge grows up with a firm belief that her parents will one day come for her so that they can begin a new life all together. Uncle Joseph, Tante Denise, and especially Marie Micheline help Edwidge keep her faith by telling her affirming stories about her parents and their troubles to get their children to the US.

Edwidge’s father shows faith in the possibilities of a new and better life in the US, and he dedicates his life to making this vision come true for his family. In times of hardship, living a frugal existence and doing menial jobs, his faith in the American dream keeps him striving to succeed. Danticat offers us these examples of firm belief in a better life as part of her message of hope and as a dedication to her uncle and father, whose faith has brought her to the life she now lives. 

The notion of the American Dream, whereby anyone, regardless of their origins, can achieve a good life in the US solely based on their honest efforts and hard work, forms one of the strongest motifs in this memoir. Edwidge Danticat both upholds and criticizes this concept, using the examples of her father and her uncle as points of juxtaposition. While Uncle Joseph chooses to remain in Haiti, driven by his ideal of helping the chaotic sociopolitical situation in his homeland, Danticat’s father opts to leave Haiti as a young man for the United States of America, as one of many immigrants trying to find a better life there. Young Edwidge barely understands why first her father and then her mother leave her alone with her younger brother, but the author’s adult recollections and understanding allow for an exploration of what their immigrant life brings them.

Whereas Uncle Joseph strives in vain to change things in Haiti, all the while suffering from poverty, civil unrest, and foreign political and military influence, Edwidge’s father is able to slowly build a life for himself and his family in the US. Although he works menial jobs and frequently loses them, he still lives in a fundamentally ordered country, where he enjoys democratic peace and a sense of purpose. He believes in the American dream, and his belief helps him create new possibilities for his children. Uncle Joseph does not trust the US since the country forcibly ruled Haiti for 20 years, even though he benefits from medical treatments in the US. This mistrust contributes to his fate, but Danticat underscores the faceless brutality of the system that treats certain immigrants as inherently suspicious. In this way, she questions whether the American dream is a real thing or a matter of chance. Through her memoir, Danticat suggests that for the American dream to exist, one must believe in it and work for it, following the American tide. If you distrust it, the dream fades away.