Caroline's Wedding Reading Note

Characters:
  1. Caroline
  2. Eric
  3. Hermine
  4. Grace
  5. Father
Theme:
  1. Family love
  2. Generation gaps
  3. Transition
  4. Revolt
  5. Cultural differences
  6. Identity
  7. Heritage
  8. Mother-daughter relationship
  9. Sister relationship
  10. Father-daughter
  11. Role and women
  12. Traditions
  13. Love for children
  14. Marriage concerns
  15. Jealousy
  16. Racism
  17. Immigration
  18. Leaving home


Plot:
  1. Grace became a US citizen
  2. Caroline is going to be married to Eric
  3. Hermine, the mother of Caroline does not approve of the wedding
  4. Hermine made bone soup hoping that it will cure Caroline and beak off her engagement with Eric
  5. Hermine states that she does not want Caroline to be married with a Bahamine man, which is not Haitian
  6. Grace bounces between her mother and her younger sister
  7. Grace talked to Caroline and agreed with her mother, but she also helped Caroline to sneak out the house.
  8. Caroline went to the wedding, Hermine came. Eric does not satisfied Hermine because he has learning disability, his dinner was not tasteful, and he does not follow traditional Haitian from of wedding.
  9. Hermine left the wedding, and Caroline was required to come back home
  10. Caroline sneaked out to join Eric
  11. Hermine told Grace she is afraid that Caroline would under rate herself because of her missing arm.
  12. Later Hermine accepted Eric and Caroline left home with Eric for their honeymoon.


Thoughts:
This story not only shows the generation gaps, but also shows the cultural differences. In the family, the culture is varied. The parents are Haitian, the older sister Grace is a more americanized than her parents, and the younger sister Caroline is completely americanized. The generation gap also enlarged by the presence of the cultural shock. When the daughters are more open to the new world, the parents are more conservative. Grace and Caroline became american, but the parents are not yet becoming the part of the country. They hold their traditions. When Grace said she doesn't feel safe in the country because she did not become a US citizen, in the contrary, i think, the parents would not feel safe if they lost their identity as haitian. They fled the country because the hostile situation, but they do not want the fact of being haitian fade away as generation passes.



Immigration:

Immigration causes the feeling of unsettled because of the cultural shock. The cultural differences also create a generation gap as the second generation is more attentive to the indigenous cultures. We can easily see how the immigration lays effects on the family by analysing the conflicts between members and within the individuals.

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