CONFIGURATION OF MEMORY IN EDWIDGE DANTICAT’S BREATH, EYES MEMORY

Abstract

Memory is the ability to recall or remember information or events in the past. This is carried out through three distinct processes such as encoding, storage and retrieval. Memory plays a significant role in the narratives of Edwidge Danticat, a Caribbean-American Diasporic writer. The protagonists in Danticat's novels are very much influenced by their past and its memories. These memories act both as a preserver and destroyer of life in her novels. In Breath, Eyes, Memory, it acts as a destroyer. The protagonist Sophie is haunted by the memories of 'testing' and her mother Martine is obsessed with nightmares of rape. This paper attempts to study the impact of memory on the psyche of Danticat's characters.