Child of the
Dark covers the time period between 1955 and 1960. It gives insight
into the way that many Latin Americans lived during these times.
The story takes place in Brazil and focuses on the life of Carolina
De Jesus and her journey through countless obstacles of life. Like
Carolina, many Latin Americans lived in rural areas known as
Favelas. Through Carolinas experience and everyday life the
reader learns the struggles of living in a society governed by the
colonial legacy of a stratified society. Carolina has three
children, Vera, Jose, and Joao. All this time they have lived in
the favela, which was defined as a deprived area or a shantytown.
Favelas were quite difficult to live in. The conditions were
horrendous and many people
show more content
She traded
washed bottles for bread and sold paper for cruzeiros (De Jesus, 3)
She spent most hours of day roaming the streets in search of paper
to collect. Like many in the favela she had many concerns, the most
prominent being her children. Carolina constantly worried about the
safety and well being of her children. She doubted whether her ways
of protecting them would be effective enough to keep them away from
the bad influences in the Favela. Later in the journal she explains
that her son Joao is accused of rape, she knows hes innocent but
once more shes given another reason to worry. Carolina expresses
her immense fear of not being able to provide for her children.
This is made clear when she takes acknowledges the fact that she
lives an extremely worrisome life. She carries paper, washes
clothes, and rarely has time to be home, yet she still lacks so
much. (De Jesus, 4) Although she was surrounded by what seemed like
a never ending cycle of stress, Carolina had many hopes and
aspirations. She hoped that one day she would find a home far from
the favela environment. When Carolina writes she escapes the
present. She is able to experience her dreams and aspirations. She
dreams of a home in which she can live in peace with her family.
She stated that when she wrote she thought of living in a golden
castle that shined in the
show more content
It seemed that
Favelados had given up and settled for the life they were given.
They either knew the politicians would never do much for the
impoverished or secretly hoped that someone would eventually help
them. If there had been a revolutionary leader similar to Fidel
Castro, only then would the impoverished have a chance to rise
against the extreme inequality. (De Jesus, preface Vll) Carolina
could have represented that leader. If she had gained the support
of all the favelados there could have been a potential revolution.
She was strong but was also full of bitterness and discontent. It
is as though she carried the displeasure of an entire population.
It has often been stated that dissatisfaction usually leads to
rebellion. The favelados were similar to the people of Mexico that
expressed this discontent through revolution. (Charlip & Burns,
192) Child in the Dark also shows traces of The House of the
Spirits. Much like Clara Del Valle, Carolina represented the
missing piece of the puzzle. She represented the hope that so many
favelados lacked. She showed aspects that others in the favela had
stopped possessing. She was caring and giving towards others even
if she herself had so little. This was seen when Carolina was on
her way to sell the paper she collected and noticed the
African
Americanman that was on the ground. Even though
she
Other samples, services and questions:
When you use PaperHelp, you save one valuable — TIME
You can spend it for more important things than paper writing.
