The author’s choice in conveying this work of literature through a graphic novel was a very interesting choice. I believe by choosing this medium he was able to convey a lot more as it provided not only a setting but also much more emotion. Typically, authors describe the setting through their diction, but as it is not concrete or given visually, it remains open-ended and different from people’s perspectives. However, graphics, not only helps portray the setting but helps to emphasize certain aspects such as how closed in the center feels with the shading and cross-hatching, or how bland/bad their conditions are with the lack of color. By including other people’s faces the illustrator was also able to convey to the reader, their emotions which would likely do much more than words can describe. They even went as far as including pictures drawn by those detained in the center to illustrate their feelings, which provides a deeper and better insight into their feelings rather than a possibly inaccurate/misinterpreted translation.

“Still, why did people think that they should share the most life-changing news during a meal? Had they been biding their time, waiting for a moment when the other person was sitting in a public place with a mouth full of food and couldn’t scream?” (Edwidge 4).

At this point, the narrator discusses how in her mother’s restaurant, people tend to share news or discuss important topics while they eat. Whether it is a declaration of love, telling their parents they are pregnant, or even discussing a dying father, it is very interesting on how people choose certain settings to disclose this information with their loved ones. I also find it relatable in the sense that my family and I do the same thing, whether it is talking about our days or even just announcing events and such, I find that eating brings a sense of togetherness and bonding as cliché as it may sound. The narrator’s take on the choosing of the setting is intriguing as well as it can also be seen that way; a public space, where people are to conduct themselves in an orderly manner, have food in their mouths so they cannot speak out loud, just like how her mother explicitly chose the corner in the restaurant to talk about her father.

“…but in the Earthquake … the library building was damaged … soon after a sign was placed on the front of the building saying, THIS BUILDING WAS DAMAGED IN THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1974. REPAIRS ARE PENDING. The sign hands there, and hangs there more than a decade later, with its unfulfilled promise of repair…” (Kincaid 8-9)

The symbolism affiliated with the library represented really stood out among the novel for me. Especially with the how the rest of the novel is set up to introduce the problems and corruption in the post-colonial Antigua. The library really serves to represent how even decades after the natural disaster, this library, a representation of education and a place for children to go to, is still not fixed. This amplifies how corrupt the Antigua government was, not even sparing funds to fix a library, only for themselves. Additionally, it showed how they did not care for the schools or education of people as Kincaid references how the schools are so run down, a tourist would not even expect it to be a school had it not been for the sign.

“They left, and time’s shape was restored. They’d taken my wallet and my phone. I sat on the road in silence, bewildered, thinking it could have been worse, thinking too, that it had been inevitable,” (Cole 193).

I thought this passage from the novel stood out as it appears to be ironic and relatable for me. Julius believes this encounter to be “inevitable” as he had thought that at some point in time he would be harmed in some way, in this case through a robbery. However, he in a way “makes light” of the situation thinking that things could have gone worse. This was ironic to me as at the same time he is being pessimistic in thinking that something like this would eventually happen to him, yet it is not the worse that he could have experienced, thinking in a glass half-full way. In the same way, I have similar thinking too as I believe when bad events occur it is a part of life yet there are always worse case scenarios, and it causes one to think, when is something truly the worst possible scenario? Or when can one truly accept their situation rather than compare it to other situations?

“…by the time I came to the United States, three years later, I had no serious intention of writing to him, or anyone else. The promise to write had simply been a gesture of respect, an acknowledgement of the fact that once, when we were in our early teens, we’d been close, and even for a brief moment best friends,” (Cole 143).

While some may interpret this scene as insensitive, I found this to be very relatable on the human level. After we graduate from middle school or high school we promise to stay in touch with classmates and friends but tend to move on or forget to contact them. There are always some instances where people reconcile with others in the future and then promise to keep in contact but this usually falls short. To me this illustrates the self-isolation of the human and how even though we are social creatures, we still isolate ourselves for some reason which fascinates me. I also enjoyed this scene as it helps to humanize the character to a relatable level as we have had these things happen to us where we meet an old acquaintance, possibly forget their name, promise to keep in touch, but end up forgetting.

“And so when I began to go on evening walks last fall, I found Morningside Heights an easy place from which to set out into the city … These walks, a counterpoint to my busy days at the hospital, steadily lengthened, taking me farther and farther afield each time, so that I often found myself at quite a distance from home late at night…” (Page 1)

This particular passage stood out to me in a number of ways. Not only did it help to set up the following reading but also applied greatly to my real life. In the reading, the narrator talks about going on several wondering walks throughout the city in which he recalls things he sees or conversations he has. However, at the same time, he still feels a slight disconnection from his surroundings despite being so surrounded by it. There is somehow a dissociation between the people which I find to be intriguing and very true. I found this passage to be very relatable to me as at times, after school, I would just wander around the area and keep walking until I come to my senses as if I was on autopilot. Especially as a city filled with so many people yet feeling dissociated, this passage is very intriguing and relatable for me.

“Imagine inviting yourself to tea…it would be lovely to add a decent title: Miss Grace…
Fiona, the woman said…No I don’t want to be called Miss McAllister…she even tried to kiss Grace, that puff-puff kind of kissing that the white people do.” (26)

I found the juxtaposition between the women with their way of conversating and conventions within the story to be very intriguing. For instance, on one hand, Grace believes that to address people you should put either a Miss in front of the name or call them by their last name to be formal. On the other hand, Fiona insists on using first names. Additionally, there is the way that Fiona thinks it is alright to invite herself over to one’s house for tea or is fine with more intimate-like actions which Grace sees as intruding. The author notably portrays this difference in their ideologies and etiquette in two separate, but intriguing ways. With Grace the author conveys her thoughts while Fiona’s are what she says and her actions. I thought this way of comparing these two women were really interesting yet subtle.

“The room must have a feeling of narrow confinement; the windows are permanently closed and set high up as though in a prison cell. There is a door leading out to the waiting room. This door is kept shut…Do you always keep the window shut like this? …Even your door is locked… you’re locked in your own mental prison.”

I thought this short introduction and quotations were interesting additions to the play as they all led up to and contributed to this reoccurring theme of prison. The inclusion of this, to me, represented the thought that the psychiatrist, Dr. Dan Kerry was in a figurative prison of his own, even after being born into a work of servitude which can be considered as literal prison. Within the text, it was mentioned that the doctor had himself, chosen to put minimal decorations up in his “office”, and after reading the end led me to believe he chose to put himself in a physical prison or one that represented his mental state. This physical prison was his office, displayed by the bareness and always shut windows/door, then there was the mental prison. He shut himself out to the probability of ever seeing anyone from his “past life”, when he was a servant and did not even think of the possibility that the woman he was speaking to was the girl from then. It was the fact that Dr. Kerry had escaped somehow from servitude, a physical prison to become a prominent African American psychiatrist only to wind up putting himself into another prison, only this time of his choosing which was an interesting reoccurring theme to me.

“I want to make this spell open to others.
And not limit it.
To the loss, grief and hope that has marked my own life.
I want to open this spell or offer it.
To anyone who needs it […]
That you don’t need a visa or cash or a ticket.
To cast this spell.”

This passage from Bhanu Kapil’s poem really stuck out and resonated with me as the poet conveys a slightly hopeful tone towards the audience. Despite all these horrible atrocities that arose from the partition of India such as the killings, and death, which was then passed on to future generations via memories/recollections, the poet explains that there is always an “escape”. Not to run away from these issues, but an “escape” as a means to relax, to find somewhere that one will not be haunted by such activities. Whether it is through your dreams or just going to a café and drinking some chai, one must always know that sometimes they should take a break or take their mind off such heavy thoughts.

I did not manage to learn or pick up on the background context of “Sorry”, so learning about what you have said helps piece the text in a more fluid way for me. I first had interpreted that the killer had mistaken the man for a person of another gender causing him to apologize. So, learning that the circumcision of men was what differentiated one from being Muslim or Hindu, clarifies the reasoning behind the apology. I would also have to agree with you in that the specific use of diction that the author chooses to use illustrates how ruthless the killer’s intentions are.

In response to your post on “The Return”, I would have to agree with you that the word choice played a significant role in being very subtle and confusing. It is understandable that the first read over would have the reader confused as to Sakina’s actions, but I think this subtlety and downplay of what happened to her helps amplify the severity of what had happened to her.

“The young woman on the stretcher moved slightly. Her hands groped for the cord which kept her salwar tied around her waist. With painful slowness, she unfastened it, pulled the garment down and opened her thighs.”

This passage of a slight action Sakina takes with untying her cloth and opening her thighs reveals what I believe to be numerous major points in the text. The first being that she had been raped by the men who were supposedly looking for her to return her to her father. This revelation illustrates how the ones you expect to help you, and trust in, tend to be the ones who end up letting you down in some form. This also led me to interpret the state at which the situation was in. With whatever event had taken place, this event had taken a severe toll on the surroundings; to the point where people who should be helping one another were simply helping themselves or doing things for their benefit. The fact that they had raped this girl only proved to show how there was also no worry towards the consequences of their actions, meaning there may be no presence of law enforcement as well, showing the disarray of the people. Another major point to me was that she had not even realized her father was there. She had essentially become so desensitized to the actions of the men that she was mindless in the sense that all she could do was take her clothing off and let whoever was speaking to her have their way.