KK Quiz 3 Part 2 -- Reflective Paper

In my group, I play the role of young Caroline in Caroline's wedding. The scene happens on the day after the day in New York Day Women chapter. I am not the main character, but I tried my best to represent this character. 

In the second scene, I started by sitting in a bench in New York Central Park, waiting for New York day woman to come. The whole scene happens on the bench, as a result, there is no blocking. When I was acting, I added many body movements. I was sitting on the left side of the bench, swinging my leg, then New York Day Woman comes to sit on my right. Before I act this scene, I considered Caroline is only about 10 years old, so her acts need to show her age. Many other actions like hand waving and looking up to think are also used to show Caroline's immature.  To be faithful to the original,  I tried not to move my left arm since Caroline only has one forearm. The reason why I chooses to move my right arm is that there is a part when I tell New York Day Woman a secret. I need to show audiences my whole face, so when using my right arm, it won't hide my face when I whisper in her ear. Beside my actions, I also focused on my voice and my words. I spoke softly, used words like Granny and um that many adults won't use.  

In the book, Krik? Krak!, it doesn't mention much about Caroline's childhood. So my partner and I put Caroline in the chapter New York Day Women. In this way, these three characters not only can be linked together, it can also show the theme that all Haitians are friend and take care of each other. Immigrants always tend to be friend with people who come from the same country as they do. So let New York Day Woman takes care of baby Caroline makes sense. A part of my script, which is Caroline’s parents all went to a funeral of Haitians, also shows this theme. Also, the relationship between New York Day Woman and her daughter is considerable. In the book, her daughter is kind of envious about the kids who were taken care by her mom, because those children share love with her. But in our scene, Caroline is just her mom’s friend’s young child who doesn’t take her mom’s love away at all. New York Day Woman’s daughter’s attitude changes from jealous to understanding. 

Background info on Endgame

Endgame:---chess (end of game)/ominous/in French: end of life.

Author:

Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989. He was regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th Century. First language is English, French is his second language. He experienced WWII, and fought with the resistance. He has saw many death. Endgame is his favorite play.

Director:

Gordon Edelstein. He has dreamed to direct this play for years, but he didn't start until he find the right actor.  

plot: 

• 4 main Characters: 
• Hamm--blind-always setting in a wheelchair/armchair-can not stand-stay in center stage.
• Clov- servant-son-can't sit-always moving around on the stage. He is totally opposite to Hamm.
• Hamm's parents: (absurd) Negg (father) and Nell (mother): wax/formal clothes+live in trash can-don't move

theme: (reflect author's personal experience)

• Questioning the meaning of life.
• Will Clov leave Hamm or not.
• post-apocalyptic
• Dependent

theater style: 

• black box
• gives audiences question to think instead of giving an answer. 
• Uses exaggerated technique to express emotions. Not very realistic. 

Scene script

Setting: The New York day woman (Haitian) takes care of Caroline(8 year-old) on the weekend. New York day woman is Caroline’s parents’ friend. Caroline is too young to go to Haitian funeral, so her parents ask New York day woman to take care of her for a day in New York Central Park.

Character:

Nancy: New York Day woman（M)

Betty: New York Day woman's daughter (D)

Chantelle: Caroline in Caroline’s wedding (C)

Scene One:

At night New York Day Woman’s daughter talks with her mom about the job---

D: Mom, I saw you take care of little kids in Central  Park today. When did you start to do this?

M: (Hesitate for a while) Well, you don’t need to know that much.

D: Fine, mom. I just want to tell you that I don’t need to go to work tomorrow. So... I’ll come with you.

M: (sigh) I bet you don’t, but it’s up to you. I agreed to help my friend take care of her little daughter tomorrow. It might be busy.

Scene two:

Next day---

(Nancy and Betty come to Central Park. Chantelle is already there)

M: Hi sweety. How are you?

(Nancy sits down along with Chantelle. Betty stands behind Nancy, keeping a fair distance and looking at Chantelle)

C: Great. Granny! Um… Who are you? (Chantelle speaks and turns to Betty)

B: I am her daughter. Nice to meet you.  (eye rolling)

（Nancy looks at Betty furiously)

C: Oh! Hi! I am Caroline! Welcome to join us today!(wave hand to Betty，swing legs)

(face back to Nancy) Granny, mom made bone soup this morning! AGAIN!

M: That’s fine. It’s good for you. (Nancy strikes Chantelle’s hair)

C: But I think I’m done with it! Oh, Granny, I wanna tell you a secret!

M: Oh! What's that?

(Chantelle sits closer to Nancy, whisper in Nancy’s ear)

C: I prayed last night. I wish my arm can grow overnight.

(Betty leans forward, noticing Chantelle’s empty sleeve, Betty is shocked)

M: Oh sweetie, I believe one day those little fairies will hear you.

     (Nancy puts one hand into her pocket, looking for something)

Here’s a soda for you!

C: Thank you!

(take the lollipop by one hand)

M: Where are your parents? Yesterday your mom told me she would pick you up at 6.

C: Um...Mom said they need to go to a ceremony... Um... for some dead people! It’s really important she said, and they will come back during afternoon.

M: Is your sister doing ok?

C: Yes. She is outside with mom and dad.

D( aside to mom): Is it the ceremony for Haitians?

M: Yes it is.

Scene Three:

Back home---

(Betty gives mom a glass of water)

D: Mom, what happened to Caroline’s forearm?

M: It is all this evil capitalism’s fault.

D: Why?

M: As I told you before...Many of Haitians who came to this country, trying to seek for hope… We were arrested because we came here illegally…. Caroline’s mom and I met each other in prison. When she came in, she was manic, so guardians locked her up alone. Although she was pregnant, they still gave her a shot in order to calm her down. God knows what kind of poison was inside that shot. The next time I saw Caroline and her mom, that baby’s sleeve was already empty.

D: Oh, poor Caroline. But lucky.

M: How come?

D:(Speak to Nancy) Nothing.

  (Nancy exits)

  (Betty silently walks away, facing back to Nancy and says to herself) Caroline has her parents’ love, but you give your love to those kids you’ve taken care of.  

Blog post#8

All Characters in Krik? Krak! have a really tight relationship with the author, Danticat. As a new American immigrant who comes from Haiti, she writes her own experience inside the stories from different narrator’s words. In her book, the stories she tells are not only anecdote, but also the untold history.

There are many characters in this book and each of them are related to each other. Their relationship is more then relatives, they are the miniature of Danticat’s memories, and the miniature of a period of history. She tells stories that she heard from her mom when she “sit in the corners and braid hair”. The silent words were telling by generation through each pin of hair. These stories are not just someone’s experience. They are about love, about Haitian’s painful life under war, about social phenomenon, and parents love to their kids.

“Krik? Krak!” is what Hatians say before they tell stories. As in the Epilogue says: “You hear this scraping from her. Krik? Krak! Pencil, paper. It sounds like someone crying.” Women in Haiti are staying in the lowest class in their society. They are like the accessory of men. Without enough education, they are not able to get a job with good salary. In the vicious cycle of oppressing the statue of women, they change from being oppressing by men to oppressing other women. They educate their daughters to not enjoy their sex after married and not to write books. As Danticat’s mom said: "With scribbles on paper that are not worth the scratch of a pig's snout. The sacrifices had been too great" Many women before Danticat are just like her mom. They take care of the family, clean the house, feed the kids, and watch their husbands sleep with prostitute. Just like the day women in the Night Women who ruin things they made during the day and start over again on the next day. Their lives have been stupor. However, a common appearance is that they all sacrifice them selves to give their children a better future. Not only the day women do, but also the night women, as mother, they would always rather ruin their own reputation. This secretly but greatly love is fully manifested under Danticat’s writing.

For those weak Haitian women, kitchen is their heaven, but for Danticat, pencil is her weapon. She gets out of the fetter for women, and writes down the truth. Even though she is unacceptable in her country, she is the icon of women’s self-liberation. Through her words, the darkness of history was revealed. Women, children, immigrants, and all those poor Haitians hard life are shown in front of us. Danticat’s present accomplishment is based on many previous women’s work: “There are nine hundred and ninety-nine women who went before you and worked their fingers to coconut rind so you can stand here before me holding that torn old notebook that you cradled against your breast like your prettiest Sunday braids.” Their sacrifice is known by the world outside through author’s stories; their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

In class acting and script

The New York day woman took care of Caroline when she was young.
Nancy: NY Day woman
Betty: Her daughter
Chantelle: Caroline in Caroline’s wedding




At night daughter talks with her mother about her job---
D: Mom, I saw you take care of little kids in the park today. Did you do this job for a long time?
M: Well, you don’t need to know that much.
D: Fine, mom, I just wanna tell you, I don’t need to go to work tomorrow then I’ll come with you.
M: (sigh) I bet you don’t wanna do that, but it’s up to you.


Next day---
M: Hey sweet. How are you~
C: Great. Granny. I had bone soup this morning! AGAIN!
M: That’s fine. It’s good for you.
C: Granny, I wanna tell you a secret!
M: Oh! What's that?
C: I prayed last night. I wish my arm can grow overnight.
M: Oh sweetie, I believe one day those little fairies will hear you.
      Here’s a lollipop for you!
C: Thank you!
M: Where are your parents?
C: Mom said they need to go to a ceremony... um for some dead people! It’s really important they said, and they will come back during afternoon.
M: Is your sister doing ok?
C: Yes. She is outside with mom and dad!
D( aside to mom): Is it the ceremony for Haitians?
M: yes it is.


Back home---
(Give mom a glass of water)
D: Mom, what’s wrong with that little girl’s forearm?
M: Her mother took shot in prison while she was pregnant. And that caused her disability.
D: Why?
M: Many of us. Many of us who are Haitian immigrants…... We were arrested for some reason, and Caroline’s mother was already pregnant at that time. You know, they tried to calm her down.
D: Oh, poor kid. But lucky.
M: How come?
D:(Speak to mom) Nothing.
   (silent)you’ll never understand, all those kids you’ve taken care of.. take you away. ....From me.

Setting: happened in New York Day woman's house and Central Park. New York day woman and her daughter came to visit little Caroline on weekend.