Setting

Physical setting

The story “Aline’s Journey” by Edwidge Danticat takes place in the town of Sayira, Haiti, on a boat at sea, and finally, in the Bahamas and in Miami, USA. 

Aline’s house in Sayira is described as “a two-room concrete house (…) the pebbly road out front leads to the sea” (p. 12, ll. 4-5). This increases the danger of flooding when it rains. The small and unstable house represents the family’s modest financial situation, as well as their unstable situation in Haiti.

The journey by boat initially takes place on a calm sea (p. 13, l. 32), perhaps suggesting the calm before the metaphorical storm. To Aline, the sea appears vast and empty: “There’s nothing ahead of us except the deep blue of the sea and the chalky white clouds in the sky” (p. 14, ll. 1-2), perhaps foreshadowing her thoughts at the end as she thinks about “the vast emptiness that our lives have become” (p. 16, ll. 37-38). She is thirsty and seasick during the journey, which also foreshadows the uncomfortable situation she will find herself in. 

The story also mentions a beach in Miami, where the people are arrested and told to wait for the bus. Aline do...