Elena Munk's Blog ASTU 100

In Dany Laferriere’s The World Is Moving Around Me he discusses his thoughts regarding Haiti’s reputation and how it is portrayed to the rest of the world. Based upon some of the sections we talked about in class on Thursday, I compared it to a Ted Talk that I had to watch for a Sociology assignment. It is by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called “The Danger of a Single Story” and talks about how many people only have one idea of what a certain group, ethnicity, country, person, etc. should be like. These stereotypes are heavily based upon stories that are chosen to share and the media (Adichie).

In “Semantic Battle” in The World Is Moving Around Me, Laferriere talks about the way Haiti is perceived by the rest of the world, mostly synonymous with “poverty” and “corruption” (74-76). He then discusses the history behind Haiti, for example how they gained their independence and how that information often gets ignored (75-76). Haiti is viewed only as a country with constant issues which is their “single story”, in what the media portrays them as. Adichie describes a time when her roommate had a “single story” about her, which that since she is from Nigeria, her English is surprisingly good or listens to “tribal music”, even though as she explains English is one of Nigeria’s national languages and she listens to modern pop music (Adichie). She stresses the point that literature and media play a very important role in how the outside world treats and views others (Adichie). This can be connected to how Laferriere’s book includes not just the event of the earthquake, but memories and stories involving family and friends, as opposed to a third party’s view of the experience. He wishes to show how Haiti is more than what the rest of the world deems it to be. Chantal Guy and Ivanoh Demers in “January 11”, seem to somewhat break this need for ‘one’ viewpoint, by asking for Laferriere’s own story and history in regards to Haiti (131-132).

This concept of “single stories” shapes Laferriere’s writing because he seems to feel affected by the negative portrayal of Haiti. It is shown as a ‘weaker’ country and he tries to counter that by showing the strength of the people in the midst of a tragic event, by the stories he chooses to share. He also gives a background on the people he includes and introduces, creating a network of characters, exhibiting their own experiences both in life and after the earthquake. By calling attention to these people and their life works he also opens up to the reader a number of Haitians that have their own works (and art) that a reader could possibly look up, like Dominique Batraville (114). While it may not be the ‘main’ focus of the book, Laferriere does work to change the judgements placed upon the Haitian people through his storytelling.

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” TED. N.p., July 2009. Web.

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en

Laferriere, Dany. The World Is Moving around Me: A Memoir of the Haiti Earthquake. Trans. David Homel. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp, 2013. Print.