Breath, Eyes, Memory

Narrator and Point of View

The narrator of the novel is Sophie so the story is narrated from a first
person subjective point of view.

Foreshadowing
When Sophie moves to New York, she is shown into her new rom by her
mother. There, Sophie sees a picture from when she was a baby and
realizes that she doesn’t resemble her relatives at all. This scene
foreshadows Martine’s secret about Sophie’s father.

Understatement
Sophie remembers Atie saying that she was born out of rose petals and
water and the image portrayed here has the role of making Sophie
believe that her birth was a happy event for her mother and for the rest
of the family. This however proves to be an understatement as it is later
revealed the conditions in which Sophie was conceived were less than
desirable.

Allusions
In the fourth chapter, Martine tells Sophie that Atie and her put all their
hopes in the little girl and that they hope that Sophie will be more
successful than they were. This makes allusion to the idea that more
than often, immigrant parents put a great pressure on their children to be
more successful than them. The parents make sacrifices for their
children and instead they expect their children to be something more
than they were, to have a better future and a better life.

Imagery
America is the land where many people go feeling that they will find a
better, more stable and happy life for themselves. For many, America
represents all the opportunities they could never have should have they
remained in their own country. Martine recognizes this when she admits
that her relationship with Marc would have never been possible if she
were to remain in Haiti. Thus, America is portrayed here as the land of
opportunities, the land of dreams and freedom.

Paradox
Marc is presented in a paradoxical way and the reason behind this is
that Marc is placed somewhere in the middle of being a Haitian and an
American. Marc is a successful Haitian who made a name and wealth
for himself. Despite integrating himself easily in the American society, he
searches obsessively for the authentic Haitian experience, be it food or
culture. Because he is successful, Marc feels as if he doesn’t belong
anywhere: he is not really an American but he is not a Haitian either and
this uncertainty makes him feel tense.

Parallelism
The first thing Sophie does when she reaches New York is to compare
the life she knew in Haiti with the new life she will have to endure in New
York. The first parallel he draws is between Atie and Martine and the
reader is led to believe that Sophie favours Atie over her birth mother.
While Atie is described as being vibrant, full of life and warm, Martine is
the complete opposite. Martine was affected by the life she had to
endure on the new continent and her physical appearance was deeply
influenced by her struggles. Next, Sophie compares the house in which
she used to live in Haiti with the apartment building where her mother
lives. If her house in Haiti is the perfect image of happiness, the building
in New York, covered in graffiti and gloom looking makes Sophie feel
even more homesick.

Synecdoche (a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa)

When Martine talks about men she usually refers to the man who raped
her.

Personification
''Marc belonged to her present life, I was a living memory from her past.''