Danticat, "The Book of the Dead"

Read the introduction to Contemporary Literature in the textbook (886-905). In your notes, write the elements on Postmodern Literature from p. 899.

“The Book of the Dead”, Edwidge Danticat (1048)

Answer the following questions :

• What basic irony is at the heart of this story--how is Annie's father the opposite of the heroic figure she admired? 
• At the beginning of the story, what does the sculpture symbolize for Annie? What does the same sculpture symbolize for Gabrielle Fonteneau? 
• Explain the dramatic irony that builds during the luncheon at the Fonteneaus' house. In other words, what do we know the the Fonteneaus do not? 
• On a non-literal level, what does the title of the story mean? How would you state the story's theme--what truth about life does it reveal? 
• What features of Contemporary Literature are shown in this story?