A theme that hasn't been discussed in any of the novels since Danticat's was that of education; particularly a young girl's experience with it. Like Sophie, the act of getting an education was thrust upon Mary as something expected and decided for her. However, unlike Sophie, Mary didn't stand for such control despite the opportunities she knew she would lose if she stopped her education. Throughout her memoir, especially the beginning, her experiences at boarding school (the place Mary and her siblings must go after being ripped from her grandparents' care) are anything but positive. Mary does not conform in the same way that other girls both in and out of her family did; and she had a very difficult time breaking away from the culture she wanted to carry and the one being pushed upon her. Mary was strong like her Native American female ancestors and she didn't want that to be brain washed out of her.
On page 40, Mary announces the day that she is to quit school. She says, "Today I quit school. I'm not taking any more of this...None of this treatment. Better give me my diploma. I can't waste any more time on you people," which indicates that, not only does Mary wish to further separate herself from white Christians, but also that the education she receives at school is not the kind that her personality needs. Just like the teacher she punched in the face, Mary wanted more respect despite being young and inexperienced. However, although Mary was proud of her decision to quit and never look back, closing that door opened others that were not as pleasant. I feel that her quitting also fractured her imperfect family as she was going to have to continually struggle in bridging her two cultural worlds. Note that many times throughout the memoir, Mary uses the day she quit school as a key point in her timeline; and I believe that's because she knows it was a fork in a road she could never look back on after that day.
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