Future in my arms

Essay ( non _ fiction ) By Haitian American writer Edwidge Danticat

Identity
Sharing experiences
Gratitude and responsibility.

I had never held any living thing so tiny in my hands. Six pounds and one
ounce, lighter than my smallest dumbbell was my newborn niece, her face
bright pink, her eyes tightly shut, her body coiled around itself in a fetal
position, still defiantly resisting the world into which she’d just been thrust.
I had been awaiting her birth with feverish anticipation; I was going away for
the summer, and I didn’t want to leave before she was born, only to come back
eight weeks later and find that she had grown accustomed to most things in
the world except her only auntie on her father’s side, the sole woman child in
a family of men, who all her life had dreamed of having a sister.

What do lines 1–9 reveal about Danticat’s attitude toward children, especially her
niece? Cite details.
1. Which statement about the author’s feelings is best supported by the
following passage (paragraph 1)?

I had never held any living thing so tiny in my hands. Six pounds and one
ounce, lighter than my smallest dumbbell was my newborn niece, her face
bright pink, her eyes tightly shut, her body coiled around itself in a fetal
position, still defiantly resisting the world into which she’d just been thrust. I
had been awaiting her birth with feverish anticipation; I was going away for
the summer, and I didn’t want to leave before she was born, only to come
back eight weeks later and find that she had grown accustomed to most
things in the world except her auntie on her father’s side, the sole woman
child in a family of men, who all her life had dreamed of having a sister.
Answer choices for the above question
A. Her niece’s birth is meaningful to her because she’d always wanted
another girl in the family.
B. She is worried that her baby niece is underweight and in need of
immediate medical attention
C. She changed her plans in order to wait for her niece’s late birth.
D. All of the above..

1. Which definition of anticipation most closely matches its meaning in the

following passage (paragraph 1)?

I had been awaiting her birth with feverish anticipation; I was going away
for the summer, and I didn’t want to leave before she was born, only to come
back eight weeks later and find that she had grown accustomed to most
things in the world except her auntie on her father’s side, the sole woman
child in a family of men, who all her life and dreamed of having a sister.
Answer choices for the above question
 A. noun | a feeling of intense fear or dread,
B. noun | a feeling of suspense or excitement
C. adjective | being easily distracted.
D. verb | to increase in temperature.

1. Which of the following selections best summarizes the essay?

Answer choices for the above question
A. The author longs to have a niece because she was the only woman
among her siblings..
B. The author’s niece is born.
C. After witnessing the birth of her niece, the author reflects on many of
the challenges facing young expectant mothers in the 21st century.
D. After experiencing the birth of her niece, the author reflects on the
significance of the moment in the context of her own life.

1. In the essay’s final paragraph the author most closely feels .

Though Nadira and my soon-to-arrive nephew were not created specifically

with me in mind, I felt as though they were the most magical gifts that could
have ever blessed my thirtieth year of life. Humbled by my responsibility to
them, I silently promised their parents that for the next thirty years and the
thirty after that, my heart and soul would be their children’s repozwa, a
sacred place where they would always find rest.
Answer choices for the above question
A. a sense of responsibility
B. grateful
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B

1. Which of these inferences about the author’s first reaction to her infant niece
is best supported by the text?
Answer choices for the above question
A. The author is amazed and in awe of the miracle in front of her.
B. The author is dumbfounded; she has no idea how to hold or care for
the baby.
 C. The author wishes her niece had more feminine influences in her life..
D. The author immediately sees the resemblance between the infant and
her father.

1. Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the correct answer to

Question 5?
Answer choices for the above question
A. “I had never held any living thing so tiny in my hands.
B. “Six pounds and one ounce, lighter than my smallest dumbbell was
my newborn niece, her face bright pink, her eyes tightly shut, her body
coiled around itself in a fetal position, still defiantly resisting the world into
which she’d just been thrust.
C. “I had been awaiting her birth with feverish anticipation . .
D. “You are now the proud aunt of Nadira Amahs Danticat. Her name
means, ‘She who God has chosen.’”

1. The author is concerned about young Nadira’s future mainly because .

Answer choices for the above question
A. she knows that growing up in a family full of so many men is not easy
B. there isn’t good medical care in the area
C. she doesn’t think her brother Andre is ready to be a father to the
young girl
D. she knows the trials and difficulties that life will

1. Which sentence from the text most strongly supports the correct answer to

Question 7?
Answer choices for the above question
A. “That day, when we lined up for a glance, a touch, a picture, and tried
to imagine a life for Nadira in a new country, we each made our own silent
promises not to let her face that new world alone
B. “Looking back on my own thirty years, having crossed many borders,
loved and lost my family and friends, young and old, to time, migrations,
illnesses, I couldn’t help but worry for Nadira, and for my nephew yet to be
born.”
 C. “I wanted to tell her parents that though I had never held any living
thing so tiny in my hands, I had never held anything so grand either, a
bundle so elaborately complex and yet fragile, encompassing both our past
and our future.”.
D. “Though Nadira and my soon-to-arrive nephew were not created
specifically with me in mind, I felt as though they were the most magical
gifts that could have ever blessed my thirtieth year of life.

I wanted to read her lines from Sonia Sanchez’s “Poem

at Thirty”: “i am here waiting / remembering that / once as a child / i walked
two / miles in my sleep. / did i know / then where i / was going? / traveling.
i’m always traveling. / i want to tell / you about me . . . / here is my hand.”

What significance might these lines of poetry have for Danticat?

What do Danticat’s promises suggest about her beliefs concerning the

responsibility adults have
toward children?
Are there ahead for them wars, a depression, a holocaust, a new civil-rights
struggle as there were for those children born at the dawn of the last century?
Will they have to face the colonization of new planets, genetic cloning, new
forms of slavery, and other nightmares we have yet to imagine? Will we, their
tiny village, give them enough love and assurance to help them survive, thrive,
and even want to challenge those things?

Reread lines 62–67. Notice how Danticat poses a series of rhetorical questions
about the future to prompt readers to share her concern.

Though Nadira and my soon-to-arrive nephew were not created specifically

with me in mind, I felt as though they were the most magical gifts that could
ever have blessed my thirtieth year of life. Humbled by my responsibility to
them, I silently promised their parents that for the next thirty years and the
thirty after that, my heart and soul would be their children’s repozwa, a sacred
place where they would always find rest.

Paraphrase the conclusion of the essay using your own words while emphasizing
the theme of the essay and the author’s perspective?
How would you describe Danticat’s relationship with her family? What role
does she play? Cite evidence from the text in your answer.

 Why had Danticat been so anxious to meet her niece as soon as she was
born? Explain her reasoning, using evidence from the text to support your
answer.

Based on this brief text, what do we know about the author’s life? Where does
she live, and what might she do for a living? Be sure to use examples from the
text to support your inferences.
Interpreting the Literature: Read the lines below from the story. What does Danticat mean when she
states that the baby Nadira embodies “both our past and our future”? Support your response with
evidence from the essay.

9. Text Criticism in a Social Context: How do your community’s perspectives on the responsibility of
adults toward children compare with those in this
essay? Think about the role of institutions like parks, schools, daycare facilities, and neighborhood watch
programs in your area. What role do neighbors
and extended families have in the care of children. Provide evidence to support your evaluation.

10. Enduring Understanding: Now that you have read this essay and thought about the perspectives of
Danticat and the grown-ups in your own community
regarding adults responsibility to young people, what do you think the community owes its children?
Does it take a village to raise a healthy, wellrounded

child? Explain your answer in one to two paragraphs, using evidence to support your conclusion.