Freedom in a corrupt country is nearly impossible for impoverished civilians. Krik? Krak! is a compilation of short stories about the experiences of fictional Haitians living under an abusive new regime. Danticat illustrates that hope gives Haitians the ability to cope with their oppression and poverty. Each story represents various aspects of hope. Hope provides solace from oppression and poverty whether Haitians are in Haiti or at sea. Danticat demonstrates this in Children of The Sea, in which many people are stuck on a crudely made boat sailing toward Miami. The main characters, a teenage boy and girl, write unsent letters to one another. The boat is unseaworthy and waterlogged. They are scooping water out to prevent sinking. Everything…show more content… Danticat illustrates this in A Wall of Fire Rising, in which Guy, an unemployed husband and father is called up for a day job at a sugarcane factory. He thinks it is a beneficial job opportunity. Soon finding out he will clean bathrooms and that he is still on a waiting list to be hired. Guy had been looking at a balloon in the sky and felt that things could be better. “Sometimes, I just want to take that big balloon and ride it up in the air. I’d like to sail off somewhere and keep floating until I got to a really nice place with a nice plot of land where I could be something new… Just something new,” (Danticat, 61). As the days passed, he was more hopeful in a false way. With little job opportunity, Guy’s hope perishes. He feels that his life is worthless. His way of finding freedom from all that dragged him down was death; “Within seconds, Guy was in the air hurtling down towards the crowd… He crashed not far from where Lili and the boy were standing, his blood immediately soaking the landing spot. The balloon kept floating free, drifting on its way to brighter shores,” (Danticat, 65). The balloon is a symbol for Guy’s freedom. He is self-ruling and no longer brought down by his job. All of his limitations are gone. Guy, a once unemployed husband and father, is now floating free, finding brighter