Mónica Medina
English Comp. II
Jan.27.2019
"Tétiyette and The Devil"
When analyzing the short story
of Tétiyette and the Devil, I believe the author is trying to send a clear
message not just about toxic relationships but also about the importance of
taking advice from our wiser parents. The author utilizes symbolic characters
to represent the men who are trying to gain Tétiyette’s love. She is trying to
give us an understanding on why Tétiyette is not interested in the first two
candidates, by portraying them as a goat and a pig. If translating these
animals to men, these are not pictured as attractive, nor practical for a young
girl like Tétiyette. We can see the patterns the author is pushing when all three
of the candidates go to Tétiyette’s home asking for the same thing, a glass of
water. I perceive this as her showing us, that in life we may have different
people approach us in the same ways, yet we choose who we pay attention to
judging by appearance or looks. Then, we may be missing out on what might
benefit us, for deciding not to give everyone an equal opportunity. The
symbolic mean of the devil is very important in this story because as well as
in life, lots of people are not who they seem to be. They may act or portray to
be a good person, yet behind closed doors they may be an abuser, or even worse.
Tétiyette, only like many people in life is so focused on material things,
looks and appearance, that they overlook all the red flags and warnings that
they may encounter. The author uses Tétiyette’s mom to show us this, when
she says “Tétiyette, no man can be that beautiful!” (Anonymous 2). In that
quote, we see that her mom’s intuition of the devil does not fail. This part of
the story to me has incredible meaning because if Tétiyette had listed to her
mother nor deceived her, she would not have ended up in the situation she did.
It reflects as her way of telling us that we should always listen to our
parents and follow their advice, for which they have lived longer and are
wiser. The use of Tétiyette as a young girl is also brilliant. It targets the
audience of young girls and young women directly. She wants these young women
to open their eyes to life and to the deceptions it can throw our way. The
author uses a song as the cry for help from Tétiyette. Although she pleads to
both parents, their disappointment keeps them from rescuing their daughter, and
it’s not until she pleads to her brother, that she gets rescued. This way they may
learn how to catch these red flags in time and understand that when they ignore
them, like Tétiyette when the slime oozed out, we might have a hard time
finding who can help us get out of the conditions we naively put ourselves in.
…………..…………...
Anonymous. “Tétiyette and the
Devil.” Green
Cane and Juicy Flotsam: Short Stories by Caribbean Women, Rutgers University
Press, 1991, p. 2.
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