Eves’s Guilt Essay, Research Paper
Eve s Guilt. Eve s Guilt Eve s Bayou an impressive film debut, written and directed by Kasi Lemmons is set in asmall Louisiana bayou town in the late 50s or early 60s, where the Batiste s, a well-to-dosouthern black family live. Eve s guilt is very much focussed on in this movie. Eve at age tenfelt that by wishing her father dead she was responsible for his death. This statement, asexpressed, turns out to be less literal than indicated by Eve s words …memory is a selection ofimages. Some elusive, some indelibly printed on the brain. The summer I killed My father, I wasten years old… In my interpretation, I feel Eve took responsibility for any bad event which happened inher familys life. This child showed wisdom beyond her ten years of age. She was a middlechild caught in the turmoil of an extremely dysfunctional family. This child grew up hard andfast learning negative instead of positive lessons, as when Aunt Mozelle who Is a psychic, told Eve that she would hurt her if she ever told any one about her fathers encounter with MatteMoreaux. Eve s father turned to alcohol and adulterous behavior to cope with the emotional effectsof a failing marriage and the loss of the respect and admiration of his wife. In the carriage housewith Matte Moreaux where Eve was awakened by her father and Mrs. Moreaux little encounter.Also when Eve and her father were in the young lady Steves bedroom and he told Eve to gooutside and play, as he closed the door to put a finger on the pain Steve had. Eve s hate for her father came out when Cicely told her about the encounter she had withher father which left Cicely withdrawn and Eve says, I ll kill him for hurting you and then
proceeded to initiate a voodoo curse to kill him. Eve went to the old psychic woman , withsome of her fathers hair and a twenty dollar bill to give the old woman for the curse of death tobe placed on her father. ( 1 ) Eve seemed to take on the responsibility for keeping the familys reality together. Evemany times throughout the story, becomes the parent figure instead of the ten year old little girlshe was. In the scene where Eve goes after her father in a bar which her mother should havedone, tried to keep him out of harms way. Also in trying to make her father leave before the jealous husband confronts him after he catches Eve s father and his wife .The man Mr. Moreauxis armed with a gun, which he uses to threaten Eve s father if he ever speaks to his wife again.In a drunken state her father is unable to keep his mouth shut, when Mr. Moreaux shoots Eve sfather in the chest , Eve feels responsible for his death because she could not stop it. In the end Eve has acquired the same powers as Mozelle and also a bit of knowledge intolife as she say s Truth changes color depending on the light . As when Eve touches Mozelle shands and she could not see into Eve s mind ,because of the anger and guilt. Eve s touch toCicely hand revealed a different vision than the letter to Mozelle that Eve s father left about theincident with Cicely. As Eve and Cicely buried the letter they also buried the hate and shame fortheir father. ( 2 ) ( 2 )