Analysis of Fireweed by Skye Brannon Essay Example

The short story ‘Fireweed’ was written by Skye Brannon and released in 2009. It tells the story of Baluta, a Liberian man who moved to America after his life was uprooted by war and now works as a carpenter. The story centers around him revisiting his traumatic past by seeing reminders throughout the day. 

Baluta is a Liberian immigrant who suffers from PTSD from past trauma. He immigrated to the US with his brother, Jato, and his sister-in-law, Sama, who lives with him in a ghetto. Baluta works as a carpenter; therefore, he got a job working for a woman named Tiffany to fix some cabinets. He is also of low income, but not as his family was in Liberia, where they lived in a shanty-town quilt (a slum) which is a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people. 

The fact that he is of low income is mainly illustrated by his car. Jota, Baluta’s brother, refers to it as the ‘Swiss Chevy’ because of its numerous holes. The attempts of some duct-tape patchwork and the whistling sounds it makes while driving clarify the state of it.

Baluta is clearly either not fluent in English, or he simply has an accent, which is evident in the way the "th" is replaced by a "d" when he speaks, “Okay, Miss. Dis is not a problem. I can fix dis today.” (p.3, line 84). This quote gives us an indication of his trouble speaking or him having an accent which is not surprising because he was born in another country. 

Baluta wants to fit in in this new world. He does that by changing his given name to a more American name. “He pulled a work shirt over his head. The name ‘Joel’ was simply embroidered over the heart” (p.1, l.10-11). The idea of changing his name was his brother’s. He said, “If you tell dem your Mandinka name, dey look like you’ve given dem a riddle. You tell dem, you name is Bo, and dey are all smiles.” (p.1, line 12-15). This shows that he changed his name just so it would be easier for the Americans to pronounce it, therefore, he fits in. 

We barely see any of Baluta’s personality throughout the story; however, we can gather that he is a kind/considerate, and sensitive man. "Baluta felt awful for this, but he had to work to get a car, and needed a car to get to work." (p.1, l.17) His kind nature is evident from this because it shows that even though he has to take the car to work, he still feels terrible about taking it, so his brother and sister-in-law must get up at 5 a.m. to catch the bus to their work. Additionally, we know that he is sensitive because of his sister and how he cared for her, “It was Alonso’s laugh, flowing like doves out of her bright smiling mouth. It was Alanso’s laugh…” (p.1, l.1-2). His sensitivity shines through by the way he describes his sister's laugh. He describes it with such colorful words, and it is clear how much he misses her and how close they were. Though he is currently trying to forget what happened in Liberia, the memories remain meaningful to him, even if they are mostly unhappy ones.

We read Baluta’s story through a 3rd person narrator attached to him so we can see what he thinks and feels. This influences us to feel sympathy for him because we experience the story from his point of view.

‘Fireweed’ is written in the past tense, and the author makes great use of flashbacks throughout the story. The exact year in which the story unfolds is not disclosed, however, some clues point us in a general direction. Fx. It appears that Tiffany has a flip phone “She flipped her phone” (p.2, l. 104). These flip phones were first invented in 1996. Furthermore, in one of Baluta’s flashbacks, his father, Idirissa, mentions, “They think they’ve found diamonds in our mountains.” “The war will be coming our way soon” (p.3, l.94-95). That quote refers to the blood diamonds, which were violent conflicts in Africa caused by the diamond trade that led to a civil war in Liberia from 1989 to 2003. We are not sure if the story takes place during or after the war, but these clues indicate that the story's flashbacks occur during 1989, the year the war began and that the present occurs after 1996, when the flip phone was invented, and maybe after 2003, after the war ended.

Baluta’s age is also unknown, but we know that he had a sister, Alanso, aged 10, in 1989, so that would make Baluta at least 17 years old, in 1996, but seeing that he works as a carpenter, he must be at least 18 years old, in 1997, but if the story takes place during or after 2003, he would be at least 24 years.

As part of the flashbacks, Liberia is first described as a beautiful place filled with innocent and calm childhood memories full of smiles and laughter. Fx. when Baluta saw a large man-made pond with a small lip perfectly resembling a pond back home, he remembered “… the pond where he and Alanso played, splashing, and laughing. She could pull fish from that pond, like plucking flowers from a field, and would howl good-naturedly at Baluta’s empty-handed attempts. When they would get back to their hut, a square in the shanty-town quilt shadowed by a mountain, Alanso would always tell Grandma Awa that Baluta had caught some fish. She’d smile at Baluta, and he’d kick the dirt embarrassed” (p.1-2, l.30-35). This flashback is a happy one, but after a little bit, the flashbacks seem to get less harmless for him with horrible memories of painful ant stings and seeing his family killed. 

The ghetto, his American home, is not really described, the only description we get is his route to work “... as he drove through the ghettos of his neighborhood, through the factory district, out to the country, past golf resorts, and finally in through a large gate toward his work site." (p.1, l. 20-22). This description only tells us that he lives in a ghetto neighborhood far from the rich area where he works.  

‘Fireweed’ is a piece of modern fiction, yet it targets real historical contexts and issues facing modern society. In many ways, this story is a social critique of inequality that also sheds light on trauma by drawing attention to the devastating effects of the blood diamonds on the local population. Millions of innocent victims. Multiple people saw their families brutally murdered. And many people immigrated from their homes. The social critique comes in when we hear about Tiffany’s so-called problems. /

She gets so worked up about the color (fireweed) of her walls. “That’s the only paint that will work… Are we going to have two fucking mismatched walls? ...” (p.4, l.115-117). The story ends with Tiffany saying, “Chet, if I don’t get that fireweed, I’m just going to die.” (p.4, l.142). 

Tiffany’s problems seem so insignificant. She takes what she has for granted but does not see it. Right now, her biggest problem is the color of the wall, while Baluta has witnessed his family killed, immigrated to a foreign country without most of his family, adapted to a new culture, and changed his name. If that was not enough, he had to deal with people like Tiffany, who gets scared of him solely because of his skin color. 

The title ‘Fireweed’ is the name of a pink/purple flower. The fireweed could represent Baluta himself because it got its name from its ability to colonize traumatized areas fx. areas burned by fire. Fireweed can symbolize resilience to trauma which fits perfectly to Baluta because of the trauma he has endured. That could also be the reason for why he held so tightly on to the fireweed when he saw his family killed despite being attacked by ants “Sting, sting, sting…” (p.4, l.139) The fireweed essence is also said to transform painful experiences by dissolving the emotional intensity around them, leaving only the lessons learned.