The book “Child of the Dark” is written from Carolina’s point of view. She begins writing on July 15th, 1955, the birthday of her youngest child and daughter; her daughter’s name is Vera Eunice. The story continues to detail her life during 1958 and 1959. Carolina wants to buy her daughter new shoes for her birthday but they are poor. They live in the favela (ghetto) and Carolina struggles everyday to manage to feed her family. She has three children total, two sons and one daughter. Her sons’ names are Jose Carlos and Joao and there is never any interaction between their father and Carolina only a brief mention that they in some aspect exist. Carolina is independent and claims that she does not need a man, but is frustrated that Vera’s father gives her money to keep quiet while he lives comfortably and his daughter is starving….
Carolina’s neighbor Chica accuses Joao of rape which intern makes Carolina consider sending her children to a public shelter for their own safety. Carolina believes the woman is lying but is worried with the threat of investigation that her children are in danger. After hearing stories of abuse about the public shelter she immediately reconsiders. The climax of the story is Carolina’s diary being published in a weekly magazine. But her life doesn’t change. She threatens to put people in her book who wrong her in any way. Life in the favela consists of disease, hunger, alcoholism and violence. Carolina writes about the presence of inequality between the rich and the poor. She values independence, the power of words, and loathes blindness of authority and false promises of politicians. She collects metal scraps and paper to earn money for food. Her only reprieve from this task is the rarity of kindness from her friends and once when a man stopped and gave Vera, one hundred cruzieros, which is the equivalent of what Carolina earns in one…
