Farming of Bones Theme Paper
Danielle Loeffler
Comparative Literature
Paper 1
March 12, 2013
In the novel, Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat there are various themes that are portrayed and symbolized throughout the novel. Amabelle, an orphaned Haitian maid, struggles with the idea of letting go of the past, the tragedy of death, and loss. According to the quote by Barbara Christian, she states, “among the folk who speak in muted tones of color, feminists, radical critics, creative writers, who have struggled for much longer then a decade to make their voices heard.” This quote symbolizes one of the many reasons Amabelle struggles to let go of the past, because she is afraid to speak out about issues that are causing her guilt and grief. Amabelle has reoccurring nightmares of her parents’ death that often lingers in her mind and causes her to continuously delve into the past. These nightmares haunt her life and when her boyfriend, Sebastian, friend Joel is killed, death becomes present in her life again. Amabelle and Sebastian are trying to avenge Joel’s death and give him a proper sending off service, but this is a difficult task for both of them because they have both been faced with death of loved ones before. This quote, although it appears later in the novel, resembles the grief both Amabelle and Sebastian are feeling, “Misery won't touch you gentle. It always leaves its thumbprints on you; sometimes it leaves them for others to see, sometimes for nobody but you to know of.” Danticat, Pg 353. This quote can relate to how Amabelle stresses over the death of her parents, how Sebastian never speaks of the death of his father, and how both Amabelle and Sebastian are dealing with the death of Joel. As Amabelle is coming to terms of Joel’s death, she is haunted by the fact that it was Senor Pico’s car that killed Joel. Amabelle has to live with the burden of not telling anyone; especially Joel’s father Kongo, that it was Senor Pico who killed Joel. Papi confronts Amabelle because
Comparative Literature
Paper 1
March 12, 2013
In the novel, Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat there are various themes that are portrayed and symbolized throughout the novel. Amabelle, an orphaned Haitian maid, struggles with the idea of letting go of the past, the tragedy of death, and loss. According to the quote by Barbara Christian, she states, “among the folk who speak in muted tones of color, feminists, radical critics, creative writers, who have struggled for much longer then a decade to make their voices heard.” This quote symbolizes one of the many reasons Amabelle struggles to let go of the past, because she is afraid to speak out about issues that are causing her guilt and grief. Amabelle has reoccurring nightmares of her parents’ death that often lingers in her mind and causes her to continuously delve into the past. These nightmares haunt her life and when her boyfriend, Sebastian, friend Joel is killed, death becomes present in her life again. Amabelle and Sebastian are trying to avenge Joel’s death and give him a proper sending off service, but this is a difficult task for both of them because they have both been faced with death of loved ones before. This quote, although it appears later in the novel, resembles the grief both Amabelle and Sebastian are feeling, “Misery won't touch you gentle. It always leaves its thumbprints on you; sometimes it leaves them for others to see, sometimes for nobody but you to know of.” Danticat, Pg 353. This quote can relate to how Amabelle stresses over the death of her parents, how Sebastian never speaks of the death of his father, and how both Amabelle and Sebastian are dealing with the death of Joel. As Amabelle is coming to terms of Joel’s death, she is haunted by the fact that it was Senor Pico’s car that killed Joel. Amabelle has to live with the burden of not telling anyone; especially Joel’s father Kongo, that it was Senor Pico who killed Joel. Papi confronts Amabelle because