Symbolism in "The Farming of Bones"
Justin Peterkin
Eng150-014
Prof. N. Essey
11/15/11
Research Essay
Symbolism in The Farming Of Bones
In The Farming of Bones, a story based on tragic real life events written by Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian girl named Amabelle attempts to establish a new life for herself in the neighboring Dominican Republic after the tragic deaths of both her parents. After establishing herself in the Dominican town of Alegria as a servant for a Dominican family, Amabelle's whole way of life is once again turned upside down when Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo orders the slaughter of Haitians who are occupying the Dominican Republic (Derby). Of the many themes and symbols used in this story the most prominent of them is water. (Scribd Inc.) While reading the novel, I came to realize that water represented almost everything relating to life, including death in this story. In many ways it represented the beginnings of new lives or ways of life and the endings of old ones. It also in fleeting moments represented hope. These representations become Danticat’s way of allowing us to feel a sense of relation to the main character and the tragic timeline of events that occur in her life. In the eyes of the main character and in the minds of the reader water represents many transitions into and out of life. In the novel, the reader soon learns that Amabelle's parents both died by drowning. They were swept away by the river current the same river which separates the Dominican Republic from Haiti and the same river were later thousands of people would die. The river in this case is not only representative of the taking of the Amabelle's parents lives, but the start of a completely new one for Amabelle. After witnessing the deaths of her parents crossing the river to re-enter Haiti Amabelle is found on the Dominican side of the river by Don Ignacio and his daughter, who would soon become, in a sense her new family, her new life. We see here that water represents both the end of one
Eng150-014
Prof. N. Essey
11/15/11
Research Essay
Symbolism in The Farming Of Bones
In The Farming of Bones, a story based on tragic real life events written by Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian girl named Amabelle attempts to establish a new life for herself in the neighboring Dominican Republic after the tragic deaths of both her parents. After establishing herself in the Dominican town of Alegria as a servant for a Dominican family, Amabelle's whole way of life is once again turned upside down when Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo orders the slaughter of Haitians who are occupying the Dominican Republic (Derby). Of the many themes and symbols used in this story the most prominent of them is water. (Scribd Inc.) While reading the novel, I came to realize that water represented almost everything relating to life, including death in this story. In many ways it represented the beginnings of new lives or ways of life and the endings of old ones. It also in fleeting moments represented hope. These representations become Danticat’s way of allowing us to feel a sense of relation to the main character and the tragic timeline of events that occur in her life. In the eyes of the main character and in the minds of the reader water represents many transitions into and out of life. In the novel, the reader soon learns that Amabelle's parents both died by drowning. They were swept away by the river current the same river which separates the Dominican Republic from Haiti and the same river were later thousands of people would die. The river in this case is not only representative of the taking of the Amabelle's parents lives, but the start of a completely new one for Amabelle. After witnessing the deaths of her parents crossing the river to re-enter Haiti Amabelle is found on the Dominican side of the river by Don Ignacio and his daughter, who would soon become, in a sense her new family, her new life. We see here that water represents both the end of one
Cited: Danticat, Edwidge. The Farming of Bones: A Novel. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1999.Print. Derby, Lauren Hutchinson. The Dictator 's Seduction: Politics and the Popular Imagination in the Era of Trujillo. Durham Duke University Press, 2009. Print. Fraim, John. "Symbolism of Place." Symbolism.org. John Fraim, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <www.symbolism.org/writing/books/sp/7/home.html>>. Olds, Marshal. "Literary Symbolism." Digital Commons . Digital Commons, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/modlangfrench/28/>. "Purdue OWL ."Welcome to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Purdue University, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/search2.php>. "SYMBOLISM IN LITERATURE." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. <http://www.scribd.com/doc/49619759/SYMBOLISM-IN-LITERATURE>.