The Farming of Bones

I mentioned the flame tree in class today. Here's an image for you
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Poinciana.jpg
and just some description (Wiki) -- The Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant tree is an ornamental, tropical tree, introduced to the Caribbean during colonial times apparently from its origins in Madagascar. In the Caribbean it blooms from May to December, and it must be very beautiful as a single tree or grouped or even "broadcast" and naturalized in parts of the Caribbean.

Question #1: How did the Generalissimo rise to power in the Dominican Republic?

Question #2: Why did the Generalissimo order for soldiers and civilians to kill Haitians?

1. Is the differentiation between the Haitians in the fields and those who work for Dominicans reminding anyone else a bit of "field and house slaves"? Forgive the rather frank phrasing of that.. there's really no good way to put it. But to me it just seems as though the cane workers feel a certain amount of resentment and anger towards the Dominicans that Amabelle and most of the Haitians who work in the mansions don't really express as much.

2. Why do you think Doctor Javier is so helpful to the Haitians? Is it just because he's a good person who knows that it is better to do what's right rather than regret not acting later? Or does he have some other motivation for assisting people in crossing the border etc.?

To answer Kyra's first question, I feel like much of the Dominican is probably controlled through the military in a sort of dictatorship, or at least it became one if it wasn't before the Generalissimo got there. I feel like he either gained power from a different dictator or achieved it as part of a military coup.

1. I feel as though this may be obvious but, what is the Generalissimo's relationship to the Dominican Republic? Is he the president?
2. Where does Senora Valencia's family fit into the social class of this time?

1) Why does Amabelle know how to handle the births of the babies of Senora Valencia?

2) Why does Danticat write "River Rats", why not just write/say "Young Boys"? What is she trying to say to the boys? Are they River Rats? Are they bad?

1) my first question may not have a true answer. I just am unable to comprehend how the Senor Pico could go on with his daily life, as if everything were normal, after killing a man. It may have been an accident, but he was still the cause of Joel's death. He took someone's life, how can it not affect him?

2) I'm entirely sure why the senora invited the cane workers into her house that day. Does anyone have any interpretations of what may have motivated her to do that? It's quite an out of character moment.

To answer your question Lena: Amabelle knows how to handle the births of the babies because her parents were doctors in Haiti. Danticat writes a fair bit on Amabelle's perception of her parents, remember the section of the book when Amabelle was sick and she thought her red-ribboned doll came to life? Amabelle's parents thought she got sick with an illness that they brought home from work.

1. Why does Pico hold so much hate for colored people? Isn't he of color as well, since Papi said that Rosalinda's color came from his side of the family? Why did he break all the cups the workers used? Is this a class issue instead of a race issue? Why does he reject his daughter?

2. Why is the military arresting/deporting Haitians? Are they trying to cleanse the Dominican Republic of them? Aren't the Dominicans of color as well? What is the motive behind this?

To Carolyn's first question, I definitely see a very clear difference between the cane workers and the house servants. While reading, I noticed and questioned why Amabelle was so nice to Señora Valencia's family compared to Sebastien and the other field workers.

Perhaps it is because the house servants interact with and actually get to know the people they work for, whereas the cane workers come in very little contact with them; one sees this in the aura of suspicion and confusion surrounding Señora Valencia's invitation for the workers to come into her house for a beverage. They wondered why she would do such a thing, and many didn't even bother accepting her invitation.

It could also be a gender difference; the house servants are generally women while the cane workers are generally men. There is a general stereotype that men have more rage and anger than women, which they turn into violence. It doesn't seem like something Danticat would be particularly interested in commenting on, but it is a possibility.

1. What is the significance, if there is any, of Señora Valencia painting the red orchids on the coffin of her dead son, Rafael?

2. It says in the very beginning of chapter 14, "The stable non-vwayajé Haitians lived in houses made of wood or cement." Who/what are the vwayajé Haitians?

To answer Lauren's first question (even though this is entirely my opinion), I believe the reason Señor Pico keeps on living his life even though he has killed a man is because the man he killed is an inferior cane worker. Since Señor Pico is a wealthy and well respected man, killing this poor cane worker doesn't really affect him in the way it should.

To answer Peter's second question, the non- vwayajé Haitians are non- traveling Haitians or non- nomadic Haitians.

1. Is there an official religion of the Haitian people? If so, what is it? All I've been picking up on is superstitions and such.

2. What is the cultural significance of parsley? Is it religious? Used for cooking? Used for more than bathing?

To answer Garseng's first question: I think Pico holds so much hate for colored people because of the fact that he has colored blood, not in spite of it. In a society that values light skin, I'm sure he'd want to distance himself as much as he possible can from his colored ancestors and perhaps the only way he can think to do that is through extreme displays of hate. A way he expresses this hate and disgust is through breaking the cups that the workers used. In this way, he rejects his wife's kindness to the people who are 'inferior' both financially and culturally to them. I feel like he is also showing a type of disgust for these people that suggests he thinks their contagious in some way, as if he could catch something from them is he handles those cups again. Like I said before, his hate is just another way to distance himself from his relations that he would rather not connect with. This explains his rejection of his daughter, who shows the color of his ancestors. I think this is both a race and class issue, but race and class seem to be undeniably entwined.

To answer Anika's second question:

The significance of parsley in this book is huge. The Haitian Massacre that we reading about in the book is sometimes called the Parsley Massacre. This is because the Dominican soldiers used the word "parsley" to determine whether or not those living on the border of the Dominican Republic were native Dominicans who spoke Spanish fluently. Soldiers would actually hold up a sprig of parsley and ask people, "What is this?” They assumed that those who could not pronounce the Spanish word "perejil" were Haitian because parsley is called "pèsi" in Haitian Creole and "persil" in French.

1. On page 45, Amabelle is talking about the year of the great hurricane, and she talks about how the Generalissimo marched through the capital of the Dominican and ordered that all the corpses, by his inspection, were to be brought to the Plaza Colombina and then torched in public bonfires that she explained burned for days. I wanted to know what kind of political, social, or communicative move this was on the part of the Generalissimo, whether to ensue fear into the hearts and minds of the country, or what, because it didn’t seem like something a leader should do when the country he is a leader for, is in such a state of devastation, he’s making it almost worse in my opinion.

2. On page 28, Amabelle and Señora are talking about Pico and Papi coming back to see the babies. Señora says that ever since Pico was a child he had dreamt of advancing in the army and becoming president of the country. I was wondering if this sort of ambition was commonplace for someone living in the Dominican Republic at that time and of Pico’s social class, or if that was something more personal just for him.

In response to Anika-
I found two very different answers, one kind of eluding to what you said about superstition.
One place I looked, said that Roman Catholicism was the "official religion" in Haiti but that voodoo was also nationally practiced and that the majority of haitians believe in it to some extent. I wanted to look up a more realistic answer so I looked up the breakdown of different religions practiced in Haiti and came up with this: According to the CIA World Factbook: Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3%.

1) Although the book talks of the demanding nature in the sugar cane fields, it never discusses exactly what this work consists of and why it is so taxing. Does the labor result in specific physical conditions, like work in a mine, or is it just generally tiring?

2) Just about everyone in the story seems to work for the Valencia family. Considering the presence of the doctor, however, it seems that other wealthy Dominicans live around the area. My question is, how are these wealthier families spread out? Mind mind immediately leaps to a sort of Pride and Prejudice situation, with manors and rolling moors, but I realize this probably isn't the case.

In answer to the common question of the massacre of Haitians, I think the movement is an attempt at ethnic cleansing. Genocide's hardly a new concept: the holocaust, Rwanda, Darfur, etc etc. The basic strategy is to scapegoat some minority for internal problems (perhaps land shortage or poverty in other areas) and build stronger national identity in the process.

To answer Peters question about who or what are the non-vwayaje...
On face 68, it says that they are "the ones who were better off than the cane cutters but not as wealthy as Don Gilbert and Dona Sbina..."

They lived in houses made of wood and cement...They have a wonderful garden, full of fruit, so they really didn't lack any food, as did the cane cutters, they were the people whose family came from Alegria and who were landowners, farmers, shoemakers...

#1 Sra. Valencia and Pico both seem to have resentment towards Rosalinda, even before Raphael dies. Why is that? Before Raphael died, they had both a son and a daughter, so as a wealthy family, they no longer had to worry about providing a heir. Why else would they resent having two children?

#2 The most common literary device I have picked up on is references and similes to water. What role does water play in Dominican and Haitian culture? Is there a reason that Amabelle's parents drowned and Sebastien's died in a STORM?

Answer: To answer Garseng's second question, I think that it is an attempt as ethnic cleansing similar to Rwanda. From what I have read, it is actually very similar to the way many Americans feel about illegal Mexican immigrants. Here is a link to an article I found: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/ACIO-6CHKYP?OpenDocument

To Peter's question about red orchids and what significance they might have:
I researched a little bit about red orchids and their symbolism. One site said that it orchids are a symbol of perfection and sometimes represent the blood of Christ. So maybe this reflects Senora Valencia's view and loss of her 'perfect' son? Orchids can also stand for determinism, passion, energy, and strength. Historically they are also associated with wealth, true love, and beauty.

My questions:
1. Where is Kreyol spoken? It is still prevalent? Is it a language that exists primarily in the Caribbean or is it spoken around the world? I am just interested in it because I have never heard it before...

2. Throughout the book so far there have been short little chapters in bold (like chapter 23) that describe Amabelle's thoughts, memories, dreams, etc. What element do you think these chapters bring to the novel and why did the author choose to include these bits?

-sarah

To answer Steph's question about why the Generalissimo burned the bodies after the hurricane-
The 1930 Dominican Republic Hurricane, also known as Hurricane San Zenon, is the fifth deadliest Atlantic Hurricane on record killing as many as 8,000 people when it crossed the Caribbean. Relief work in the Dominican Republic began immediately after the hurricane. The president deployed the entire nation's military within 24 hours of the passage of the hurricane. By the day after its passage, lack of food had become a problem, and large numbers of robberies had occurred. The remaining postal workers transmitted a damage story to offices in New York City, and included a plea for disaster assistance. The Red Cross sent $15,000 (1930 USD) in aid a day after the hurricane struck.
Pretty much dead bodies rot and spread disease… When there are 8000 of them the only option is to dispose of them quickly and efficiently; which is burning. Although not glorious, it gets the job done, I can imagine the people were actually impressed with the Generals quick and effective response.

1. My question is what is the great emphasis on parsley and it's "cleansing" ability both inside and out. Does it have medical properties? Religious significance? Also, are Haitians simply not able to say “perejil” because of their accent??

2. If Doña Sabine and Don Gilbert are from the upper ruling class, how come they are risking there lives to protect Haitians? Don't they own the plantation? Are they also Haitian?

1. How is fire used in the cane harvesting process?
2. How exactly did Raphael die, or was it just da usual baby mumbo jumbo?

To answer Katie's first question: Not the president, but a militaristic dictator.

What was Danticat's reason for writing this book?

Where in Haiti is this book taking place?

Answer to David's first question.

Using fire in the sugar cane fields clears leaves and snakes. This is effective because the fire does not affect the sugar cane.

1. What triggered the mass killing of Haitians in the Dominican Republic?
2. Why is working in the cane fields referred to as "the farming of bones?"

To answer Gus's second question, the book has thus far just been in the Dominican Republic, I assume not too far from the border.

Questions:

1. Is a theme in this story some sort of exchange? I ask this because it seems like for life to exist life must die such as when Pico can't drive his car and hits Kongo's sun when his son and daughter were born and later his son was killed.

2. Does anyone know how big these sugar cane plantations were in the story because they seem quite massive?

To sarah: I think what you are talking about is Creole and yes it is spoken mainly in the Caribbean and also in the costal regions of America, on the coast of Africa, western side of India, and in a few pacific islands. Apparently there used to be a lot more Creole languages spoken then there are today.

Hope that helps

Chris

Questions:

1) Why is sebastien afraid of being in a house with a dead child? is it just superstition or is it some sort of memory?

2) Is there some ritual involved with burying the cloths, because both pico and Kongo did it, so it is not a social class difference?

To answer Chris's second question, it appears that a plantation had upwards of several hundred slaves. The only in text evidence we have about the size is that, of all the workers heading to the fields 20 or so was considered a small handful. I would estimate above 200.

1. Are there any significant differences between haitian and dominican culture?

2. How do the cane workers manage to raise a family despite their labor?

To answer David's insensitively phrased question, the infant most likely died of sudden infant death syndrom, which was especially prevalent in underdeveloped countries. However Danticant gives us no specific reason, so we can only speculate.