Farming Of Bones Themes

The Farming of Bones is the historical novel by Edwidge Danticat that gives an account of the Parsley Massacre through the eyes of fictional characters. A theme that is developed in the story is inequality between the Haitian characters and their Dominican counterparts. The Haitian characters are forced by this unfairness to struggle for their lives as the Dominicans mercilessly kill them. The immorality of the novel, which is exhibited in the lack of equality, induces the true feeling of the suffering caused by the Parsley Massacre in Danticat’s novel.

To begin, the Dominicans use the inequality between themselves and the Haitian workers to justify their actions as they become more violent toward the Haitian population in the story. At

the start of the novel, the cane workers, who are Haitian, seem to occupy a precarious position in relation to the Dominican cane field owners. This hierarchy of power sets up the inferiority of the Haitian characters and is only reaffirmed by the treatment the cane workers receive. When Joël is killed by Señor Pico who is rushing home, there is no apology, no attempt to save him, no regret. The law is on the side of the Dominican characters. Señor Pico’s lack of concern immediately brings forth the Dominican’s common ignorance of the Haitians’ pains, therefore calling the reader to question the morality of the Dominican characters. It clearly denotes that the Dominicans’ lives are insignificant. To further this idea, there is the instant in where Señor Pico “shattered the cups and saucers, one by one” after being told the cane workers had drank from the expensive set (116). His action is not due to anger towards the workers but is caused by disgust. Valencia, Señor Pico’s wife, loses her china set because her husband finds himself above drinking from a cup that had been used by a Haitian. His aggressive actions are representative of the Dominican public’s attitude towards the Haitians, how simple inequality is not enough as “it was a matter between…two different peoples trying to share one tiny piece of land” (146). This perception of inequality is the basis for acts of violence that consume the island. This hatred signifies the justification to do as they please in order to maintain their dominance even if it means murder. This sense is what creates the horridness of the ensuing massacre that is performed without a blink of an eye.
Moreover, the massacre in the novel is carried out by characters who perceive themselves as superior to the primitive workers, thus allowing them to treat the Haitian characters like animals.

The Haitian are forced to flee in terror from their homes as the Guardia, the protector of the people, fail to protect them. During the journey to the border, Amabelle and the people she travels with come across horrendous acts of hate and violence. One example of this is the hanging of the Haitian trading family. It is clear that the family suffered at the hands of Dominicans and no justice will ever be achieved to avenge their inhumane deaths. The family was slaughtered like pigs who have no control over their lives. This act is something that has evolved into a standard practice as suggested by Amabelle saying “For him (Señor Pico) it seemed to have been regular work” (158). As the recruits from the Guardia take the workers captive, Amabelle watches as “Unèl was tied with a cattle rope” after Señor Pico says the workers “work like beasts who don’t even know what it is to stand” (157, 154). The use of the word “beasts” compare the Haitian workers to uncivil animals and this idea is continued as the cattle rope is used to tie Unèl. The workers’ inadequacy in the eyes of the Dominicans once more serves to explain why it is acceptable to harm the Haitians. This rational depicts the flawed morality, caused by the inequality between the two nations, that is overtaking the fictional

Dominican Republic and allowing the savage Massacre to occur.
To expand upon the depicted brutality, the true nature of the massacre’s immorality reaches a fever pitch as it is emphasized in the atrocious actions’ of the Dajabon citizens and the scarcity of the compassion for human life.

Up to this point, Amabelle has not been entirely thrown into the madness of the massacre but has viewed it from a relatively safe distance. While waiting for Wilner and Odette to return, Amabelle and Yves are suddenly attacked and their “jaws were pried open and parsley stuffed into” their mouths while being beaten (193). The sudden change from bystander to victim allows for a new understanding of the emotions of terror that the Haitian characters endured from the Dominicans. The encounter also continues the idea of the Haitians being treated like beasts. This occurrence makes the situation more personal and descriptive as Danticat’s story unravels to fully express her interpretation of the Parsley Massacre and the its brutality towards human life. The tragedy of the massacre is even more closely identified with when Wilner is killed in front of Odette and Amabelle. “Wilner did not even have time to reply” when a guard called out to him and shot him in cold blood. Once more, the deficiency of morality that developed from the unequal opinion of the Haitians has led to violence and

death.
It is abundantly clear that the Parsley Massacre as depicted in the novel was a cruel undertaking to maintain a dominance over the Haitians. The Dominicans’ feeling of superiority over the Haitians fabricated a flawed system that was used to justify the harm and murder of an ethnicity that was simply viewed as inferior. This missing morality generates the true capacity of the horror that consumed Danticat’s Dominican Republic. This tale speaks to the inner conscience and question just how far people are willing to go when the line between right and wrong blurs.