Summary Of 1937 By Edwidge Danticat

Haiti is a country that portrays a lot of conflict due to the citizen’s race, gender and poverty. In the story 1937, Edwidge Danticat conveys the message of oppression that Haitian women face every day, but through this oppression, these Haitian women are a source of strength and survival through their narratives, which can be passed on for many generations to come.

Within the story 1937, it talks about the Parsley Massacre, which was a tragic event that occurred in Haiti in 1937. The Parsley Massacre occurred in 1937, which was a government-sponsored genocide that was directed by the Dominican leader, named Rafael Trujillo. This event occurred due to the nation accumulating a substantial amount of debt, the Haitians fighting for independence,

and the lack of control the country. By not having control over the people or the economic status of a country, conflict erupted within the country. This event brought upon many deaths in just a few days.

The conflict occurred over Haitians stealing Dominican Republic citizens land and crops. Many of these Haitians survived unjust oppression, inhumane crimes or infringement of freedom by authorities. Through this story, Danticat has the power to tell the experiences to an often-unaware world and through these stories much truth to be found. This massacre shows an accurate depiction of an intimate experience that shaped many generations of Haitian citizens.

Throughout the story of 1937, the narrator Josephine recollects her accounts of her mom being taken away to prison and visiting her mom at prison. Within her first few visits, she is reluctant in sharing her emotions and the suffering she is facing throughout this experience. Before her mother went to prison, she recollects the day her mother was being taken away. She states, “She was being pulled along by two police men, each tugging at one of her arms as she dragged her feet. Her face was swollen to three times the size that it had been.(39)” This quotation is powerful as it shows how badly women were treated within this country when they were being locked up. It is just heart wrenching to know how cruel these women were treated. When Josephine’s mom went to prison, she stated that “The police

in the city, really knew how to hold human beings trapped in cages, even women like Manman, who was accused of having wings as flames. (35)” While reading over this quotation within 1937, I realized the harsh conditions women are in and the way they are treated by the prison created by Americans. While Josephine is visiting her mom at the prison, she states how she wasn’t able to see the other prisoners due to them sleeping. She was glad, since she didn’t want to see “bone-thin women with shorn heads, carrying clumps of their hair in their bare hands, as they were only allowed a few rays of sunshine each day. (35)” While reading this passage, my heart ached for the women who had to go through these conditions each day. As one can see, their bodies are taking a toll, as they are decaying and most are malnourished in prison. The women have lost any source of identity, due to the gloom they face daily. Throughout these awful conditions, Josephine also had to deal with the barrier of her relationship with her mother. She faces oppression as she has lost everyone she has loved and is facing suffering of losing her family and dealing with the trials of life. Her complicated relationship is only furthered when Josephine shares that she has never spoke to her mother at prison. Josephine is tough; as she sees her mother wither away before her eyes and hears the story of how Josephine’s mom lost her own mom.

Near the end of the story, there is a sense of hope as Josephine’s mother shares the story of her and her mother crossing the Massacre River. Josephine’s mother shares how Josephine is born the day her grandmother passes, which shows a sign of strength as one life ends another is born. This river symbolizes both horrific death and hopeful birth. In addition, her mother states how she would invite a lot of women who also lost their mothers on this same horrific day, as this was the place they could all relate, since they all lost their mother’s here. The women would be dressed in white dresses and walked towards the river each year as sisters. This is a sign of strength as white dresses mean hope and a sign of purity and clean from the massacre. All the daughters would line up around the river, where their mothers had passed, so they could remember and retell their experiences to future generations.
When Josephine leaves the prison after visiting her mom, she states, “You go, let me watch you.

Let your flight be joyful. (42)” Even in her mother’s final days, Josephine’s mother is able to assure her daughter with total confidence that the women of the river are strong survivors. Her mom’s courage allows her story to be passed on for future generations. By having a story passed down through many generations, it preserves history for a family. This story flips the importance of power and wealth to succeed in many cultures, by using family as a source of value and strength. Family relationships matter within this story, because there was meaning behind the sacredness of being a mother and daughter. At the end of the story after Josephine’s mom is burned, the cycle of life and death rebirths when Jacqueline states, “life is never lost, another one always comes up to replace the last.(48)” This is another source of strength as Josephine is letting go of her past and forming her new life. She is using her mother’s story as a sign of strength as she is forming new relationships during a time of

sadness.
In conclusion, Josephine was able to find strength through hearing about her mother’s story of the Parsley Massacre and the unjust punishment that her mom faced in prison. Now, she is able to let go of her life burdens and start a new life filled with relationships, courage, and hope by sharing the story of her mother’s to many future generations. All in all, we learned that within the story 1937, Edwidge Danticat conveys the message of oppression that Haitian women face every day, but through this oppression, these Haitian women are a source of strength and survival through their narratives, which can be passed on for many generations to come.