Farming Of Bones Quotes

Title Throughout the 1930s, the demand for cheap labor in the Dominican Republic led to the emergence of migrant workers from Haiti. The integration of the Haitians in society was not welcome however because many of the Dominicans saw them as different and feared that they would change the identity of their nation. Edwidge Danticat’s The Farming of Bones brings light into some of the discrimination that the Haitians faced when they were employed in the Dominican Republic. The treatment towards these workers was initially rather mild, but as time went on, the Dominicans started to exhibit their prejudice against the people through brutal acts of violence.

The hostility against the Haitian people in the beginning of the novel is not outwardly

Initially, Amabelle usually excuses the idea of the Dominican people trying to send her people back because she simply does not find it to be believable. She claims that the Dominicans “could not touch people like [her] … who worked the cane fields [because] they were giving labor to the land” (140). Amabelle’s naive attitude towards the situation stems from her belief that states that the Dominican people rely heavily on the Haitians to work for them and the fact that she has probably not experienced a high enough level of discrimination. Since the only Dominicans she comes in contact with are the people she works for, her mindset is flawed because she assumes that just because the Señor and Señora treat her with some respect, every other Dominican will act the same. Even though she feels secure at first, Amabelle’s perspective slowly begins to change once the words of a field worker of the potential banishment seems to convince her. She tells Amabelle that the Dominicans are starting to say that “anyone not in one of those Yanki cane mills will be sent back to Haiti” (69). The ill feelings towards the Haitians are causing the Dominicans to take action to try to exile the group of migrants. Although in the past, they still did not like the Haitians before, many of the Dominican would just kept their complaints to

After Amabelle successfully escapes to the border, she meets a man named Tibon. He explained that the Dominican army drove the seized Haitians to a cliff and told them to “either jump or go against a wall of soldiers with bayonets pointed at [them]” (173). Although the objective of collecting all of the Haitians together was to send them back to Haiti, it appears that the Dominicans are killing off the people instead just because they are not from there. While there is the possibility that the soldiers are simply following orders, the acts of aggression towards the Haitians do not occur only within the army. Even ordinary Dominicans are targeting the Haitians. For instance, while Amabelle is walking with Tibon and Yves, they run into other Dominicans who seem to notice that the three may not be part of their race. Thus, when they confirm their belief, they shove the Haitians to the ground, “[pried] their jaws open and [shoved] parsley into [their] mouths” (193). While the soldiers could use the excuse that they tortured the Haitians solely because they were instructed to, the civilians’ actions were as a result of their own will. Before, the ordinary citizens would have held back on their behavior towards the workers but now, they believe that they can abuse the Haitians in any way they see fit.