Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Farming of Bones, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Power of Memory
Dreams vs. Reality
Language and Identity
Death, Grief, and Hope
Home, Family, and Belonging
Summary
Analysis
Yves and Amabelle are found by a doctor and priest; they are taken to a nearby camp, and Odette’s body is taken from Yves’s arms. Along the side of the road, Amabelle sees corpses laid out, and realizes Odette will be buried with them. Amabelle does not ask where Odette’s final resting place will be, and sees that the priest has already moved on to another body.
Amabelle sees multiple corpses by the side of the road; the sheer number demonstrates how pervasive and omnipresent death is in her life and in Dominican society at this time. Moreover, the priest quickly sees to Odette before moving on to tend the next body. The priest’s rapid pace illustrates how death renders its victims anonymous and interchangeable: there are so many bodies to tend to that he is not able to honor all of them carefully.
Themes
Amabelle looks at Odette’s body one last time, and thinks that death was not a surprise to Odette. Rather, she thinks Odette “eased” into death. Amabelle thinks to herself that she will always be “standing over her body,” and that there will never be a sufficient way to say goodbye to Odette.
Amabelle’s thoughts about Odette reveal death’s ability to leave a lasting impact on one’s existence. Amabelle admits that she will mourn Odette’s death for the rest of her life; in this way, death is an inescapable force that permanently affects the living. Death—and the grief it leaves in its wake—is yet again shown to be a life-changing experience.
Themes
Amabelle is examined by a doctor and sees the other victims undergoing treatment for various injuries. One woman’s leg is unsalvageable, and the doctors prepare to cut it off. A drop of the blood from the woman’s amputated leg lands on Amabelle, and the doctor announces that the woman will not live. Amabelle thinks the doctor is talking about her, and believes this will be “the last time [she] would see someone dying.”
In the midst of violence, Amabelle still focuses on the impact that death has had on her. Instead of worrying about the death of the injured woman, Amabelle emphasizes how she herself will never see another person die. By thinking this, Amabelle reveals that she fears witnessing others’ deaths more than her own demise. The sight of death brings such grief and pain that she is relieved at the thought that she will never experience it again—even though this means that she herself is dying.
Themes
Amabelle falls in and out of consciousness, and dreams she sees her mother. Her mother explains why she never smiled, claiming that she was saving her smile for when Amabelle might need it. She then tells Amabelle that she was teaching her a lesson about love and its scarcity. Amabelle admits she will never “be a whole woman,” because of the absence of her mother’s face.
Amabelle’s dreams once again bring her solace when her reality is unbearable. In this dream, Amabelle fantasizes an explanation for her mother’s behavior. The reality—that her mother was cold or unemotional—is too painful to bear. Instead, she imagines that her mother was teaching her a lesson. Still, her mother’s death left a void in her life, one that she describes in a similar way to how Señora Valencia described the loss of her own mother. The repeated language subtly suggests how much Amabelle and the señora have in common, even though there’s also so much separating them.
Themes
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Amabelle wakes up and overhears people talking in groups. Amabelle thinks they have a “hunger” to share their experiences, and listens as a group recounts their memories. One person discusses how 700 people were placed in a courtyard and shot with rifles. Another discusses how 200 people were forced to jump off a pier.
The survivors of the massacre’s violence wish to share their stories with one another. In doing so, they are keeping their memories alive. They seem to hope that others, by listening to their tales of survival, will preserve their bravery and resilience for the future. Many of these memories, however, feature the specter of death. In this case, remembering bravery and remembering horror go hand in hand.
Themes
One man describes how he was injured by a machete and left for dead; he recalls waking up in a pile of corpses. He recounts how his feeling of shock is similar to the confusion experienced by a new wife when she wakes up in her marital bed. The group asks the man where his wife is now, and he shrugs as if he does not know.
The injured man recalls how he was hidden amidst a pile of bodies, providing a particularly vivid image of how horrific racial violence in the Dominican Republic has become. At the same time, it’s clear that this memory may be only of the only things the man can cling to, as he does not even know whether his wife is alive. Recounting the horrific story to others gives the man one way to stay grounded in the face of the unknown.
Themes
Another person reminisces about Haiti’s past. The person states that in prior decades, Haiti was a “strong nation,” comprised of famous men who were willing to fight to “defend [Haitian] blood.” By contrast, Haiti’s current president “says nothing” in response to the attacks occurring in the Dominican Republic.
Another survivor recalls a time when Haitians defended their identity and culture. Similar to the Dominican Republic, it seems that this past version of Haiti would incite violence against those who challenged its autonomy. Although the two countries pride themselves on maintaining strict divisions between cultures, they seem in this way to be quite similar.
Themes
The survivors begin to discuss the decisions they made during their escapes. They use “hindsight” to rearrange their perspectives, and discuss the “nearly dead” acquaintances they chose to leave behind. They discuss how to survive the guilt of abandoning their friends; simultaneously, they also dream of reunions with their families.
The survivors’ memories are not perfect. Although they share stories to preserve their survival, they also use memory to rewrite their circumstances. They do this to avoid guilt and grief, and to focus on the hopeful future instead of the painful past. The survivors’ discussion provides a warning about memory’s ability to sometimes trap individuals in regret and remorse. To avoid this pitfall, it seems, sometimes it is necessary to alter one’s memory for the sake of living a better life.
Themes
Amabelle falls asleep and reawakens three days later. She is told by a nun that she had an extreme fever, and that the doctors thought she might die. Amabelle tries to tell her that she does not want to die, and thinks that Odette and Wilner have “already died for [her].” The nun asks where her caretaker has gone, and at first, Amabelle believes the nun is referring to Sebastien; in reality, she is talking about Yves.
Amabelle’s thoughts about her survival and Odette and Wilner’s passing illustrate her new perspective on death. For the first time, Amabelle emphasizes that she wants to live. Despite the grief she feels over her parents’ and friends’ deaths, Amabelle’s desire to survive illustrates that she has a sense of hope about her future.
Themes
Yves visits Amabelle and tells her that he is planning to continue traveling and return to his home in Haiti the following day; Amabelle nods to show that she wants to go with him. He tells her that he will take her to Sebastien’s house, and she will be able to reunite with him and Mimi and talk about their escape as if it is “a bad dream.”
Amabelle has already revealed that she relies on fantasies to help her cope, and Yves’s rather optimistic promise here shows that he—and perhaps anyone who faces such extreme adversity—is similarly susceptible to hopeful dreams. Yves’ promise also suggests that Amabelle’s idea of home has changed: she no longer belongs in the Dominican Republic. In fact, Amabelle’s home is not necessarily just a location—Haiti or the Dominican Republic—but also a person: she feels part of a family when she is with Sebastien.
Themes
Amabelle worries that rain will cause the river to flood, which will make it difficult for Mimi and Sebastien to cross over into Haiti. She then tells Yves that she often has a dream about her parents in the river. The conversation is interrupted when another survivor cries out that his woman is asking for his help. The nuns give him medicine, and he curls up like a baby for the night.
Both Amabelle and the male survivor’s behavior illustrate the comforting nature of dreams. Amabelle fantasizes that Sebastien and Mimi are crossing the river; the man is lulled into sleep by medicine. Neither character is able to confront the burdens and horrors of their reality: they do not want to imagine that their loved ones are dead. Amabelle and the sleeping man mirror one another here, doubly reinforcing the idea that dreams (whether sleeping or waking) are means of avoiding the truth.
Themes
The next morning, the man who was sedated begins to call out for his woman. He is comforted by a “crippled Dominican” who is only able to communicate in Spanish. Amabelle notes that he is “black like the nun” who is treating the survivors, and he explains that he has been mistaken for a Haitian. Amabelle emphasizes that there are “many like him” in their camp.
Despite the countries’ strict cultural borders, which have divided the two nationalities, Haitians and Dominicans interact and coexist in the refugee camp. Ironically, then, the fight between two countries’ cultures has resulted in some cases of cultural confusion and blending. Although the Dominican Republic’s government wants to separate Haitians and Dominicans, the government’s agenda results in some Haitians and Dominicans being mistaken for one another.
Themes
