The Farming of Bones

by

Edwidge Danticat

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Don Ignacio Character Analysis

Don Ignacio, also known as Papi, is Señora Valencia’s father and an “exiled patriot” from Spain. Don Ignacio listens to the radio for news about the Spanish civil war each night, and is seemingly unaware of the tensions brewing in his current homeland. In this way, Papi, like Señor Pico, is fixated on his identity and home country to the point of distraction. Unlike Señor Pico, however, Don Ignacio feels remorse over Joël’s death; he was in the car that struck Joël, and makes some effort to take responsibility. Don Ignacio eventually reaches out to Kongo, Joël’s father, to make amendshe reveals that he feels haunted by the men he killed during the Spanish war, and that Joël’s death adds to his feelings of guilt. Papi’s confession to Kongo reinforces how nationalism and identity can result in violence: although Papi is not complicit in the Dominican Republic’s treatment of Haitians, he has still killed soldiers in the name of nationalism and cultural pride.

Don Ignacio Quotes in The Farming of Bones

The The Farming of Bones quotes below are all either spoken by Don Ignacio or refer to Don Ignacio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Power of Memory Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes

Above Papi’s head loomed a large portrait of the Generalissimo, which Señora Valencia had painted at her husband’s request. Her painting was a vast improvement on many of the Generalissimo’s public photographs. She had made him a giant in full military regalia, with vast fringed epaulets and clusters of medals aligned in neat rows under the saffron braiding across his chest. Behind him was the country’s red and blue flag with the white cross in the middle, along with the coat of arms and the shield: Dios, patria, libertad. God, country, liberty.

Related Characters: Amabelle Désir (speaker), Don Ignacio, The Generalissimo / Trujillo
Page Number: 34–35
Explanation and Analysis:
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Don Ignacio Quotes in The Farming of Bones

The The Farming of Bones quotes below are all either spoken by Don Ignacio or refer to Don Ignacio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Power of Memory Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes

Above Papi’s head loomed a large portrait of the Generalissimo, which Señora Valencia had painted at her husband’s request. Her painting was a vast improvement on many of the Generalissimo’s public photographs. She had made him a giant in full military regalia, with vast fringed epaulets and clusters of medals aligned in neat rows under the saffron braiding across his chest. Behind him was the country’s red and blue flag with the white cross in the middle, along with the coat of arms and the shield: Dios, patria, libertad. God, country, liberty.

Related Characters: Amabelle Désir (speaker), Don Ignacio, The Generalissimo / Trujillo
Page Number: 34–35
Explanation and Analysis: