Symbolism in The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat Essay -- Farming

Symbolism in The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat Edwidge Danticats novel, The Farming of Bones is an epic portrayal of the relationship amidst Haitians and Dominicans under the rule of Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo leading up to the Slaughter of 1937. The novel revolves around a few main concepts, these being birth, death, identity, and place and displacement. Each of the aspects is be by an inanimate object. weewee, dreams, twins, and masks make up these representations. Symbolism is consistent throughout the novel and gives the clearly stated and unsophisticated language a deeper more convoluted meaning. While on the surface the novel is an easy read, the symbol which is prominent throughout the novel complicates the audiences interpretation. The reader is left to look beyond the language and let on the underlying themes of the novel. Through symbolism Danticat is qualified to use inanimate objects to represent each of her characters more deeply rooted problems. In orde r to prove this conjecture true, I will thoroughly examine the aforementioned symbolic devices and provide a clear interpretation of their significance in the novel.The first example of symbolism we encounter is in the first chapter and comes in the form of dreams. When Amabelle and Sebastian open up to one another it is through their shared experiences, which are most usually, their dreams. They are able to be the most themselves when they are not in real life experiences, though it sounds like an oxymoron, the juxtapose between dreams and reality says a great lead about the characters. Dreams are essentially safety valves from reality, and when Amabelle and Sebastian share their dreams with one another it serves as an escape. It renders clear that they share the desire to escape, plainly escape from what exactly, their pasts, presence, or futures? This implication of escape prepares readers for the escapes made by the lovers near the end of the story. On page 2 Amabelle says of her nocturnal escapes, Its either be in a nightmare or be nowhere at all. Or otherwise simply float inside these remembrances, grieving for who I was, and even more for what Ive become. This quotation implies that that even her life has become a nightmare. Readers can infer that a good nights sleep would be Amabelles only chance of escape. Her nightmares are destroying her life, and her life... ...he offered it to him. The Farming of Bones is not only an awed gain of literature, but a wonderful example of post-colonial literature. It has all the classic experiential images dualism, confrontation, liberation, and identity. The presence of symbolism throughout the novel is undeniable. Each of the symbols in the work are representative of a certain aspect of the characters lives. Dreams showed readers the desire of characters to escape their realities. The twins that Senora Valencia gives birth to are clearly meant to represent the neighboring nations of Haiti and The Dominican R epublic. Water is primarily symbolic of life and death, but in this case readers are expected to come to their own conclusions regarding the river. Using these symbols allows the author to make discrete just important adjuncts to her writing without disrupting the format of the novel. Aside from serving as a benefit to the authors writing style, they can also be seen as an artistic addition which brings the entire novel to a different level. The use of symbolism in The Farming of Bones is not only extraordinarily well written but also completely essential to the story as a whole.