Edwidge Danticat and Shadows: The Farming of Bones As a Vehicle for Social Activism

Authors

Jessica Petit-Frere, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Major/Program

English

First Advisor's Name

Donna Aza Weir-Soley

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Heather Russell

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Meri-Jane Rochelson

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

xenophobia, testimony, Danticat, Haiti, Dominican Republic

Date of Defense

3-11-2016

Abstract

The Farming of Bones is Edwidge Danticat’s novel about Amabelle Desir, a Haitian migrant in the Dominican Republic during the 1937 Haitian massacre. The Massacre is a historical fact presented through a fictional text that acts as a testimonial. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how Danticat, in her role as an activist, urges readers to become social justice seekers and enter the discourse of race. Through an examination of Carl Jung’s and Vodou’s shadow theories in regards to the construction of a racial identity by Haitians and Dominicans, I uncover the racial narratives in place from Haiti’s colonization and independence to our current time. Danticat, through the novel, moves the reigning racial paradigm out of the shadow and thus allows readers to reflect on its effects. Thus it is not only the characters in the novel that must confront the shadow, but the readers themselves.

Identifier

FIDC000218

Recommended Citation

Petit-Frere, Jessica, "Edwidge Danticat and Shadows: The Farming of Bones As a Vehicle for Social Activism" (2016). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2492.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2492