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Chapter 21
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
In the present, Amabelle attends Rosalinda’s baptism. She notices that older children are being baptized for a second time, so that the Generalissimo would “become their official, albeit absent, godfather.” Señora Valencia lets Amabelle kiss the newly baptized girl, but Señor Pico takes his wife’s arm and drags her away. People reconvene for a baptismal feast, but the celebration is “stilled by the memory of Rafi” (Rafael), which will haunt Rosalinda “all her life.”
The older children’s baptisms, which turn them into godchildren of the Dominican Republic’s dictator, reveal the country’s dedication to its cultural identity. The baptisms are purely symbolic; nevertheless, they indicate that some Dominicans believe their leader—a symbol of their culture—should also become part of their families. Señor Pico further reinforces this theme of devotion to Dominican culture. He physically moves his wife away from Amabelle to separate them, expressing his desire to separate Dominican and Haitian cultures from one another.
Themes
Later that night, Kongo comes to Amabelle’s room and brings her an offering. The gift is a mask; the expression is caught “between a grin and a scream,” and Amabelle realizes it is the “death face” of Joël. Kongo explains that back in Haiti, his occupation was crafting carnival masks.
The death mask of Joël’s face—much like the lantern of her father’s face that Amabelle desired in her childhood—is a physical embodiment of memory. The mask allows Kongo to preserve his son’s features for perpetuity. Still, it is also an embodiment of his grief; it forces him to confront his loss not just mentally, but also visually.
Themes
Kongo explains that he cannot remember whether she was one of the children who hid from him when he opened the carnival parade. Amabelle, wanting to take advantage of his nostalgia, asks for his true name. He claims that “some things are too wasteful to remember,” and adds that after his partner passed away, he spent all his money on liquor in order to forget.
Kongo and Amabelle’s interaction continues to emphasize the theme of memory. Kongo, recalling his past career as a carnival merchant, shares his legacy with an unknowing Amabelle; without this transmission of memory, his old work would remain forgotten. He refuses to use the power of memory to safeguard his name, however—he wishes it to be forgotten. Kongo demonstrates here how memory can be used to both protect and destroy.
Themes
Kongo then tells Amabelle he has visited on behalf of Sebastien, who has asked her to promise herself to him. Kongo says he wanted Joël to find a woman like Amabelle, and she points out that another woman, Félice, loved him and always wanted his approval. Kongo thinks this is senseless, as his son is “only a remembrance now.” He claims Joël will “slip from her mind” as the years pass and she finds another man.
Kongo’s fears about his son being forgotten reveal how powerful a force death can be. Death can erase a person’s personal legacy from memory, even when others (like Félice) cherish that person deeply. Memory is the best method of preventing a loved one from disappearing from others’ minds. Nevertheless, Kongo’s speech emphasizes that memory can be fallible; humans are fickle, and can forget someone quickly.
Themes
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Amabelle asks if he would like to keep the death mask for himself, but Kongo says he has made many of them; he hopes that people will “keep [his] son in mind” after he is gone. Kongo then asks if Don Ignacio has asked to see him again, and Amabelle thinks that Don Ignacio seems “to have forgotten about him and Joël.” Kongo says he is not surprised that his son has “vanished” from the other man’s thoughts.
The masks represent the act of memory: they materialize Joël’s face so he cannot be forgotten. The masks, which will be given to multiple people, are meant to guarantee Joël’s symbolic immortality. That is, if more people possess them, more people will remember him, despite his absence. The masks are merely a weak substitute, however, for Joël’s real existence. As such, the masks both serve an uplifting purpose—memorializing Joël— and act as tragic tokens of what has been lost to death.
Themes
Kongo leaves, and Amabelle travels to Sebastien’s room. On the way Amabelle slips and falls in a stream, and is found by a group of men who are part of a night watchman brigade; they are led by Unèl, a stonemason. Unèl tells her it is dangerous to walk at night, and explains that he formed the brigade to protect Haitians.
Unèl’s brigade is a watchman’s patrol that watches over the Haitian neighborhoods in the Dominican Republic. The brigade is an embodiment of cultural and national strength, and it illustrates how people are often devoted to protecting their own cultures. Still, the brigade also deepens the borders between the two cultures in the Dominican Republic: though well-intentioned, it is a testament to the deep-seated suspicions and fears that separate Dominicans and Haitians.
Themes
One of Unèl’s men explains that he is planning to go back to Haiti, and thanks Alégriathe name of his neighborhood in the Dominican Republicfor a “joyful” time spent in the country. Unèl explains that he has a right to be in the Dominican Republic, and that the brigade will stay “to fight.” He explains that the “times have changed” and that “[they] all must look after [themselves.]” Amabelle later reunites with Sebastien, and they discuss whether or not the rumors are true.
Unèl’s men possess very different feelings about home, belonging, and the cultural tensions in the Dominican Republic. The men’s differing viewpoints illustrate how home is not a static concept: for some Haitians, the Dominican Republic is a peaceful resting place, but for others it is unwelcoming and hostile. Unèl’s words about self-preservation further underscore how the country’s staunch cultural beliefs have led to societal inflexibility and distrust.
Themes
Amabelle and Sebastien talk about Kongo’s visit, and their future plans; Sebastien claims they must wait to live together. Their conversation is then interrupted by Yves, who is talking in his sleep; Yves asks his father not to die on his “plate of food.” Sebastien explains that Yves’s father died after being let out of prison; his wife cooked a feast, and he ate too much and passed away. Sebastien also adds that Yves just recently developed the habit of talking in his sleep—prior to Joël’s death, Yves never narrated his dreams.
Yves’s dreams seem to gain strength and concreteness after Joël’s passing, and it is likely that his dreams are a result of his grief for his lost friend. Yves’s behavior illustrates how dreams are often a direct coping mechanism for death and despair. Fantasies allow Yves to repress or refocus on alternate realities—or past traumas, like the death of Yves’s father—in order to avoid the fresh sense of loss. Still, though, the fact that he narrates his dreams aloud shows that these fantasies can also intrude on reality.
Themes
The next day, Amabelle and Sebastien tease Yves for talking in his sleep. The two then sit outside and share a cup of coffee; both of them are happy, and glance at each other bashfully. Amabelle notes that they are keeping their joy unspoken because they are not yet able to fully commit themselves: there is still “cane to curse, the harvest to dread, the future to fear.”
Amabelle and Sebastien’s joy in their shared morning reveals how they have found a new sense of belonging with one another. Despite their pasts—both tragic and lonely—they have come together in another country and feel somewhat at peace. Still, their dreams of a future together are merely fantasies: the harsh realities of life, such as death and harvesting, still remain. Their dreams merely allow them to escape for a moment, but they are nonetheless a source of strength.
Themes
