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Chapter 8
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
Amabelle recalls the day her parents died. She remembers their trip to Dajabón, a Dominican town, to buy special cooking pots. They attempted to cross the river upon their return to Haiti, and her father sprinkled water on his face, to “salute the river.” She then remembers her father flinching when he realized his “grave mistake.” That day, a rainstorm caused the river to rise unexpectedly, and the water “rose above her father’s head.”
Amabelle recalls her parents’ deaths in rich detail, illustrating memory’s ability to accurately—and painfully—preserve the past. For Amabelle, death and memory are perpetually intertwined, and she continually reinforces death’s impact on her life by reliving her parents’ demise. Amabelle’s memory re-traumatizes her, providing a warning about the power of recollection: while memory helps to honor the past, it can also cause undue harm in the present.
Themes
Her mother, initially traveling on Antoine’s back, is separated from him as he drowns in the current. Amabelle remembers throwing herself into the current, only to be hauled out by two young men. She is told that “unless” she wants “to die,” she will “never” see her parents again.
By further recalling her mother’s grisly end, Amabelle continues to fall victim to the strength of her memory. Her parents’ death seems to destroy her sense of home and family, as she is immediately willing to throw herself into the river to recapture a feeling of familial togetherness. Amabelle’s willingness to sacrifice herself reveals that the pull of home and unity is almost stronger than death: she was at one point ready to die in order to regain it.
Themes
