Exploring History Article 1: Massacre Questions form Border of Lights Objective Summary: This article sets out to give a summary of the Haitian Massacre, and does a very good job meeting this goal. The massacre was conducted by the dominican army, which was run by Rafael Trujillo who ruled from 1930 to 1961. The killings targeted haitian people and people who were a portion haitian (one parent is haitian). The person would be asked to pronounce a word, such as parsley, and if they did not roll the r, then the killers would know that the person under scrutiny was in fact haitian, so they would kill he/she via machete. Thousands of haitian people were murdered, but years after, the government of the Dominican Republic has never been punished. …show more content…
The article is broken up into different sections, each focused on a question that is bolded above the paragraph giving the answer to the question. This structure made it easily simple to follow what was being discussed; however, some of the points contradicted themselves and others did not even make sense. The article began by giving a background of what Trujillo’s rule was like and the relationship between the Haitian and Dominican people, then it progressed to how the killings were actually committed, finally it spoke about what occurred after the massacre and the consequences that the people and government of the Dominican Republic did not face. This structure acted as a timeline for the events, which allowed the reader to learn about the most important parts of the massacre and about when they took place. Despite the lack of basic grammatical rules and sentence structure, this article does a good job of laying a foundation of what the haitian massacre …show more content…
The author’s goal is to get the reader to donate the Border of Lights, a charity to commemorate and raise awareness about the massacre. Use of logos, such as “1937 massacre” and how the haitian population is about “a million out of 10 million” demonstrates an educational, factual, and serious tone. The reader experiences a need to ‘do something’ when the author makes claims that even today the haitian people are “excluded from [] the Dominican melting pot” and that the massacre was “forgotten”, making the reader want to donate to the cause to help spread awareness about the massacre. One can tell that the author feels strongly and seriously about this topic, wanting the reader to donate to the charity without ever mentioning the charity in the text
He begins Chapter One with the explanation of the main points that will be discussed within the book. Chapter Two discusses the people of Lima’s reasons as to why they believed and feared this tragedy was caused by God’s fury.... ... middle of paper ... ... His articulation of the disastrous and catastrophic event was detailed, strong, and emotionally invoking.
When it comes to analyzing the “banana massacre” scene in chapter 15, I found three narrative techniques the author used to describe this scene. Therefore, one can notice that this part of the book is the climax. As a result, one infers what the author is trying to say about Latin American history and politics.
The Nation of Haiti has been plagued with excessive bad luck when it comes to external invasion. Whether it be larger countries taking control, or outsiders brought in as slaves, Haiti has endured many hardships. These issues, while very common in a lot of countries, are exposed in a short story by a native Haitian. In “A Wall of Fire Rising”, Edwidge Danticat illustrates a myriad of historical issues in Haiti from the 17th to the 20th century through a series of events in one family’s life. One such issue would be the Haitian Revolution and the consequences that came of it.
The Parsley Massacre was the first instance where the world realized that Rafael Trujillo was a ruthless dictator. Rafael Trujillo's 1937 massacre of the Haitians, was his first time committing mass murder. This massacre killed more than 20,000 Haitians and even some Dominicans (“Dominican Republic and the Parsley Massacre”). Even though Trujillo committed this treacherous act, he still defended himself with, “He who does not know how to deceive does not know how to rule” (1 “Rafael Trujillo”). It is crazy that even when he went extremely public with his terror, he still tried to defend himself. The Parsley Massacre symbolized that the man who was supposed to lead and benefit the Dominican Republic was actually ruining their country one treacherous act at a
After reading The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat for summer reading, I have decided that there is one, broad, underlying theme of the novel: the exploration of racial prejudice, the impact of nationality and race on human life, and a closer look into the inequality and discrimination against people of color. Specifically, in this story, the discrimination against Haitian people in the 1930’s Dominican Republic. The story is presented by a Haitian girl named Amabelle, who shares firsthand the acts of cruelty she witnesses, making it impossible for anyone reading to ignore the wrongful actions of the Dominican soldiers surrounding her. Besides the violence, she shares the unfairness in the daily life of a Haitian worker in the 1930’s Dominican
Trujillo use of violence and challenge of political authority demonstrated that from the very beginning he created an insurgency regime within his military ranks that oppressed his country. Which 30 years later, his own military generals and freedom fighters will be the very ones to end his reign. To this very day, some of the Dominican people whether living in the United States or Dominican Republic are hesitate to talk about it, but are glad that it is in the past and
The unification under Boyer lasted for twenty-two years. The Dominicans regained their independence from the Haitians in 1844. The political unrest in both countries between the time of their independences and the United States occupation of the nations of 1915 and 1916 was staggering. “Haiti had 33 heads of state, with an average time in power of 3.4 years. Meanwhile, between independence in 1844 and the U.S. military occupation in 1916, the Dominican Republic had 61 heads of state, with an average time in power of only 1.2 years” (Jaramillo & Sancak). The political landscape on both sides of the island were identical. There was no foreign interest on the Haitian side of the island from the period of their independence to the American intervention. Due to a chaotic political landscape and with Haiti’s policy of no foreign landowners allowed there was no hope for the previous Caribbean powerhouse to take its place on the throne of sugar
In In the summer of 1968, Mexico was experiencing the beginning of a new student movement. The students sought liberal reform from the political system in Mexico. These students were determined to reveal the realities of poverty and misery and corruption in their country. (Guttmann) They were involved in different movements that would lead up to one event that would change the lives of everyone, “The Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968”. A day that ended the lives and shattered the dreams of many people. This event was the confirmation that the government could not be trusted and their lives would be determined by the actions they would take. This day would be brushed underneath the carpet and never spoken about for the sake
Once Enlightenment philosophies created new views on individual’s natural rights and their place in society, resistance to oppressive government was inevitable. The core beliefs of freedom and equality above all served as a catalyst for the revolutions in America, France, and Haiti. Because of these shared ideals each revolution is interconnected with the revolution before it. However, the waves of this revolutionary movement that swept through the Atlantic World became increasingly radical with each new country it entered. By looking at the citizen involvement and causes of the American, French, and Haitian revolutions, the growing radicality of these insurrections can be better understood.
They’ve set a shining example of how the will to make a difference can have drastic and incredible results effective or not to the immediate situation at hand, it encourages the surrounding people to question the value of their freedom. After the dictatorship fell, the trial of the murderers was on T.V. for a month, and they admitted to killing the Mirabal sisters and Rufino by strangulation. Although they died however, their sacrifice had not gone unnoticed. The memory of their sacrifice is honored today, by a national holiday and monuments, and through these closure is found, but their story is not lost. “Las Mariposas” leave an important legacy that enforces the ever existing
It is influential to have strong people who want to fight for their rights. It is often easy to focus on oppression than it is to change it. It takes courage to be able to go against the rules of law. In both “In The Time Of The Butterflies” and “The Censors” , Juan and the Mariposas not only reveal their courage, but also develop significant symbols to the roles of each one of them during their time overcoming oppression. The Mirabal’s behavior towards their determination to fight for freedom, symbolizes the hope for freedom. The Dominicans were blessed to have four courageous women who went against the law in order to better their country for all. In the other hand, Juan role to overcome oppression resulted in his death and death to many innocent people. His behavior symbolize distrust, one cannot trust anyone, not even yourself. He was so caught up with his job, doing what he believed was right, he ended up censoring
All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those times was great, but in the eyes of the Dominicans, was nothing short of deadly.
Edwidge Danticat's novel, The Farming of Bones is an epic portrayal of the relationship between 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 represented by an inanimate object. Water, 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 complex meaning. While on the surface the novel is an easy read, the symbolism which is prominent throughout the novel complicates the audience's interpretation. The reader is left to look beyond the language and uncover the underlying themes of the novel. Through symbolism Danticat is able to use inanimate objects to represent each of her character's more deeply rooted problems. In order to prove this theory true, I will thoroughly examine the aforementioned symbolic devices and provide a clear interpretation of their significance in the novel.
...er the revolution, the mentality of the people of San Domingo was foreover changed. Slavery would never be accepted again by the inhabitants. "Any regime which tolerated such practices was doomed, for the revolution had created a new race of men" (242). This new race of men were aware of their self-importance. "There was no need to be ashamed of being a black. The revolution had awakened them, had given them the possibility of achievement, confidence and pride. That psychological weakness, that feeling of inferiority with which the imperialists poison colonial peoples everywhere, these were gone" (244).
Danticat begins her essay with a tragic and bitter tone. She tells of the first people who were murdered when the Spaniards came to Haiti including Queen Anacaona, an Arawak Indian who ruled over the western part of the island. With bitterness she states, “Anacaona was one of their first victims. She was raped and killed and her village pillaged” (137).