Summary Of 1937 By Edwidge Danticat

Haiti is a country that portrays a lot of conflict due to the citizen’s race, gender and poverty. In the story 1937, Edwidge Danticat conveys the message of oppression that Haitian women face every day, but through this oppression, these Haitian women are a source of strength and survival through their narratives, which can be passed on for many generations to come. Within the story 1937, it talks about the Parsley Massacre, which was a tragic event that occurred in Haiti in 1937. The Parsley Massacre occurred in 1937, which was a government-sponsored genocide that was directed by the Dominican leader, named Rafael Trujillo. This event occurred due to the nation accumulating a substantial amount of debt, the Haitians fighting for independence,

The conflict occurred over Haitians stealing Dominican Republic citizens land and crops. Many of these Haitians survived unjust oppression, inhumane crimes or infringement of freedom by authorities. Through this story, Danticat has the power to tell the experiences to an often-unaware world and through these stories much truth to be found. This massacre shows an accurate depiction of an intimate experience that shaped many generations of Haitian citizens. Throughout the story of 1937, the narrator Josephine recollects her accounts of her mom being taken away to prison and visiting her mom at prison. Within her first few visits, she is reluctant in sharing her emotions and the suffering she is facing throughout this experience. Before her mother went to prison, she recollects the day her mother was being taken away. She states, “She was being pulled along by two police men, each tugging at one of her arms as she dragged her feet. Her face was swollen to three times the size that it had been.(39)” This quotation is powerful as it shows how badly women were treated within this country when they were being locked up. It is just heart wrenching to know how cruel these women were treated. When Josephine’s mom went to prison, she stated that “The police

Let your flight be joyful. (42)” Even in her mother’s final days, Josephine’s mother is able to assure her daughter with total confidence that the women of the river are strong survivors. Her mom’s courage allows her story to be passed on for future generations. By having a story passed down through many generations, it preserves history for a family. This story flips the importance of power and wealth to succeed in many cultures, by using family as a source of value and strength. Family relationships matter within this story, because there was meaning behind the sacredness of being a mother and daughter. At the end of the story after Josephine’s mom is burned, the cycle of life and death rebirths when Jacqueline states, “life is never lost, another one always comes up to replace the last.(48)” This is another source of strength as Josephine is letting go of her past and forming her new life. She is using her mother’s story as a sign of strength as she is forming new relationships during a time of