Throughout The Farming of Bones, Edwidge Danticat weaves actual events from history into her fictional story. Select one of the situations where she places her characters within a real historical context and:

1) Describe the historical context of the scene or chapter (i.e., What actually happened in history that Danticat uses in the book?)

2) Discuss the relationship between the historical context and the fictional story. What does this piece of history have to do with Amabelle's life? Why does Danticat choose to place these characters at this particular point in the story in this particular historical context?

Essay Topic 2

One of the themes The Farming of Bones explores is "past vs. present." Discuss what the novel has to say about this theme. Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

The relationships between parents and their children is a recurring topic in The Farming of Bones. Select two of the following pairs and discuss the relationship between the parent and child. Focus your discussion on the impact of the relationship between parent and child. Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

1) Amabelle and her parents.

2) Senora Valencia and her parents (Papi and her deceased mother).

3) Senora Valencia, Senor Pico and the twins.

4) Yves and Man Rapadou.

(see the answer keys)

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