42 pages • 1 hour read

The Farming Of Bones

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998

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Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary

Sebastien returns fully aware that Señor Pico killed his friend. He is full of rage and Amabelle worries he will attack Señor Pico, who has access to an arsenal of weapons. Sebastien says they cleaned Joël off in the river and then Kongo, Joël’s father, carried the body off. He then adds that no one can find Kongo at the moment. Sebastien notices that Amabelle is sweating and she admits she had the nightmare about her parents drowning again. He urges her to imagine a different version of her life. He promises her that this is his last season working in the sugarcane fields, that he is sick of being considered “burnt crud at the bottom of the pot,” and that they can invent a better life for themselves (56).

Chapter 11 Summary

Amabelle reflects on a painful fever she contracted as a child, possibly as a result of her parents’ unscrupulous benevolence towards others in need. During this time, she believes she sees a doll her mother made her dancing and speaking to her, but her mother blames her fever for those hallucinations. Her parents tend to her illness and Amabelle regains her health.

Chapter 12 Summary

The morning after Joël is killed, Amabelle walks down to the stream where the workers bathe. They are quieter than usual. She sees Mimi, Sebastien’s sister, and they discuss an upcoming party for Mimi’s employer, Doña Eva, and the possibility of early death. Mimi says she would like to die young like Joël did. They see Kongo washing further down the stream and speculate on his sadness and anger. Mimi then urges Amabelle to move in with Sebastien so that Sebastien will no longer rely on Mimi for anything, allowing her to quit working for Doña Eva. Mimi loudly proclaims that those around her should be “joyous” instead of somber, that Joël would want them to “be grateful he’s not here now” (65). At this outburst, Félice, Joël’s lover, exits the water. Amabelle chases after her. Félice states that she agrees with Mimi, saying they need to seek revenge against Señor Pico. Amabelle says they need to defer that decision to Joël’s father, Kongo.

Chapters 10-12 Analysis

In this section, the importance of the parent-child bond is brought to the fore. The connection is viewed as powerful even if not always positive. Amabelle’s relationship to her parents is fraught with frailties. Readers can see a connection between the scene in which her parents drown and the scene in which Amabelle has a fever–her parents often made decisions that put her at risk. She is haunted by their loss and it’s here readers can see the sheer strength of this connection. This bond is also reflected in the relationship between Kongo and Joël. Kongo’s determination to care for his son even in death shows the fortitude of the connection between them. Additionally, Amabelle’s insistence that Kongo make all the decisions regarding his son’s remains shows the reverence this community harbored for the parent-child bond.

Readers also see an emotional shift from complacency to indignance in these three chapters. Sebastien, who previously had remained calm, is moved to rage after he finds out who killed Joël. Mimi and Félice also reflect this rage as they react to their racist surroundings. This move towards anger, and the suggestion of “war” provides a foil to the muted responses of Luis and Amabelle earlier in the book, which in turn begins to change the tempo of the story (66).