The River Massacre

                 Uncovering the true inspiration and history of Danticat’s Haitian roots can only be exposed by digging deep into the countries past and discovering the many horrendous events that intertwine and slowly reveal themselves throughout Krik? Krak!  When beginning my journey into this literary piece, I was severely handicapped when it came to the vast array of knowledge that is needed to truly begin to reveal Haiti’s history, and the stories of the characters told within Danticat’s Krik? Krak!

In “Nineteen Thirty Seven”, the account of what happened at the Massacre River is told through the eyes of the female narrator, whose recollection of her pilgrimage to the sacred place is precisely recalled.  “When I was five years old, we went on a pilgrimage to the Massacre River, which I had expected to be still crimson with blood, but was as clear as any water that I had ever seen.”(pg. 41)  After researching the history of what is known as the Massacre of 1937, or the Parsley Massacre, the narrator’s memories became real in my mind.  This was no longer just a part of the story, but rather a factual event that impacts and divides the islands of the Dominican Republic and Haiti to this very day.

                By combining fictional characters with real life events, Danticat’s literary tale tells a much more effective and emotional chronicle of the trials and tribulations her ancestors encountered.   “Weighted down by my body inside hers, she leaped from Dominican soil into the water, and out again on the Haitian side of the river.  She glowed red when she came out, blood clinging to her skin, which at that moment looked as though it were in flames.”(pg. 49