Dye mon, gen mon means that beyond the mountain there is another mountain. This phrase is a popular Haitian Creole proverb that Haitians use to describe life in Haiti (Wilentz 7). It may be hard to believe, but Haiti was once known for its immense wealth of natural resources. Haiti was originally known as the French colony of Saint-Domingue. Explorers nicknamed the colony The Pearl of the Antilles due to the vast resources available, such as sugar cane and coffee. In 1791, African slaves rebelled against the island's white slave owners. The results of this rebellion gave Santo Domingo the credit of being the first country to abolish slavery (Coupeau 12). Fourteen years later, Haiti became an independent country. It is unfortunate that even as Haiti achieved freedom, the country has continually struggled to become prosperous and maintain its own identity. Edwidge Danticat is the author of the short story “A Wall of Fire Rising”. His story connects readers to Haitian history in a way that would most likely be overlooked if the reader possessed no knowledge of Haiti's intriguing past. In “A Wall of Fire Rising,” references to Haitian history are necessary to provide relevance to the story, the characters, and their motivations in the times in which they live. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The story begins in the Guy family home, where both Guy and Little Guy have big news. Little Guy has been given the lead role in a school play and his mother is very excited and proud. She is so proud of her son because he will play the role of Dutty Boukman, the leader of the slave revolution of 1791. Dutty Boukman was a runaway slave and a voodoo high priest. Haitian history expert Steeve Coupeau describes the events based on his research. The revolution began on the night of August 22, 1791 after a voodoo ceremony. The slaves began slaughtering every white man, woman, and child they encountered. Leaders of slave gangs could be seen carrying a wooden spear complete with the skeleton of a white child impaled on its tip (Coupeau 187). Little Guy recites his lines from the opera for his parents, and this creates a hope within them that had always been there but had never manifested itself. He begins with a single word: “'Freedom!' - shouted the boy” (Danticat 368). The simple pronunciation of this word resonates deeply for Guy and Lili. He continues with his speech: A wall of fire rises and in the ashes I see the bones of my people. Not just those people whose dark, hollow faces I see every day in the fields, but all those souls who have gone on to haunt my dreams. At night I still relive the last caresses of the hand of a loving father, of a valiant love, of a beloved friend. (Danticat 368) Once Guy finishes, the narrator describes that “The experience left them both with a strange feeling that they could not explain” (Danticat 368). Danticat emphasizes that these are not Boukman's actual words, but a merely European view of the events that occurred: “It was obvious that this was a speech written by a European man, who gave the revolutionary slave Boukman the kind of European phrasing that would have could have made the real Boukman turn in his grave” (Danticat 368). Lili tells her son that the voodoo priest was a "great rebel leader" (Danticat 368). Dutty Boukman could be considered a great leader, considering that after a week of rampage more than 2,000 whites were murdered. It seemed that the former slaves had accomplished what they had planned. In The History of Haiti,author Steeve Coupeau writes, “After the initial wave of attacks, the surviving white settlers rebelled and turned their weapons on the newly freed slaves, leaving more than 10,000 dead (Coupeau 127). The book also notes that at least three hundred sugar plantations and fields were burned during the rampage and destroyed the island's agricultural industry. The political advisor of the SACS (Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States), Watson Dennis, describes that the slave rebellion in Santo Domingo "rang the bell announcing the end of slavery and the slave trade". According to him, "the immediate and long-term consequences of the slave rebellion of 1791 made August 23 an unforgettable date in history" (News). Freedom can mean many things to several people who lived free in the 1950s, but were slaves to their own poverty and unable to emigrate to another country where their circumstances could change (Brooke 1+). The economy was suffering from so-called “brain drain” due to a large wave of well-educated professionals immigrating to the United States to escape the brutal dictatorship of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier (Gail 259) With many of Haiti's most educated men out from the country, it is said that the worldview of Haitian men was not good of Haitians were illiterate (Brooke). To support the hypothesis that Guy fit the mold of the uneducated Haitian man, we see him struggle over Boukman's name written in the play, and state "I see some very harsh words here, son" ( Danticat 368). Guy feels responsible for his family's plight, but feels powerless to change their situation. He appears to be desperate for freedom from his financial situation and depression. The boy tries to find work when he can but is unable to provide consistently. He also says that he would like to fly the hot air balloon to "somewhere and keep floating until I get to a really nice place with a nice piece of land where I could be something new" (Danticat 375). At the end of the story, Guy meets his death by jumping out of the balloon basket while in the air. The hot air balloon can symbolize different ideas such as hope, freedom and escape. The reader can grasp these ideas without any historical knowledge of Haiti. Before Guy enters the basket or reveals to Lili that he is "smart enough to do so" (Danticat 373), he stands next to the barbed wire fence, staring at the balloon. He goes so far as to stick his hand through the fence to try to touch the balloon and sharpens his pocket knife on the metal surface, but puts the knife back before Lili and Little Guy get close enough to see. This may seem insignificant to most. readers, but knowing more information about the voodoo ceremony that took place shortly before Boukman led slaves in the Haitian Revolution, you would know that a knife was an important part. An excerpt from the article “The Story of Haiti” details the events of the ceremony. This meeting took the form of a Voodoo ceremony in the Bois Caïman, in the northern mountains of the island. It was raining and the sky was raging with clouds; the slaves then began to confess their resentment of their condition. A woman began to dance languidly in the crowd, taken by the spirits of the loa. With a knife in his hand he cut the throat of a pig and distributed its blood to all the participants of the meeting who swore to kill all the white people on the island. (Wilentz 167)The knife represented in the voodoo ceremony was intended to perform the pig sacrifice, but also serves as a gesture of offering to the spirit Eruzile Dantor. Journalist Patrick Jordan points out in his article “The State ofHaiti” that although voodoo was banned in Haiti until 2012, some form of voodoo has been practiced since the arrival of the first slaves from Africa. (Jordan). Jordan interviewed a Catholic missionary who stated the following: “Haiti is 80% Catholic, 20% Protestant, and 100% Voodoo” (Jordan). This is significant to the story not only because of the belief in the involvement of spirits in Haitian life. Revolution, but also how Guy's knife has a tenuous connection to voodoo in the story. Eruzile Dantor is known as the mother of Haiti and the patron goddess of New Orleans(Coupeau). Visitors to Port Au Prince and other areas of Haiti will see images of this particular loa depicted everywhere as a Black Madonna. Voodoo believers describe a loa as a spirit or god (Wilentz). Eruzile Dantor is the goddess of love, jealousy, passion and sex. She is also the patron goddess of women betrayed by their lovers, single mothers and business women. He loves women and protects them at all costs. Some of the objects placed on an altar when this loa is summoned are sharp knives, perfumes, and objects of many colors. Bright colors are her favorite. A voodoo believer will leave these items on the altar for the loa they want to summon, and in return the spirit will bless them by granting what they desire (Wilentz 109). It is very likely that Guy had already planned his fate long ago. . His obsession with the area where the balloon was kept was most likely due to the fact that he had secretly created an altar nearby where he would bring the loa's gifts. The image of Guy sharpening the knife on the fence represents the offering to Eruzile Dantor to provide protection for his wife and son. He can also ask that this Loa provide him with the confidence to end his life and make his passage to heaven easier (Wilentz 109). Guy told Lili “you're really good with that guy,” and that she can “take things as they come” (Danticat 375). Guy is convincing Lili that she is a strong, independent woman. He is also reassuring her by telling her that he has no need him to survive. Guy's decision to end his life was final. Haiti has a history of corruption in government. The Duvalier era provided a sad vision of the world of their leaders (Brooke). of Haitian residents, opportunities for riots were created by rigged elections and the unequal distribution of wealth In the story, residents walk from their homes in the slum to a central location near the sugar mill where the government has placed a television for them. people can see a state-sponsored nightly news program. It would be safe to assume that this was created by the government to curb any idea of ​​revolt among the population. A coercion network called the National Unity Party was created by François Duvalier under the Unity stratagem and claimed more than 40,000 human lives. “The NUP was composed of the Macoutes (Duvalier's personal army), the Haitian army, right-wing paramilitary groups, and rural magistrates to prevent civil resistance and eliminate any political competition” (Coupeau 210). The slum residents in "A Wall of Fire Rising" went to a central location to watch the nightly news. “Most evenings, people remained in place long after the gendarme had left and told stories under the large empty screen. They lit bonfires with dry sticks, corn husks and paper, cursing the authorities under their breath” (Danticat). Corn husks thrown into the fire could be a poppet doll or a voodoo doll representing someone in power. (Wilentz 201-260)..