31 pages • 1 hour read
Alejo CarpentierThe Kingdom Of This World
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1949A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Poison
Macandal is the Lord of Poison, and much of the Haitian revolution seems to be accomplished through the harshness of the environment itself: disease and poison are constant risks. Macandal seems to have the power to disseminate poison. However, even after his death, poison remains an important weapon in the struggle for freedom. Pauline Bonaparte and other colonizers finally leave after another wave of sickness, and King Henri Christophe is deposed after he falls ills. Poison seems to be a natural ally of those searching for freedom.
Dogs
While wild animals are celebrated in Voodoo traditions, domestic animals seem to have a different status. Dogs in particular are the enemies of slaves, precisely because they can be trained to chase and kill men. During Bouckman’s rebellion, dogs are burned alive; later, a ship of dogs is sent to “eat blacks” (59).
Entombment and Imprisonment
In this book, in which Haitian slaves are struggling for their freedom, images of tombs and prisons take on a special significance: they make the spiritual condition of slavery architectural. The entombment of Christophe’s Archbishop is an act of cruelty that underlines Christophe’s larger disregard for human suffering. It is thus fitting that his corpse is entombed in mortar so that it cannot break down and mingle with natural elements.
