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Upon reading Wicked Weeds, I noticed a central theme of racial discrimination. It was clear through Isadore’s reflections, that people of a certain color and class were treated differently as a result of racial prejudice. In other words, they were treated as “other.” It was as if they were less than human. This was especially true of darker, less privileged people of Haitian descent compared to those of fairer and wealthier backgrounds. Isadore writes in her journal, “In no other place on earth are the rules of racial segregation stricter than they are in Haiti. the ignorant (the racists) will declare this a great irony.” I almost feel as if racism is an attack on the notion of alterity. It is an extreme dislike for anything “different.”

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Upon reading Wicked Weeds, I noticed a central theme of racial discrimination. It was clear through Isadore’s reflections, that people of a certain color and class were treated differently as a result of racial prejudice. In other words, they were treated as “other.” It was as if they were less than human. This was especially true of darker, less privileged people of Haitian descent compared to those of fairer and wealthier backgrounds. Isadore writes in her journal, “In no other place on earth are the rules of racial segregation stricter than they are in Haiti. the ignorant (the racists) will declare this a great irony.” I almost feel as if racism is an attack on the notion of alterity. It is an extreme dislike for anything “different.”

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Gracieusse is key to understanding this concept! We first meet her character at a dinner party hosted by Adeline, the epitome of all that is arrogant and racist. The guests of this party--- all women characterized by the same villainous attributes as the host--- are horrified upon their first look at Gracieusse. Isadore writes of her, “She was a Congo so dark her skin glinted bluely. Her hair was a disaster, spiky and unkempt, as if she’d just had the restraints from an electroshock session removed. She was very short, with long arms and an abject face. She was barefoot and covered her nakedness with a scant yellow skirt and an old pink blouse. Both were far too small for her, as though a little girl had transformed into a woman overnight—as though she had never taken off the outfit someone had once dressed her in as a child. But the most terrible thing about her appearance was her eyes: blanched orbs that rolled in perpetual circles inside lidless sockets.” To add to this, Adeline writes of her nature: “Gracieusse has no sex drive. She has no idea what money is, and it doesn’t interest her. Gracieusse, in fact, doesn’t want anything, doesn’t know anything, doesn’t feel anything. Her sole purpose in life is to do what she’s told.” To me, Gracieusse represents racially discriminated people. She is symbolic of the way that those of a wealthier and fairer-skinned origin view those that are not. They view those that aren’t as darker, dirtier, uglier, and more child-like/dumber than what they actually are. The description of her nature symbolizes their sense of superiority and desires to control that which is “other” to them. Essentially, the idea of race, or difference in looks and skin color, can lead to this sense of alterity…..being “different.”

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Gracieusse is key to understanding this concept! We first meet her character at a dinner party hosted by Adeline, the epitome of all that is arrogant and racist. The guests of this party--- all women characterized by the same villainous attributes as the host--- are horrified upon their first look at Gracieusse. Isadore writes of her, “She was a Congo so dark her skin glinted bluely. Her hair was a disaster, spiky and unkempt, as if she’d just had the restraints from an electroshock session removed. She was very short, with long arms and an abject face. She was barefoot and covered her nakedness with a scant yellow skirt and an old pink blouse. Both were far too small for her, as though a little girl had transformed into a woman overnight—as though she had never taken off the outfit someone had once dressed her in as a child. But the most terrible thing about her appearance was her eyes: blanched orbs that rolled in perpetual circles inside lidless sockets.” To add to this, Adeline writes of her nature: “Gracieusse has no sex drive. She has no idea what money is, and it doesn’t interest her. Gracieusse, in fact, doesn’t want anything, doesn’t know anything, doesn’t feel anything. Her sole purpose in life is to do what she’s told.” To me, Gracieusse represents racially discriminated people. She is symbolic of the way that those of a wealthier and fairer-skinned origin view those that are not. They view those that aren’t as darker, dirtier, uglier, and more child-like/dumber than what they actually are. The description of her nature symbolizes their sense of superiority and desires to control that which is “other” to them. Essentially, the idea of race, or difference in looks and skin color, can lead to this sense of alterity…..being “different.”

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In the novel, we come to learn that a few of our main characters are suffering from mental health issues. This then leads to questions of whether mental state can affect the public opinion of a person. It is revealed that our main character, the seemingly-human-zombie, is truly suffering from Cotard’s syndrome. Rather than truly being a zombie, he simply thinks he is one. At first, he is viewed as a hero for saving his three friends from murder, but once this information comes to light, he is instead viewed as a psychopath…..someone so weird, he’s inexplicably “different.” We also learn that Colonel Myrthil had Capgras syndrome. So, even though he killed his wife and daughter, he became less villainous in the eyes of others, because he wasn’t functioning in the same realm as them. Suddenly, he too became a “different” being.

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In the novel, we come to learn that a few of our main characters are suffering from mental health issues. This then leads to questions of whether mental state can affect the public opinion of a person. It is revealed that our main character, the seemingly-human-zombie, is truly suffering from Cotard’s syndrome. Rather than truly being a zombie, he simply thinks he is one. At first, he is viewed as a hero for saving his three friends from murder, but once this information comes to light, he is instead viewed as a psychopath…..someone so weird, he’s inexplicably “different.” We also learn that Colonel Myrthil had Capgras syndrome. So, even though he killed his wife and daughter, he became less villainous in the eyes of others, because he wasn’t functioning in the same realm as them. Suddenly, he too became a “different” being.

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I found this theme of mental health to be especially interesting. It made me question whether functioning in a different state of mind, was really all that it seemed. By calling the two characters crazy, it made it seem like there is a universal “accepted” level of consciousness; that anyone who operates on a different plane is “other.” This distinction of mental health, symbolized the question of, what exactly constitutes as “other”?

# data[].attributes.subject
I found this theme of mental health to be especially interesting. It made me question whether functioning in a different state of mind, was really all that it seemed. By calling the two characters crazy, it made it seem like there is a universal “accepted” level of consciousness; that anyone who operates on a different plane is “other.” This distinction of mental health, symbolized the question of, what exactly constitutes as “other”?

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Religion, while never fully acknowledged, is still a prominent theme throughout the novel. Haitian vodou is especially explored through the characters of Papa Vincent and Placide. Papa Vincent was an extremely powerful witch doctor, who, along with Placide, was kidnapped due to a fear of their powers. By labeling words such as “magic” and “sorcery” to the vodou religion and its practitioners, they suddenly become otherworldly and alien…. not confining to the rules of this world. 

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Religion, while never fully acknowledged, is still a prominent theme throughout the novel. Haitian vodou is especially explored through the characters of Papa Vincent and Placide. Papa Vincent was an extremely powerful witch doctor, who, along with Placide, was kidnapped due to a fear of their powers. By labeling words such as “magic” and “sorcery” to the vodou religion and its practitioners, they suddenly become otherworldly and alien…. not confining to the rules of this world. 

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Papa Vincent and Placide are gifted four items: a cashew seed, a peanut seed, a recipe for black sand, and white curing sand. They are faced with a choice of which two items they should each keep. Placide chooses the cashew seed and black sand, with the intention of making money. I took this as a representation of choosing between the true version of the vodou religion and its practitioners, versus the exploitation of it in western representations. 

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Papa Vincent and Placide are gifted four items: a cashew seed, a peanut seed, a recipe for black sand, and white curing sand. They are faced with a choice of which two items they should each keep. Placide chooses the cashew seed and black sand, with the intention of making money. I took this as a representation of choosing between the true version of the vodou religion and its practitioners, versus the exploitation of it in western representations. 