Author Alejo Carpentier, through the eyes of a common slave, expresses the history behind the Haitian Revolution. Using magical realism, both historical accuracy and the mystic reality of the African cultural beliefs can be captured and understood. Carpentier takes emphasis away from the widely acknowledged leaders among the revolution, and instead places perspective on the common man, their culture, the terror resulting from forced tyranny, and the strength of man to prevail. As true as it may be that only the names of the "famous men never truly die," Carpentier shares the history of the common people, those whose specific names may not be remembered but as a whole the impact of hope carries on with the future people destined to suffer. "A man never knows for whom he suffers and hopes. He suffers and hopes and toils for people he will never know, and who, in turn, will suffer and hope and toil for others who will not be happy either, for man always seeks happiness far beyond that which is meted out to him. But man’s greatness consists in the very fact of wanting to be better than he is." Ti Noel, a common slave, spends the greater part of his years working forced labor for a multitude of rulers, single handedly achieving very little in his life aside from reaching an old age among the many who pass away within this power struggle. He has a solid foundation in his culture and heritage, using stories told to him by Macandal as a guide to his perspective. Carpentier captures this with magical realism, effectively describing things, such as voodoo, just as the way Ti Noel would be mentally processing the supernatural occurrences based on his beliefs. The continual separation of cultures is common throughout the Revolution. Carpentier used this clash of culture to give an understanding for the inevitability of powerful people taking control one after another. Initially in the text there was a clear cultural separation of the French Col