American Street

by

Ibi Zoboi

Donna/Primadonna François Character Analysis

Donna is one of Fabiola’s cousins; she’s Matant Jo and Phillip’s daughter, Pri’s twin, and Chantal’s younger sister. Like Fabiola, Donna and Pri are 16 years old. Whereas Pri is short and stout, Donna is tall and willowy. She loves clothes, hairstyling, and makeup, so she constantly dresses up and gets her hair done. At first, Fabiola finds all of this tiring and silly. Since Fabiola isn’t interested in Donna’s highly stylized look, Fabiola finds it hard to understand why it’s so meaningful to Donna. But as the novel progresses, Fabiola realizes that Donna has good reason to lean so hard into beauty. Since she was 12, Donna has been dating Dray—and the entire time they’ve been dating, Dray has physically abused her. The hair and makeup serve a dual purpose: Dray likes girls who wear wigs and heavy makeup, and Donna can also use beauty products to cover her bruises and scratches. However, Donna still thinks of her relationship with Dray as a positive thing in her life. She consistently makes excuses for his abuse and insists that he loves her, so she’s willing to put up with it. This infuriates Donna’s family, but they still put up with Dray’s presence. Fabiola channels her hatred of Dray into introducing Donna to elements of Vodou. She sees in Donna an iteration of Ezili, the lwa (Vodou spirit) of women—and when Donna comes home with bruises, Fabiola suggests that Donna is Ezili-Danto, a version of Ezili who seeks vengeance for women. Seeing Donna as an iteration of Ezili also helps Fabiola appreciate Donna’s love of everything feminine. Though Donna is distraught when Papa Legba shoots and kills Dray, the novel nevertheless implies that his death is a good thing for Donna. She’ll no longer have to suffer his abuse, and though it will take time for her to heal emotionally, she’ll have her family there to support her.

Donna/Primadonna François Quotes in American Street

The American Street quotes below are all either spoken by Donna/Primadonna François or refer to Donna/Primadonna François. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dignity and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Princess’s Story Quotes

Ma named us Primadonna and Princess ‘cause she thought being born in America to a father with a good-paying job at a car factory and a house and a bright future meant that we would be royalty. But when our father got killed, that’s when shit fell apart.

Related Characters: Pri/Princess François (speaker), Fabiola Toussaint, Donna/Primadonna François, Chantal François, Matant Jo François, Phillip/Jean-Phillip François
Related Symbols: The House at 8800 American Street
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

She stares at the magic things for a while without touching them before she asks, “Does it work?”

“Well,” I say. “Has anyone ever tried to kill you?” I have to speak loudly over the music.

Pri turns around and closes the bedroom door, muting the music a bit.

“Kill me? Ain’t nobody rolling up in this house to kill anyone.”

“I know. We made it so. Me and my mother. Every day we asked the lwas to protect our family in Detroit and their house,” I say, adjusting my bra.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Pri/Princess François (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Chantal François, Matant Jo François, Manman/Valerie Toussaint
Related Symbols: The House at 8800 American Street
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

I look all around the restaurant. “But this is your job,” I say.

She inhales and looks around, too. “Yes, it is. But our work is not without the help of good American citizens like yourself. You are an American citizen, right?”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Detective Shawna Stevens (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Manman/Valerie Toussaint
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

Then I begin to see him for who he really is. Dray, with his sunglasses even as night spreads across the sky, and his gold cross gleaming, and his love/hate for my cousin, reminds me of the lwa Baron Samedi, guardian of the cemetery—keeper of death.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Baron Samedi
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

But I don’t want to look like a church lady. I still want to look...good. So I take off my mother’s church dress and put on a plain sweatshirt that belongs to Chantal and a pair of new jeans. I wear the Air Jordans that Pri picked out for me, but I keep my hairstyle. Now I don’t look so...Haitian. So immigrant.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Pri/Princess François, Donna/Primadonna François, Chantal François, Manman/Valerie Toussaint, Ezili/Ezili-Danto
Page Number: 138
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

This is a makeshift altar for Ezili with all the things she loves in the world. My whole body tingles when I realize what’s happening.

Again, Papa Legba has opened another door. How could I have missed this? Of course, I need Ezili’s help, too. And she’d been right under my nose, working through Donna with all her talk about hair, jewelry, clothes, and beauty.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Ezili/Ezili-Danto
Page Number: 178
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

How is this the good life, when even the air in this place threatens to wrap its fingers around my throat? In Haiti, with all its problems, there was always a friend or a neighbor to share in the misery. And then, after our troubles were tallied up like those points at the basketball game, we would celebrate being alive.

But here, there isn’t even a slice of happiness big enough to fill up all these empty houses, and broken buildings, and wide roads that lead to nowhere and everywhere.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Matant Jo François, Dray
Page Number: 247
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32 Quotes

We are all in white. Even Pri has shed her dark clothes and now wears a white turtleneck and pants. I had wrapped my cousins and aunt in white sheets after making a healing bath of herbs and Florida water for each one, and let them curl into themselves and cry and cry. This is what Manman had done for our neighbors who survived the big earthquake. The bath is like a baptism, and if black is the color of mourning, then white is the color of rebirth and new beginnings.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Kasim, Pri/Princess François, Donna/Primadonna François, Matant Jo François, Dray, Manman/Valerie Toussaint
Page Number: 321
Explanation and Analysis:
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Donna/Primadonna François Quotes in American Street

The American Street quotes below are all either spoken by Donna/Primadonna François or refer to Donna/Primadonna François. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dignity and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Princess’s Story Quotes

Ma named us Primadonna and Princess ‘cause she thought being born in America to a father with a good-paying job at a car factory and a house and a bright future meant that we would be royalty. But when our father got killed, that’s when shit fell apart.

Related Characters: Pri/Princess François (speaker), Fabiola Toussaint, Donna/Primadonna François, Chantal François, Matant Jo François, Phillip/Jean-Phillip François
Related Symbols: The House at 8800 American Street
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

She stares at the magic things for a while without touching them before she asks, “Does it work?”

“Well,” I say. “Has anyone ever tried to kill you?” I have to speak loudly over the music.

Pri turns around and closes the bedroom door, muting the music a bit.

“Kill me? Ain’t nobody rolling up in this house to kill anyone.”

“I know. We made it so. Me and my mother. Every day we asked the lwas to protect our family in Detroit and their house,” I say, adjusting my bra.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Pri/Princess François (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Chantal François, Matant Jo François, Manman/Valerie Toussaint
Related Symbols: The House at 8800 American Street
Page Number: 76
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

I look all around the restaurant. “But this is your job,” I say.

She inhales and looks around, too. “Yes, it is. But our work is not without the help of good American citizens like yourself. You are an American citizen, right?”

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Detective Shawna Stevens (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Manman/Valerie Toussaint
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

Then I begin to see him for who he really is. Dray, with his sunglasses even as night spreads across the sky, and his gold cross gleaming, and his love/hate for my cousin, reminds me of the lwa Baron Samedi, guardian of the cemetery—keeper of death.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Baron Samedi
Page Number: 132
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

But I don’t want to look like a church lady. I still want to look...good. So I take off my mother’s church dress and put on a plain sweatshirt that belongs to Chantal and a pair of new jeans. I wear the Air Jordans that Pri picked out for me, but I keep my hairstyle. Now I don’t look so...Haitian. So immigrant.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Pri/Princess François, Donna/Primadonna François, Chantal François, Manman/Valerie Toussaint, Ezili/Ezili-Danto
Page Number: 138
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

This is a makeshift altar for Ezili with all the things she loves in the world. My whole body tingles when I realize what’s happening.

Again, Papa Legba has opened another door. How could I have missed this? Of course, I need Ezili’s help, too. And she’d been right under my nose, working through Donna with all her talk about hair, jewelry, clothes, and beauty.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Dray, Bad Leg/Papa Legba, Ezili/Ezili-Danto
Page Number: 178
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

How is this the good life, when even the air in this place threatens to wrap its fingers around my throat? In Haiti, with all its problems, there was always a friend or a neighbor to share in the misery. And then, after our troubles were tallied up like those points at the basketball game, we would celebrate being alive.

But here, there isn’t even a slice of happiness big enough to fill up all these empty houses, and broken buildings, and wide roads that lead to nowhere and everywhere.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Donna/Primadonna François, Matant Jo François, Dray
Page Number: 247
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32 Quotes

We are all in white. Even Pri has shed her dark clothes and now wears a white turtleneck and pants. I had wrapped my cousins and aunt in white sheets after making a healing bath of herbs and Florida water for each one, and let them curl into themselves and cry and cry. This is what Manman had done for our neighbors who survived the big earthquake. The bath is like a baptism, and if black is the color of mourning, then white is the color of rebirth and new beginnings.

Related Characters: Fabiola Toussaint (speaker), Kasim, Pri/Princess François, Donna/Primadonna François, Matant Jo François, Dray, Manman/Valerie Toussaint
Page Number: 321
Explanation and Analysis: