Before this week I didn’t think it possible for an author to write without a singular ounce of levity. Edwidge Danticat has thoroughly corrected this assumption. Writing extensively on the narratives of Haitian-Americans, she espouses her views on events that transpire in the lives of individuals. In “Create Dangerously” Danticat explores the impact that artists have on social politics. The essay beginnings with Danticat recounting of the execution of two men by the Duvalier regimes militia. These men were executed for political reasons as such murders were common under the rule of the two Duvalier’s. The killings were meant to spread the message of fear and to serve as a warning to would be dissenters. From here Danticat explains how the Haitian people were in need of media that would inspire them to speak out against oppressive regimes. She talks about the importance of these art forms, specifically writing. Writing is one of the most powerful tools people possess in order to sow discontent among the populous, and because of this writing is dangerous. People risk their lives to read and write contentious content, and this is why it’s so important to continue producing it.

In her second essay “The Other side of the Water”, Danticat explores the difficulties that Haitians encounter when trying to move across borders. So far this semester, we’ve focused on the issues of Caribbean immigrants both domestically and abroad but we hadn’t covered the struggle that immigrants have moving freely. Every movement requires the proper documentation for everything must be accounted for. This stringent universal rule isn’t lifted even for the dead apparently. It can’t be pleasant to be stuck in one place, this goes double for those immigrants who travel illegally and are unable to return afterwards.

Moving right along to her novel, “The Dew Breaker”, Danticat by means of largely self-contained chapters discusses the issues faced by several Haitian immigrants as they live life in America. The first chapter stood out as the most poignant dealt with young Ka discovering the true nature of her father when he chucks her statue of him in a lake. I have no idea why Ka’s father would reveal himself as the “Dew Breaker” to his daughter to be honest with you, it seems like something that you’d take with you to the grave. I don’t know how this man lives with what he’s done, but you can’t just dump that information on your daughter. To me it seems like it’d just be better to pretend as though nothing happened and try to hide it as best as you can, especially because they are immigrants living in an area with other Haitian immigrants. Seriously, imagine how horrifying that is for Ka. If I found out my father was a professional torturer and murderer I don’t think anything would ever be the same, I would not care how “peaceful” he became after the fact. Yes, Nadine’s story is tragic, she committed an atrocity by the standards of her people and because of this she has been silently tortured. I cannot fathom how traumatizing having an abortion must be but I’d wager that murdering and torturing people under the moniker the “Dew Breaker” (which I learned is a Haitian colloquial term for torturer) would leave much more of an impact.

My first impressions of this book aren’t great if I’m being honest. I’m not sure where Danticat is going with these vignette like chapters. She writes with simple language and the content, as aforementioned, has absolutely zero levity. Seriously, when I was reading these first few chapters it was like the room I was in faded into monochrome. We’ve read a number of depressing tales this semester, I’m not sure I look forward to finishing this one.