In “Create Dangerously,” Danticat writes her interpretation of an execution of two men during the Haitian revolution of the 1960’s. She expands on this story,stating her role as an immigrant and as a writer who responsibility is it to tell the truth and revive the myth and heroism of a dangerous past. She compares herself to other authors, such as Camus, other French authors and Caribbean authors who often wrote about times of rebellion and had this romanticized, other worldly quality about them. She goes on with these comparisons to classical Greek literature with its anti-authoritarian nature, which Haitians performed as an act of defiance in face of the oppressive regime, and ancient Egyptian beliefs, which Danticat connects to spiritually and identifies with it on some level. She says her writing follows suit with all these great writers, exposing dangerous hidden truths, and can sometimes contradict her supposed role as an immigrant who is supposed to become an doctor- not writer. She furthers her connection as a immigrant, saying how they can maintain ties and produce change in their wistful homelands, like the two American Haitian immigrants who were executed. All of which are examples of people who have the will to resist oppressive authority, a strong theme in Haitian history.

In the “Other Side of the Water,” Danticat tells the story of her niece’s, Marius, death in America and his posthumous return to Haiti. She did not have close connections to that side of her family and came into contact with her aunt after her son died in America and she wanted to bring him back to Haiti. Her son was an illegal immigrant, which caused some legal difficulties because even dead he was considered an alien and forced to be deported. After her investigation, Danticat discovered Marius died of HIV and lived a wild lifestyle in Miami. According to Marius’ mother, her son was not misbehaving and sent her hundreds of dollars a month- an example of how illegal immigrants of send the most. After his funeral in Haiti, Danticat returned to Hatit and her relative asked if people return from when they cross the water, referring to Haiti’s large immigrant population and the larger metaphysical belief of souls transitioning to the after life. What frustrated me about this story is that Marius’ mother directly told Danticat not to write about her son and she did just that. She should have respected her family’s wishes or attempt to change names.

In her novel The Dew Breaker, Danticat combines the harsh realities of immigrant life after leaving war torn Haiti and the continuing mysticism surrounding Haitians. By mysticism, I refer to their fate in the supernatural and intense connections to symbols that stem from ancient fates in order to adapt to new circumstances and places. For example, in Water Child, Nadine expresses her grief from the abortion and the loss of her relationship with a shrine of a pebble in the water. In Anne’s story, she speaks primarily of fate and miracles, such as a women crying crystals. In Ka’s story, ancient Egyptian beliefs guide her identity and relationship to her father. In Dany’s story, his aunt Estina is blind and guides his journey like the mystic wise blind man in ancient Greek  tales. Water is an essential symbol throughout all the stories: the statue in the pond, needing a glass of water, “water child,” the drowning of relatives, living by water falls because it represents rebirth and transitioning through periods of life and metaphysical consciousness. I appreciate Danticat’s ability to weave reality with a undertone of the supernatural elements. Somehow, I did not catch the connection between Nadine’s silence with her family and the nature of her job to her silence and struggle with her accepting the consequences of her abortion, or the significance of the unlucky number 7. This just adds to the literary almost supernatural appropriateness of the stories. This type of magic extends as you read the book because you realize that all the stories are connected through their native country’s tragic past, which is reconstituting itself across international borders. It present the paradox between the beautiful homeland and its unsettling prospects and past, and the ability to create a more promising life in America while still being drawn/ repelled by your native Haitian immigrants and America itself.