These weeks readings revolved around our new book, The Dew Breaker. Create Dangerously and The Other Side of the Water in building up to Dew Breaker presented us with different viewpoint on Caribbean immigrants. Previously, we focused on the specifics of trust networks and remittences, but in these readings there was a greater focus on individual experiences and political events that expanded our knowledge on Caribbean life and struggles. Specifically, there was the struggle artists in dictatorship Haiti and the struggle immigrants had with travel and the lies they hid from family back home.
Create Dangerously, by Daniticat, describes the execution of two Haitian men, Marcel Numa and Louis Drouin. The two were Haitian immigrants living in New York where they were part of an organization called “Young Haiti” that opposed the the dictatorship in Haiti. The two were known writers and artists who spoke out against Haitian madman Papa Doc. After writing against the oppression, the two returned to Haiti to fight against Doc’s forces where they were captured. To put on a show against all those who opposed him, Papa Doc publicly executed the two young man in a gruesome fashion. Danticat focuses on this even to promote an artist’s ability to subversively oppose oppression. Furthermore, she wants to highlight the courage it takes for artists who do oppose power, as these men and women place themselves at the greatest risk to say what others cannot. From her passionate writing, one can see that Danticat was greatly influenced by these writers and the sacrifice they made for others.
The Other Side of the Water is a personal anecdote from Danticat. In this recollection, Danticat explains how she attempted to return her cousin’s corpse back to Haiti to be buried. While trying to do so, Danticat faced opposition in that her cousin, Marius, was undocumented and even if he wasn’t alive, his body could not be returned to Haiti. Beyond this, Danticat is highlighting the hidden life some people retain from their relatives. When talking to her aunt, Danticat was told that Marius was living a peaceful life working everyday and sending money home to his mother. His mother believed he was single and died from poison which she claims was the doing of his roommates. However, when Danticat did speak to Marius’ roommate, a different truth unfolded. Marius was poor, would go out many times, drinking, doing drugs, and bringing women home. Furthermore, Marius died of AIDS, which his mother did not believe. Thus, Marius was living a life of lies in that his mother knew nothing of his ordeals as he constantly lied to her. This brings up the idea that family living back at home believes that people living in another country are much better off and happy, when in fact that is many times not the case. This theme of a life of lies is massive in Dew Breaker. As we will read, Ka’s father retains the truth of his past life in Haiti away from her. Thus, we see where an influence of Dew Breaker came from with The Other Side of the Water.
The Dew Breaker begins through the event of Ka and her father. The two are driving to Miami where they are delivering a statue Ka, an artist, made of her father to a popular Haitian celebrity. While in a hotel, Ka wakes up to find her father and her statue gone. Later that day, when her father returns, he says he threw the statue into the water because he didn’t like its portrayal of him. This however, was a buildup to a confession. All her life, Ka was told her father was a prisoner in Haiti, which is why he has a massive scar on his face. But on his return, her father tells that in fact, he worked in the prison where he was a dew breaker, and that a prisoner lashed his face after which Ka’s father shot and killed the prisoner. Ka feels betrayed by bother her father and mother and wishes her father never told her the truth as she enjoyed portraying him as a prisoner.
The novel transitions into the life of a Haitian immigrant, Eric. Seven years prior, Eric had left his wife in Haiti to emigrate to New York for employment. When she finally comes to New York, she spends her time in the apartment because she is scared that she will get lost outside. In the apartment, she listens to the radio, cooks, and writes letters back home to her mother and father. She has to face this isolation because she doesn’t speak english.
The novel then transitions into the life of Nadine. Nadine is Eric’s ex-girlfriend who lives alone. While with Eric, Nadine had to abort her baby, which presents an overwhelming stress in her life. Nadine a works in a hospital as a nurse where she known to be an isolated person. However, Nadine also cares for her patients, an example being Ms. Hinds, who only Nadine befriends. In her home Nadine has a shrine for her lost child. Furthermore, Nadine constantly avoids talking to her parents who constantly write letters. However, at the end of the section, she finally calls her parents, although ends the conversation quickly due to her need for isolation.
The next chapter discusses Anne. Anne is Ka’s mother and she tells stories of miracles but the best miracle, she believes, is the transformation of her husband from a torturer to a peaceful man. The chapter focuses on the family’s trip to church on Christmas Eve. Although Ka is an theist, which her parents resent, they still take her to chruch to try and infuse faith into her, Furthermore, Ka’s parents dislike her diction and which she would speak more like an adult. In church, Ka believes she spots Emmanuel Constant in the crowd. Constant is a murderer responsible for the death of thousands, and wanted posters are riddled around New York. Constant reminds Anne of her husband in that someone might recognize him for the murderer he was, just as they recognized Constant.
The final section of this reading talks about Dany. Dany’s parents were killed by Ka’s father. Dany and his aunt were the only survivors of the fire that engulfed their house. Dany moved to New York to find his parent’s killer. When Dany found the man, he attempted to kill him but failed because he wasn’t sure if he got the right person. In telling this story to his aunt, she passed away peacefully knowing the killer of her siblings.
