The Dew Breaker continues by introducing more stories to relate all the different characters introduced in the beginning. The idea of being sheltered from reality appears in the “Bridal Seamstress.” Two characters were introduced Aline and Beatrice. Beatrice explains how she was tortured in Haiti by the Dew Breaker. The Dew Breaker would whip the soles of her feet and then make her walk back home without shoes. When Beatrice moved to America, the trauma of torture followed her. She believes that the torturer moves wherever she goes because she thinks that the Dew Breaker lives on her block. Although Aline tries to tell Beatrice that the Dew Breaker doesn’t live there anymore, Beatrice doesn’t believe it.  Beatrice thinks that although the Dew Breaker doesn’t live there, he still hides there watching her. Beatrice is blinded from reality. This circumstance is similar to Aline because she is protected from hearing the realities of people like Beatrice from the silence of the families.

The “Monkey Tails,” reintroduces Michel but this time his past was described. This story was told during the time that Jean-Claude Duvalier, or Baby Doc was overthrown. In this chaos, mobs were formed to go after the dew breakers, or macoutes. Michel finds his friend Romain, whose father, Regulus is one of the macoutes. Regulus later killed himself after being pursued. Michel’s also had father issues because his father Monsieur Christophe never told Michel that he was his dad. The theme of silence appears again as Christophe hid this secret from Michel. The monkey tail refers to Duvalier as being able to swing from tree to tree going higher each time.

The “Funeral Singers,” introduces three new characters Freda, Mariselle, and Rezia. These three ladies are similar to the three men Eric, Michel, and Dany in the beginning of the novel. They each had their own stories about their life in Haiti. Freda was a funeral singer who refused to sing at the national palace. Therefore, her mother told her to leave Haiti. In Mariselle’s case her husband was killed when he painted a distorted image of the president. Therefore, she felt the need to escape the country. Rezia was raped when she was a little girl by a macoute. In all these circumstances, these ladies had to leave Haitit and find a new place of settlement.

The final chapter in this novel ties everything together by finally telling the story of the Dew Breaker’s life. The Dew Breaker wanted leave the country but decided to do one last job. This job involved killing a preacher. This preacher happened to be Anne’s stepbrother. The Dew Breaker revealed that he became a dew breaker because he didn’t want to be like his parents. The Dew Breaker along with other macoutes captured and beat up the preacher. The Dew Breaker finds out that he made a mistake by not initially killing the preacher. Now his mission was to release the preacher alive. However, after the Dew Breaker captured the preacher, the chair that the preacher was sitting on broke. The preacher then used the broken leg of the chair to slash the Dew Breaker’s face. Infuriated, the Dew Breaker killed the preacher. When he escapes he meets Anne who helped him recover his wound. They then moved to America together.

The Dew Breaker had to endure all the years of living with the guilt of murdering his wife’s stepbrother and constantly being constantly afraid of being recognized. This is like a punishment of for him because he is reminded everyday of his actions. Death would be an easier way out but it is too late now because he has a family. The life of the Dew Breaker has affected all the characters in the book one-way or the other. For some reason Danticat never revealed the true name of the Dew Breaker.

The second portion of Danticat’s The Dew Breaker gave a beautiful and intricate finish to a touching novel. This portion, like the first, consisted of multiple stories from multiple perspectives that illustrate the impact and wide reach of the dew breaker, Ka’s father.

In “The Bridal Seamstress,” we hear the story of Beatrice Saint Fort. Beatrice is bridal seamstress from Haiti who has worked all her life. We learn about her through her interview with Aline, whose initial goal was to get a story about the soon-to-retire tailor. However, it was Beatrice who actually got the story on Aline. With every question Aline presented, Beatrice would ask one in return, thus exposing Aline’s past and inner thoughts. Aline, who did not even want to be a reporter, opens up to Beatrice about her life during the interview. After some time, Beatrice asks Aline to go outside and look at her block. During this interaction, Beatrice reveals her traumatizing experience from Haiti, where a prison guard whipped her for refusing to go to a dance with him. Beatrice believes that the prison guard now follows her everywhere she moves, as if haunting her. When Aline examines the supposed house of the prison guard, she sees that the house has been empty for years. Thus, we understand that maybe Beatrice is simply hallucinating due to the traumatic impact of this dew breaker. Aline, realizing the significance of this past torturer, thinks that he may be connected to other people. From this, she contemplates her future and thinks that her new goal will be to uncover this dew breaker in his new homeland.

In the next story, “Monkey Tails,” Danticat introduces Michel. Michel is thinking over his life in Haiti, where experienced misfortunes. In Haiti, after the Duvalier’s were extracted, chaos broke out as the citizens chased after the dew breakers, or ‘macoutes’. In this reflection, we learn of Romain. Romain, Michel’s friend, was the son of macoute who abandoned him while feeling the country. From this, Romain feels unwanted by his family. Furthermore, Romain finds out that his true father is actually next-door neighbor Monsieur Christophe who never expressed care for him. Furious by his life of lies, Romain also leaves Haiti. Afterwards, we find out that Romain’s dad committed suicide. This story was depressing and revealed the different misfortunes the people in Haiti experienced under the Duvalier’s.

“The Funeral Singer” is about the lives of Freda, Mariselle and Rezia. The narrator, Freda, was a funeral singer who had to flee from her homeland after refusing to sing for the president. Mariselle left Haiti because her husband was shot for painting an unflattering portrait of Haiti’s president. Rezia was raped by a macoute with the consent of her own aunt. This section further describes the sufferings many immigrants experienced in their past homelands. It further illustrates that immigrants truly move to achieve a better life in another country.

The last story of Danticat’s novel, “The Dew Breaker (circa 1967)” reveals the previous lifestyle of Ka’s father as a prison guard. Under orders, the dew breaker was searching for a preacher who spoke out against the government. During the search, we learn that Ka’s father became a dew breaker to escape the fate of his parents, who lived to work harshly in the fields. When the preacher is found, the dew breaker and other macoutes beat him. Afterwards, Ka’s father takes the preacher to his office for questioning. It is there that he receives the scar he struggle to hide on his face. After being attacked, Ka’s father kills the preacher. After the murder, he runs from the office, where he meets Anne, the preacher’s sister. Anne cares for the dew breaker’s wounds. The two eventually flee to the United States. The story ends with Ka asking her mother if there is more to her father’s story.

In the next reading, Lundy discusses the response of the Haitian diaspora to the earthquake on January 12, 2010. Lundy mentions how Haitians living outside of their homeland made use of political, economic , and communication ties to help their family who suffered back home. This article also investigates the impact of the earthquake on the identity of the second generation. Three fifths of Haitians living in the U.S. lost a loved one and two thirds desired to move back to help reconstruct their nation. Lundy further discusses transnationalism in detail, defining it as the process by which immigrants foster a complex relationship that  binds them to their country of origin while they are simultaneously involved in their country of settlement. Lundy mentions that there are six interpretations of transnationalism: social morphology, type of consciousness, modes of cultural reproduction, avenue of capital, sites of political engagement, and reconstruction of a place or locality.

The second half of Edwidge Daniticat’s “The Dew Breaker” sums up and concludes all the separate stories that were begun in the first half of the novel. In addition to this, she adds backstories for some of the characters with whom we are already familiar. All of these vignettes focus in on the characters experiences in Haiti and provides the impetus for them needing to leave the country. For instance, Michel was embroiled in the chaos that rocked Haiti after the overthrowing of Baby Doc Duvalier. Unsurprisingly after the deposition on Baby Doc the population formed mobs to root out all the macoutes. Regulus, Michel’s friends father, happened to be a macoute. He ended up committing suicide because of the pursuing mob. The Dew Breaker ends up marrying Anne, whose stepbrother he murdered after being assaulted with a piece of broken chair. I don’t know how this happened to be honest with you, why the Dew Breaker would choose to spend his life in America married to someone who he had personally wronged makes no sense to me. Maybe being reminded every day of the atrocities he committed is his own twisted way of repenting.

My observation about the lack of levity in Danticat’s writing has remained unchanged. Normally I don’t like to make such shallow comments on writing style but this book genuinely left me a little depressed. I completely understand why the author chose to write this way, the stories she portrays are not happy ones. These immigrants journeys have taken them through some very dark times during the Duvaliers’ rule. It would be disrespectful not to capture every last miserable detail.

Moving on to something marginally less personally depressing but equally devastating, the Haitian earthquake killed over a hundred thousand people and left the capital, Port-Au-Prince ruined. Out of all this devastation it can be said that one positive aspect emerged. The Haitian diaspora suddenly got much more patriotic and took a much keener of an interest in helping out their paesani back home. The Haitian population living in New York, amongst other areas, experienced a surge of nationalism and national pride. For the first time they didn’t feel ashamed to admit that they were Haitian. Perhaps it could even be said that this earthquake was the start of the Haitian diaspora looking at their heritage as a source of strength rather than a source of shame. Corporations and individuals alike came together in an attempt to expedite the rebuilding and betterment of the country, in a way this earthquake galvanized Haitian nationalism.

First thing: Watch The Act of Killing, if you are interested in war criminals not be serving civil justice and their integration into the community they harmed. It is about Indonesia, and it is takes more of an artistic, intimate psychological exploration into the war criminals than most traditional documentaries. The less known about the documentary going in, the more impactful the reaction. It is difficult to describe the feelings you feel when you watch- it is an experience.

Anyways, Danticat’s story takes an unexpected turn during the end of her book, which is extremely strange because you know the outcome and the big secret at the first story’s reveal. The reader realizes that Ka’s father is a dew breaker and his wife is fully aware of it since the beginning of the book. The dynamics of Ka’s parent’s relationship is strange but it seems to hold up at the beginning of the book. The dew breaker has become a caring father and husband who may not be perfect, like throwing out his daughter’s statue or his unreeling obsession with Egyptians, but he is still compassion and loving to his family and peaceful to others overall. However, the last chapter goes over to his less lovable past and what events led to the present situations mentioned earlier. This way the dynamics between the dew breaker and Anne become less comprehensible and the stories throughout the book that revolve around their relationship more contrived. Her husband’s former job was not some distant concept- she literally ran into him right after he shot her brother, and she chooses to ignore the obvious and move on with her life with him. To bridge this gap of reasoning or vengeance, Danticat uses metaphysical forces as a reinforcer to forgiveness. The dew breaker is punished by “hiding away” for his life in fear, while he is also saved by unseen forces. Dany never kills him and the death of his aunt cuts off motivation to do so, while Claude shows that to some degree people move on from killing each other, and although he was officially punished, his people still welcome him. Other suspected dew breaker, like the Emmanuel or the seamstress’s suspected follow are accepted like benevolent shadows. Women are often the doers that burden much of the weight between war and trans- immigration problems. Danticat tries to construct a frame in which Haiti can console its past and move on, as well as create this newer version of folklore for the various types of Haitians, connecting home bound and foreign bound/ born.

Lundy’s article examines the transnational actions of Haitian peoples after the earthquake in 2010. He has one especially charged sentence that he cannot just move on afterwards. The sentence in which he says in 2004 American/ Canadian supported thugs overtook President Jean- Bertrand Aristride because he posed real change for the poor. That is a hefty statement that needs a lot of proof and poses many implications.  Lundy goes on to detail all the support Haitians abroad gave to Haiti after the disaster, in the form of remittances, volunteer/ medical efforts, and hypothetical adoptions. He uses these examples to present the strength of the Haitian transnational community and its possible influence on Haiti in general. I have no doubt that Haitians across the globe did help and feel strongly motivated to help their family or brethren in the home country, but Haiti became a major global relief effort. I remember that numerous global organizations that participated in rebuilding Haiti that were not primarily under of concept of “Haitians helping Haitians.” Did global non-Haitian orientated organizations have more of an impact helping Haiti than purely the global Haitian community helping Haiti? What percentage of first/second/etc. generation of Haitian immigrants around the world contributed? He is also extremely optimistic about the level of loyalty and participation of second generation Haitians. Most admit to never having been to Haiti- identifying as an Haitian and actively participating in Haiti is entirely different. Their opinions about the situations in Haiti are handed down from their parents, I doubt if many could discuss or stay involved in Haitian affairs after their parents deaths. Also, going directly to Haitian clubs in colleges do not speak about the second generation as a whole. He is literally directing himself to people who he knows fits his theory. What about participation the other children mentioned who do not identify as Haitian and what percentage do they represent? How prevalent are these Haitian clubs in relation to the Haitian community or the school in general? They are probably tiny. I am not saying that Lundy is wrong in his optimism in the role of the Haitian transnational community, but I believe that his viewpoint is too focused for the more macro- image that he wants to create. But Wyclef Jean running for Haitian president and one of the biggest concerns is that he cannot speak Creole? I feel like there are some other glaring points there.

In his Transnational in the Aftermath of the Haitian Earthquake: Reinforcing Ties and Second-Generation Identity Garvey Lundy displays how transnationalism supports the effectiveness of a disaporic group creating change. In order to recover from much of the physical, social, economical, and political damage from the devastating earthquake, Haiti depended a great deal on transnational ties. Lundy mentions that Haiti’s situation after the earthquake followed along typical transnational lines. He deemed the multileveled social, political and economical interactions as the “transnational social field.”

In terms of providing direct aid, the bulk of the responsibility fell onto families, either through the household or through social organizations such as churches. Providing relief, many would take in injured or earthquake refugees into their own homes. Haiti also called upon many professionals and professional organizations from the US. US companies and institutions would also be lenient towards people trying to send aid back to Haiti (i.e. free money transfers, new sim cards, reduced phone bills). This was especially important, as those within the Haitian community within America, “scrambled to communicate” with loved ones back home. Political events after the earthquake also relied heavily on transnational networks. Politicians on the presidential race would advocate and make campaign visits to Haitian communities within America, displaying their support of “nationalist sentiments,” an ideal that unites Haitians within and without the motherland.

Lundy finally dives into second-generation Haitians and the effects of the earthquake on their identity. At first, he discusses similar topics to other articles we’ve read, and even quotes Nancy Foner. Many young second-generation Haitian Americans would identify either ethnically or racially, depending on the situations that they have experienced. After the events of the earthquake, however, Lundy displayed the shift from the latter to the former that occurred, as many young Haitian-Americans (especially those in college) began to react adversely to media portrayal of Haiti. Which may or may not be more unique to second-generation Haitian-Americans, is that they develop an interesting connection with their homeland, historically and politically. Many are vexed with the current political state of their homeland, and further annoyed as they focus on the political turmoil that fills their history. They grasp on to their Haitian roots, as they organize and call for change.

We also finished Danticat’s The Dew Breaker this week. Her serious and gloomy style of writing was clearly evident in this novel. Although the novel may not be a happy one, filled with moments of hope and joy, and clearly displays the different lives and situations of Haitians who experienced the Duvalier regime. The one theme that constantly stood out to me was introduced by Danticat’s character Beatrice, who said, “Everything happens when it’s meant to happen.” This idea of fate, and a hint of some divine plan, exists throughout her entire novel. It can be seen in the chapter where Dany returns to Haiti, in order to reveal his discovery of the Dew Breaker that killed his parents. It was on the night of a vivid dream, recalling the night his parents were killed, that his Aunty died in her sleep one night. It can also be seen in the final chapter, where the Dew Breaker runs into Anne only moments after killing her brother, the Pastor.

The Dew Breaker, as many of us have pointed out, ends with a twisted plot. We are told that the Dew Breaker’s wife has married a man that killed her half brother. This relationship between Anne and the dew breaker represents the dire situation in the nation and the only way to continue is to forgive. We debated in class on whether or not Anne has done the right thing to forgive the dew breaker and marry him. What I wanted to point out is the fact that the dew breaker himself has chosen to marry the sister of the man that he tortured and killed. This I believe has a meaning as well. Just as how Anne marrying the Dew Breaker represents the only way the nation of Haiti can keep moving forward, the dew breaker choosing to marry Anne is another portrayal of the nation moving forward. By marrying Anne the dew breaker is admitting to his horrible past and is cooping with it. Also, since the dew breaker represents the old regime it shows that the old regime has realized their mistake and have chosen to step down.

As for the reading by Lundy we notice a couple of things. First, Lundy talks about how the earthquake in Haiti has strengthened the transnational ties between migrants and Haiti. We notice, after the earthquake, that many Haitian Americans have stepped out of their hiding place and are not afraid to identify themselves as Haitians anymore. I believe that the earthquake’s devastation causing much grief to Haiti made many migrants sympathize with their nation. If there is a time where their nation needs them the most it is now. If the Haitian Americans did not stand up and announce their proud identity as Haitians by helping the nation recover, then the world would not have helped the nation as much as it did. If their own people living in other places were careless, then organizations in other nations would not have much motivation to aid Haiti.

Another point worth mentioning is the strong transnational tie that increased through the second generation immigrants of Haiti. One of the factors, I believe, for the increase of transnationalism by the second generation has to do with basic psychology. When an individual growing up is told to not do something, the desire to do that forbidden deed increases. Therefore, Haitians being told from when they were young to not identify themselves as Haitians gave them the desire to rebel identify as nothing but Haitian.

The Dew Breaker (Second Half)

“The Bridal Seamstress” follows Beatrice Saint Fort on the last day of her job as a bridal seamstress. She is interviewed by Aline, an intern for the Haitian American Weekly, for an article about her retirement. After a series of direct questions by Aline and rather indirect answers by Beatrice, Beatrice abruptly decides to take Aline out to see the block she lives on. During this impromptu tour, Beatrice mentions (rather angrily) that one of the houses belonged to a Haitian prison guard and that she would recognize him anywhere. Aline investigates the house and finds that it belongs to someone named Dolly who has not lived in the house for over a year. In the story, we also learn that Aline took the internship position she works in because it was the first job she was offered after she broke up with her girlfriend. The story ends with Aline contemplating about what she will do next in her life.

“Monkey Tails” follows a young Michel during the time when Jean-Claude Duvalier was forced into exile in France (in 1986). He and his mother hear people creating mobs to go after the macoutes, or dew breakers. After running away from helping Monsieur Christophe with his broken water station faucets, he goes to visit his best friend, Romain, whose father, Regulus, is a macoute. After a while, Romain decides to escape with Michel in order to make Michel “a man.” They make their way to a nearby hotel, where Romain eventually decides to flee the country but sends Michel back to his home. We eventually learn that Regulus eventually shot himself after being cornered. On a side note, this whole story is being told by present-day (or 2004) Michel who is sleeping next to his very pregnant wife.

“The Funeral Singer” follows three women: Freda (the narrator of the story), Mariselle, and Rezia as they attempt to pursue (what appears to be) their GEDs. Freda was a professional funeral singer who was asked to leave the country (by her mother) after her father disappeared and she refused an invitation to sing at the national palace. Mariselle left Haiti after her husband was shot for painting an “unflattering” portrait of Haiti’s president. Rezia owns a Haitian restaurant on the Upper West Side and recounts the story of when she was raped by a macoute as a girl. We follow them as they prepare for the final test for their GEDs and as Freda recounts portions of her life in Haiti to the reader.

“The Dew Breaker (circa 1967)” follows the “former” life of the main subject of the book, the Dew Breaker we are introduced to in chapter one. His eventual demise starts off with an order to kill a preacher in the town of Bel-Air. The dew breaker has contemplated leaving the country but wanted to carry out this one last order before leaving. During this part, we also follow the preacher, as it seems that most people know that he is about to be arrested or killed. We also learn that the preacher’s wife was poisoned just several months earlier as well as the dew breaker’s own story. Basically, he was inspired to become a macoute in order to not “work the land” like his parents did. We are also introduced to the preacher’s stepsister, Anne, who has just started a course in cosmetology.

During the preacher’s service, the dew breaker comes in with a group of other macoutes, has the preacher arrested, and has him severely beaten. However, he later learns that he made a mistake: He was ordered to kill the preacher, not arrest him. He forces the preacher to come to his “office” to warn him and let him go. The small chair that the preacher is sitting on breaks; and, in a rage, the preacher takes one of the broken wood pieces, stabs the dew breaker’s right cheek with it, and drags it down his cheek (creating a long-lasting scar). This puts the dew breaker in a rage, and he shoots and kills the preacher. However, in the process, he disobeyed the order to release the preacher since he was not initially killed.

The dew breaker escapes and meets Anne (who ran to the prison to look for her stepbrother) outside the prison. They go to his house together where he has his face fixed up. He and Anne eventually flee to the U.S. together. The story ends in the present time with their only daughter asking Anne if there is more to her father’s story.

In “The Bridal Seamstress,” I got quite annoyed by Beatrice’s personality. She would not respond to Aline’s questions properly. She took longer than usual to get ready, and she ended the interview quite abruptly. In addition, houses were somehow connected to their occupants’ occupations. However, I believe that her personality stems from something that happened in the past, as was evidenced from her “somber” face in front of the “prison guard’s house.” So, I (somewhat) forgave her by the end of the vignette.

In “The Funeral Singer,” the three women seem to idolize Jackie Kennedy. However, what is important here is that this seems to represent a motif found in the book: a longing for a better life. Here, the women remark how Kennedy could come and go from Haiti any time she pleases. However, conditions prevent the three women from ever going back to Haiti. We can see a similar longing by other characters throughout the book. Most notably, the Dew Breaker and the descriptions of his cheek scar seem to imply a longing for a better life.

In the last vignette, we see how the Dew Breaker gives a boy some money because of a longing to “buy that child a future” (194). Despite the image of a dew breaker being hostile and downright evil, it seems that this particular one possesses a rather gentle side. I was actually surprised by what he was thinking in his scene. The scene seems to bring up the question: Is the dew breaker doing what he does (killing, etc.) because of pure evil or because circumstances have forced him to act this way? I do not see how an inherently evil person could simply act this way.

Speaking on the entire book, I have to say that I enjoyed it more than any of the other books we have read. I liked how the book was not in strict chronological order. In addition, I liked how the point of view kept changing from vignette to vignette, from first-person to third-person and back to first. As I have mentioned before, I am a fan of Danticat’s writing style, and this book was no exception. The words seemed to flow together, just like poetry. So, all in all, I really liked this book.

“Transnationalism in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake: Reinforcing Ties and Second-Generation Identity” – Garvey Lundy

This article examines the Haitian Earthquake in two respects: (1) considering transnationalism to examine how the Haitian Diaspora responded to the earthquake and (2) how the earthquake affected the identity of the members of the second generation. After the earthquake, transnational connections (that existed beforehand) created networks and connections that allowed those in the Haitian diaspora to quickly help those affected in Haiti. Haitian families (both individually and collectively) were able to take in orphans or even go to Haiti itself to assist in the recovery. The Haitian church enabled those living abroad to receive information about loved ones in Haiti. The author mentioned that the importance of the church is based on historical and social factors: (1) churches often follow the legacy of African spirituality and (2) reveal an apparently American contribution. Professional organizations in the United States also played a role in the rebuilding (for example, by sending medical professionals).

Lundy also mentions that the struggle by Haitians abroad to establish communications with loved ones in Haiti was one of the “most visible displays of transnationalism” (210). This was facilitated by inexpensive cell phones (namely, from Digicel), the networks for which were back up and running about a week after the earthquake. In addition, remittances played a huge role in the recovery effort. They have enabled relatives to leave Haiti temporarily (thanks to Haitians’ temporary protected status in the U.S.) and have made up a sizeable portion of Haiti’s GDP.

The earthquake also prompted a reexamination of the diaspora’s role in Haitian politics. This was following a time when the diaspora was put at arm’s length because they were seen as a threat to authority. Things have improved; however, there is still a level of suspicion of the diaspora, and Haitians are resentful of the diaspora for not doing enough for the country.

With Wyclef Jean’s attempt at entering the Haitian presidential race, the second-generation became very visible. Identity for the second-generation was originally one of distancing oneself from one’s Haitian ancestry. However, a series of negative “classifications” by various organizations actually created a somewhat positive Haitian identity. However, the earthquake caused many of the second-generation to “come out” as Haitians. These people felt an obligation to their homeland and expressed solidarity with Haiti, even though many of them have never visited the country. Despite mixed messages from parents, many have adhered to a positive image of Haiti.

I found Figure 1 quite interesting. According to the chart, almost 40% of Haitian-Americans surveyed contributed more than $100. Undoubtedly, $100+ is a hefty amount. In addition, many of these Haitian-Americans may not even be making a lot of money from their jobs. Even so, it appears that the diaspora was ready to help even if it may have been relatively difficult to do so.

This article brought up a point that I brought up in my media assignment: the tension between Haiti and the diaspora. There was an editorial in the Haitian Times that said that the diaspora was not doing enough to help Haiti. It also said that the diaspora must have resigned itself to Haiti’s fate. Reactionary comments on the Haitian Times’ social media page seemed to imply that the diaspora was not welcome in Haiti. This is an example of the suspicion that the article we have read mentions.

However, despite all this, Haitians from all parts of the diaspora did everything they could to help the earthquake-ravaged country. This seems to imply that ties still do exist between Haiti and the diaspora and that these ties are very strong. Despite external appearances, there exists a transnational connection between Haitians living abroad and their homelands that cannot be broken.

The second half of Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker told darker stories of those who survived the torture from the dew breaker. It shows the different attempts that they have made to cope with their past. They all started with the same first step: leaving Haiti. Some led a better life in America, while others let their nightmares take over. No one, not even the dew breaker could forget what happened in Haiti. Garvey Lundy also wrote his paper “Transnationalism in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake” about the diaspora that the Papa and Baby Doc regimes caused how they react to trouble back home.

Beatrice is an unfortunate case where the scars from Haiti are forever stuck in her brain and she can never let go of what has been done to her. Her illusions of pain are something that Aline was an unfortunate witness to, but most importantly she was left with the important message of “ everything happens when it is meant to happen.” It is a way of coping with the past and to keep on going in hopes of something good to happen. Beatrice has helped so many brides because she was able to come to America, and maybe that is why she had to go through torture by the dew breaker, to end up in the path that life took her.

The final chapter was the most intense out of all of them. The way Anne and the dew breaker met was so crazy. The fact that they got married just blew my mind. From the dew breaker’s point of view, I understand. This is his best chance of getting out of being a dew breaker. Getting married with Anne also means he will constantly be reminded of the pain and suffering that he has caused. It wouldn’t be to the extreme that Beatrice went through, but it would be enough to deter him from going back. The fact that they had a child gave a reason and an opportunity to make amends by raising her right. It makes more sense when their relationship is taken as a symbol of the relationship between the Haitian people and destructive authoritative figures. In the end all they have is each other, the only way that Haiti can get better is if they work together. The new generation needs both to understand the mistakes of their predecessors so that they don’t repeat history.

Garvey Lundey’s article was pretty depressing. Imagining that one’s home nation was viewed world wide as a center of disaster is disheartening. Gaining self-determination did not mend the infrastructural damages of the nation as fast as its people would have wanted. The Haitian diaspora caused by Papa and Baby Doc also gave a bad image. Being one of the “four h’s” that were at risk of AIDS also screwed over the Haitian image. When they needed help the most, they just kept getting put down. Until the catastrophic earthquake, there weren’t many Haitians proud of calling themselves Haitian. It put transnational ties to use, reinvigorated national pride, and put all migrant Haitians towards one cause. Even the second-generation, American-born Haitians took pride in their roots. Unfortunately, their parents shut them down. It is understandable, since the parents were probably once at a point where they had a high level of nationalist pride before they were shut down. They fled Haiti for that reason among others. Haitians living in the native land don’t want them to influence local politics, yet they believe that those abroad don’t do enough to rebuild Haiti. Fortunately there are some parents who support their children. The youth themselves seem to not be backing down despite the harsh words from their parents. They are very determined to turn Haiti into the beauty that they imagine it as. The revitalization of Haiti depends on this movement.

This past week we finished reading the second half of The Dew Breaker and it was just as fast paced and frantic as the first half. The four chapters comprising the second half, however, felt a lot less connected to the main storyline (that of Ka and her father the Dew Breaker) than the first five chapters. I think the first five chapters put more of an emphasis on describing the people closest to Ka’s family, people who are directly in contact with them. The last four chapters seem to focus more on distant relationships and places. In fact, two of the chapters take place in Haiti instead of New York while the other two have no characters at all “related” to Ka and her family. Of course all the characters in the novel are related in some divine scheme of things, but there weren’t as many direct relationships in the second half. For example, Freda, Rezia and Mariselle have no connection to the Dew Breaker himself, but are connected to him through the turmoil and violence that occurred in Haiti due to many Dew Breakers. Even though the relationships aren’t too definitive, many themes expressed earlier in the novel are still prevalent in the second half. A big one, in my opinion, is the idea of art as a political power. In the very first chapter, we are familiarized with a sculpture by Ka, one that depicts her father as a prisoner who had suffered through the harsh times in Haiti. This sculpture reminds Ka’s father that he was not a prisoner, but one of the many Macoutes who were the driving force behind the terror in Haiti. In the final chapter, we are again introduced to art, but in the form of speech. The Preacher exclaims how his sermons, although they lead to his untimely demise, would serve as a sort of political battle cry, calling for Haitians to stand up and speak out against the injustices in their country.

In “Transnationalism in the Aftermath of the Haiti Earthquakes,” I believe there were two main takeaways. The first was that the earthquake in 2010 was one of the hardest tests to Haiti’s transnational networks. Yet, instead of folding under the tremendous pressure and stress from the problems back home, many Haitians abroad rose to the challenge and showed why Haitian transnational networks are considered the strongest across the world. Many Haitians living in the United States opened their doors for their displaced countrymen, even if they were struggling to feed their own family. Haitian institutions, such as local churches of varying religions, followed suit in providing relief. Many churches directly organized relief projects for Haiti along with providing a place for solace and comfort. Most importantly, churches helped disseminate information about family members overseas, linking up with sister parishes located in Haiti. Private businesses that catered to large Haitian populations also did what they could to help. Western Union and other money transfer businesses provided “no fee” transfers, while Digicell, the largest cell phone company catering to Haitians offered free replacement sim cards so family members could stay in contact with each other during such a disaster.

The second takeaway from the article is that the 2010 Earthquake strengthened a Haitian identity in second-generation immigrants. What was first something to hide or lie about became a badge of pride. Many second-generation immigrants took charge and lead fundraising drives in schools and other social institutions across the country. A few students’ pride helped other closet Haitians step forward and also pitch in. No longer did second-generation immigrants try to stay hidden among other cultural groups; they were proud of what their fellow countrymen were able to do and wanted to make sure they also played a role in repairing the country of their roots

Danticat’s The Dew Breaker is written in a unique style that ties in multiple stories together. I really enjoy her style of writing, since each story seems to be completely disconnected and can act as its own story, but is really part of a greater story. At first, I was confused at what was happening. I thought that the entire book was a collection of stories until I read the end of the book of miracles and the night talkers. When I realize this I also realized all the hints that each story was dropping to tie the entire story together, of “the dew breaker’s” or the torturer’ past and present. It follows this man’s dark past and his regret and how he changed from the person he once was. However, there are still some mysteries that have yet to be uncovered from what we’ve read so far. The story Seven and Water child introduces a story that doesn’t quite fit into the story, at least not yet. Danticat uses multiple stories told by different people at different times and places to give us readers a perspective on this torturer’s past and his current regret. Although there are still so many things that we don’t know that will be uncovered later on in the second half of the book, I still have so many questions that are left unanswered. Who is Eric in water child? Why did Nadine have to abort the child? Is Eric the father of Ka? Then who is Anne? It seems like she is the mother of Ka and husband to this “torturer” that the story is a based upon. But if that is so, then what is her relation to Nadine? How about the people in Seven? If Dany in Seven is the same Dany in The Night Talker, what role or connection does he have with the couple in Seven? Also, what significance does Dany’s aunt’s sudden death plays in the role of the story? Does he death strengthen his resolve to avenge his family? I have all these questions floating around right now and it’s frustrating that I don’t have an answer for that yet.

At first, what seemed like a simple story is now just a part of a bigger more complex story. It seems like a type of movie that starts out at the middle and then brings the reader on a journey to discover the truth. If I had to compare this to another work, I would have to choose the film Pulp Fiction, in which each story within the film is a story on its own, but is connected to each other in some way. Both the film and this book is a story that is incomplete without the smaller stories that make it. Like a giant puzzle, this book forces me to discover the story on my own, getting a clearer view of the story as I put the pieces together. Of all the books that we’ve read so far, I enjoy reading this book the most. Not only is her writing style clear and easy to follow, but the story is also intriguing.

The first readings were “Create Dangerously” and “The Other Side of the Water” by Edwidge Danticat. In these readings, Danticat discusses the importance of art and writing as a subversive act. She begins the piece with the example of two men, Marcel Numa and Louis Drouin, who were executed by the government of dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier. The story of their murder is told and is a way that the reader gets a very vivid image of the scene. Then she explains that through writing this, she falls under a tradition of writers stretching back through history. She compares this recounting of disobedience to that of Adam and Eve within the bible. In writing this legend about the two men, she is continuing their struggle and their subversive mission, keeping it alive through the minds of her readers.

She has a great admiration for fellow writers like Albert Camus, especially those who create dangerously. By this she means people who write or create art to break the silence about a topic. In creating a discourse about these topics that are not discussed, they are acting in a subversive manner since there are often forces trying to keep those topics out of discourse. By discussing the crimes of the Duvalier regime they are brought into the light and is in a scene fighting against these crimes.

She also writes about the interesting idea that a dead body must have documentation in order to cross a border. I had never though about this idea before but it makes sense since the movement of bodies must be tracked. But at the same time it is strange that even in death, people are treated like outsiders and aliens. This ties into a theme that Danticat writes a good amount about, and that is the treatment of the dead. A connection she always makes when discussing this idea is to the Egyptians and the way they treated their dead, through their religious ideas and physically through mummification. It it also mentioned frequently throughout The Dew Breaker, since the father character has a fascination and almost an obsession with Ancient Egypt.

We also began our reading of The Dew Breaker also by Edwidge Danticat. In the previous reading Danticat describes this novel as “a book about a choukèt lawoze, or a Duvalier-era torturer, a book that is partly set in the period following the Numa and Drouin executions.” The novel begins with the story of Ka and her father. Ka’s parents originally are from Haiti and she feels a very strong to Haiti despite never having gone there and hearing very little from her parents about it. Danticat like in her previous pieces includes heavy themes. For her entire life, Ka’s father had told her that he had gone to prison and received his scar there. But in reality, he had been the one watching over the prisoner and had killed people during that period of his life. This changes her opinion of him greatly. This past was what pushed him and his wife to leave Haiti. As many immigrants, they wanted to leave something behind and start over in the United States.

The Dew Breaker, written by Edwidge Danticat, is a compelling novel filled with the struggles that many people from Caribbean nations experience upon their migration to other countries. The relationships between the Caribbean families and the changes in the parent generation to the child generation are most notably seen in the scenes with the father’s daughter, Ka. The daughter is a sculpture designer and artist, who creates sculptures and sells them to art enthusiasts. She is the first generation of their family and only child to be born and raised in the city of New York. This also means that she is the first generation to have not lived in her parents’ native country, Haiti. It is interesting to note how she views Haiti due to her parents. In the beginning scene, the daughter is asked for her origins, “I was born and raised in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, and have never ever been to my parents’ birthplace. Still, I answer ‘Haiti’ because it is one more thing I’ve always longed to have in common with both my parents” (Danticat 4). This particular thought of hers is very captivating in the sense that as the readers, we can see that she doesn’t have the same connection with her parents’ home country. She wants to feel connected to her parent’s in any way that she can and she wants to connect to her roots and feel like she belongs somewhere.

The daughter has a very delicate relationship with her parents. She doesn’t know much about their past because they refuse to speak about it. The daughter is now used to not asking them any questions when something weird occurs to them, such as when the mother, Anne, tends to hold her breath whenever they pass cemeteries. This is also another reason why the daughter wants to have as many connections as she can with her parents so that she feels that she can relate to them and understand their lives.

The scene in chapter Seven with the wife and the husband is the perfect example of the tendency for Caribbean families to send their loved ones one by one to the United States of America. The husband married the wife and they have been apart for over 7 years. After their marriage, he went to New York City to start working there and so that he could also help her get a Visa to come live in the U.S. with him. When the wife finally gets one, 7 years later, she comes to live in the city with him after so long. Her experiences in the city exemplify the feelings of aloneness and dependency that Caribbean migrants tend to face in the beginning of their excursions around the city. She stays cooped up in the house for most of the week and only has the weekends, when the husband is off from work, to explore the city. This whole chapter shows the sacrifices that Caribbean families tend to make to help their loved ones have a happy life. The wife and the husband sacrificed 7 years of their love marriage so that they could eventually live together in New York City. The husband also works two jobs, both at night and day as a janitor, in two different colleges so that he could send most of the money to the wife when she lived back in their native country.

In Chapter The Book of Miracles, Anne, who is the wife of the father and the mother of Ka, is the typical portrayal of a traditional Caribbean woman. She loves to go to Church and she is very religious. She forces the whole family to go to the mass on Christmas Eve even though the daughter is an atheist, which is very unusual for Caribbean people at the time. The description of the mass attenders also depicts the traditional Caribbean families; they all were religious and wearing dresses, they all said hello to other people even when they didn’t know who they were, and they were very jovial for the holidays. This novel constantly contrasts the typical Caribbean families with the atypical ones of the father, Anne, and Ka.

In Danticat’s essay “Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work”, the execution of Marcel Numa and Louis Drouin became a televised event. School children were off from school, parents were off from work, and radio stations were all there to witness the execution of these two rebels, who wanted to overthrow the dictator François Duvalier. Artists and writers tend to become obsessed with certain stories, calling them “creation myths”. In this case, Danticat became enraptured into the story of the execution of two guys who went against the highest authority in that region. Danticat explains the dangerous relationship that both the readers and the authors form to combat the absolute rule of dictators and other unfair authorities. The author has to gain the courage to write about sensitive topics they know would anger the authorities. However, the reader also has to gain the strength to open the book and to delve into its deep depths. Writing for these activist authors is a form of direct disobedience to authorities, known as to create dangerously.

In Danticat’s essay “The Other Side of the Water”, Marius, who is her cousin, was found dead in Miami. After calling his roommate, she found out that he was a party type guy, spending away all the money he earned. He died with only $60 in his pocket and he died from AIDS. Tante Zi, who was the mother of Marius, received her dead son’s body back in their native country and she buried his body. The term “the other side of the water” in Haiti means the eternal afterlife. Tante Zi explains to Danticat that dead people should be buried in their home countries, showing the religious beliefs that Caribbean people tended to have.

“Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work” and “The Other Side of the Water” by Edwidge Danticat

By examining her two essays, “Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work” and “The Other Side of the Water,” we get a solid introduction to Edwidge Danticat’s life and writing style. While the former provides details about how and why she views her own writing as a rebellious art form, the latter provides a deeper look into her personal life. In the first essay, she starts off by discussing the public execution of Marcel Numa and Louis Drouin, two resistance fighters of the Papa Doc regime. She moves on to discuss various books and writings, from within Haiti and around the world (she even contemplates books by Sophocles and Camus). The key theme separating these things is that the writings were subdued forms of rebellion. Whereas the two men were caught for being explicitly rebellious, art was much more implicit. No one expected the Haitian people to seek a sense of rebellion, and thus unity, through this art form. The second essay we take a look as Danticat is tasked with taking her cousin’s corpse back to Haiti in order to be buried. In it, many of the major themes we discuss in class appeared. Out of all the themes, the idea of person being an alien, even after death, really stood out to me. After it was decided that her cousin would be taken to Haiti to be buried, Danticat needed to provide papers and proof of existence for her cousin’s corpse to be able to travel. Since her cousin entered the country illegally, he did not have the necessary paperwork. When Danticat questioned why this process why so complicated, arguing that at this point her cousin was nothing more than a “cadaver,” the funeral director said, “[It’s] because he’s an alien.” The director’s stark use of the present tense shows that even after death a person can still be an alien.

The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat

In her novel, The Dew Breaker, Danticat writes about the life of a former dew breaker, or a torturer during one of Haiti’s political regimes, his family and the lives of the people around him. The style of this novel reminded me of Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl, Brownstones, in which the plot is centered on a single family. Whereas Marshall’s book travels forward in time and mainly takes place in one setting, Danticat jumps around in time, and utilizes not only New York, but also Haiti as major settings. As I read through this book, which stayed true to Danticat’s serious and heavyhearted style of writing, I could not help but identify the major themes that appear. On a literary level, the ideas of secrets, family, death, and art appear in each chapter (noting that each chapter particularly has a unique plot). Yet, by reading on sociological or anthropological level, one can identify similar themes to ones found in our weekly articles. The one I want to focus on is the creation and maintenance of transnational networks. For each family or person that the book looks at, you can identify the existence, or lack thereof, of some transnational link to Haiti. Looking at the Beinaime family, because the father did not want to recognized as a dew breaker, he and his wife decided to abandon any transnational ties. Thus their immigrant journey is much more stereotypical, where they totally leave their life behind in Haiti, and live almost in total seclusion within America. The next case is between Nadine and her parents. This can be identified as mainly economic transnational tie. Although her parents want to connect with her on a social level, she refuses to do so. She may send remittances back to them, but she does not write letters back to them, or call as much as they’d like her to. This is very different when comparing to the case of Dany. He had the most clear and constructed transnational network. His was based on social, economic and cultural aspects. He kept in touch with his aunt by paying someone to tend to her needs and check up on her. Through this person, Dany was able to ensure his aunt’s welfare. In terms of culture, although Dany had lived in New York for a while, he did not abandon his culture. As such, he was able to mingle in the community, understanding the language and the traditions. This differs from Claude, who had a transnational network based on nothing more than blood. He has a much harder time fitting into the small Haitian village.

The readings for this week were very worthwhile and interesting. I enjoyed each and every one of them, especially the 120 pages of The Dew Breaker. Each text brings about ideas about the complexity of immigration. It involves so many things such as the development of a dual identity, where you present yourself as one person to your family members back at home while you are a completely different person where you live. Also, many times people immigrate because of terrible circumstances in their homeland, which adds that bittersweet feeling when referring to the homeland. Taking my parents as an example, they miss their homeland because of the culture, traditions, moral and familial atmosphere. However, once people start talking about Ecuador’s bad side, such as the country’s politics and economic situation, my parents immediately say, “Thank God we moved to New York City and do not have to deal with that anymore!” It is shocking to me how there are many complexities and issues behind immigration. What I have noticed is that many times immigrants have double the burden when compared to other people. They do not only face issues related to immigration but like the rest of the people they have to also face the consequences of bad decisions. For example, I have an uncle who immigrated to the United States in the 1990’s. His idea was to come to New York City, work very hard, make a lot of money and then go back to live with his wife and two children. However, once he arrived to New York, he became involved with another woman and left behind his first family. After a period of time, he wanted to return with his wife but his wife rejected him. Besides this, he could not get a good job because employers were racist towards him. This just goes to show that immigration has a lot of emotional, social and economical consequences on both the immigrant and his/her family.

In “Create Dangerously,” Danticat discusses the terrible way in which Marcel Numa and Louis Drouin, two Haitian men that lived in New York and returned to Haiti to fight against the dictatorship, were executed. The reason why she talks about these two men is to raise awareness of the ways that people secretly and sneakily rebelled against oppressive higher power, be it through subversive pieces of literature, actual protesting and riots, or through plays. On the superficial level, literature and the arts may not seem like successful ways to rebel against a higher power, but these things have the ability to gather a huge group of people with similar ideas that want change. I find it interesting how Danticat says that both writers and readers of subversive literature are courageous. Sometimes I think only writers are the ones that are risking themselves when they write this literature. However, as it turns out, readers are also in danger when reading this because ideas are spread through literature. And what the oppressive higher power does not want is for the successful spread of their opponent’s ideas. Ultimately, the writers of subversive pieces have to sacrifice their safety, stability and social standing so that the people could become aware and form coalitions to fight for justice. I was personally struck with how Danticat was able to narrate these executions as if she had been a witness to them. I guess that the death of these two men must have had an impact in her life as a writer, just to see how powerful writing is and that it leads people to ultimately sacrifice their lives.

“The Other Side of the Water” reminded me of Everybody is doing Fine, a movie with Robert DeNiro, where the father goes on a trip to visit his children, only to find out that each of his children has kept things hidden from him. Each child tries to make it appear as if he/she is more successful than he/she really is. Once he discovers the truth it makes him realize that he was living on the other side for way too long. It is a very sad movie, which is why I was upset reading about Marius. Danticat had a lot of difficulty in getting his corpse sent back from Miami to Haiti. Since Marius was undocumented, he needed documentation to be sent back to Haiti. Also, since Marius died from AIDS, there were special procedures that needed to be taken. There are a lot of questions raised from the situation in which he died. Was he gay? Was he poor, rich? Did he do drugs? What did he spend his money and free time doing? I find it significant how distance makes people who love you suffer, especially when bad things happen and they found out your secrets. The following quote touched me a lot: “Faraway family members realize that they are discovering—or recovering—in death fragments of a life that had swirled in hidden stories” (Danticat 94). People who live back in the homeland tend to believe that their immigrant family members are so much better off than they are. Although this may be true in the economic sense, SOMETIMES, it may not be true in way of life. My parents always say how back in Ecuador life was easier and more fun to live despite tough economic situations. Also, it surprised me how illegal immigrants still need to account for their illegal status even after their death. How sad is that?

The first 120 pages of The Dew Breaker were very interesting. The book is a very unique piece of literature, comprised of vignettes. The first half contains “The Book of the Dead,” “Seven,” “Water Child,” “The Book of Miracles,” and “Night Talkers.” Each of them are short stories about different parts of people’s life. Many of the events are upsetting and unfortunate. In “The Book of the Dead,” we learn about a narrator and her father. The narrator is an art sculptor who is trying to sell her art to Gabrielle Fonteneau. However, her dad does not like the sculpture of himself, gets rid of it and then tells his daughter many secrets he has kept from her. This story is very sad. In “Seven” we learn about a tenant in the basement of what seems to be the house of the narrator and her father from the first vignette. He lives with two roommates and is preparing for the arrival of his wife whom he has not seen in a long time. He is happy that he is going to get back together with his wife and reignite the passion in their relationship. However, the vignette ends in a sad tone because the couples seems distant once they find each other. “Water Child” talks about Nadine, a nurse who works in the Ear, Nose and Throat department at a Brooklyn hospital. She seems to be distant from everyone in her surroundings and from her family back in the homeland. She has also had an abortion and does not feel good about having committed one (which is why she created a memorial for the baby). She cares for an elderly woman who is discharged from the hospital in the end.

“The Book of Miracles” is about Anne, the wife and mother of the father and narrator from the first vignette. The story is mainly about Anne’s perspective of her family during a Christmas Eve mass. There are repressed feelings that she has and does not let it out so that they could realize what she thinks about them. Instead she keeps her true feelings hidden behind her religious personality. The story ends with the Christmas mass ending. “Night Talkers” is the saddest one out of all of them because it involves a guy named Dany who goes back to his homeland to visit his blind aunt, the one who raised him after his parents passed away, to tell her that he found the man responsible for his parents’ death and her blindness. However, the same night he told her that, the aunt passes away.

What makes this book so appealing is that although each vignette can stand on its own without the support from any other text, all of them flow very nicely when they are together because they are each connected in some way. If you pay attention to the small details, one detail in one story is connected to the detail in another. Danticat makes the reader feel suspense and a genuine urge to want to know more about the characters in each vignette. We only get snippets of details about the lives of these people in each vignette, which is why we are motivated to continue reading. If only more books could be like hers.

Out of the three books we have read, Danticat’s The Dew Breaker has been my favorite so far. I really like her style of writing. It is simple but very effective and powerful. The book is written in a series of stories that focus on different people and time periods, but all come back to one character. It is an interesting way to see different sides of essentially one story. Danticat was able to capture the issues and troubles facing this man in the past, present and future. I think she was able to express the regret and darkness of the father/husband’s past. It was still haunting him and I’m assuming it will be brought up as a major issues in the second half of the book because it seems that Dany is on to him. I found it really interesting how Dany was brought up earlier in the book and then intertwined into a later chapter. The way the chapter “Night Talkers” ended with the death of his aunt was shocking. I’m curious to know why Danticat chose to include the death of the aunt and whether there is a symbolic reason as to her passing. One question that I had was: was the man Ed who was seeing Nadine actually Anne’s husband and Ka’s father? He seems to be living multiple lives almost with the way the chapters are written, which show him at different stages in his life. I think Danticat does a great job of keeping this mysterious past hidden, only revealing a little bit at a time through the experiences of the people around this man. He was never explicitly named, although it say he did change his name, so was his first name previously Ed? I think Danticat avoids naming him to provide a sense of ambiguity and to make the reader connect the dots. I am very curious to see if Dany will confront him and what will unfold in the future. I feel bad for Anne because she seems to be tied into a lifestyle of fear which she didn’t sign up for, and their daughter Ka is finding out so much about her father which can make her life seem like a lie. Danticat works off of the interaction of the characters and it’s a great read.

Danticat’s other pieces Create Dangerously and Other Side of the Water also played on the past, present and future. She analyzes relationships to kinship and family in Other Side of the Water. She explores the idea of being an “alien” and not fitting in within a country, and even within family. I think the cousin keeping his disease a secret is similar to the main character of Dew Breaker keeping his past a secret. In Create Dangerously, I found a connection between the main character and Ka. They are both artistic and express their emotions through their work. In Create Dangerously, it was more about a form of protest and a way to say that the people will not be silenced. It promotes the sense of community in saying that everyone needs to come together to fight against the suppression, and this is done through art forms such as literature and theater.