Dew Breaker Essay Exam Study Questions

So I have a major test tomorrow (been studying all day) so I'm going to try to get everything needed in but keep it short

1.  Part 1: Danticat uses a number of different narrators to tell the story because it gives the reader several points of view.  These points of view help the reader understand the extent of the impact of the Dew Breaker; it shows how many people her hurt.

     Part 2:  The shifting points of view chop up the story but by the last section everything is pulled together even though it is not in chronological order.

     Part 3:  Readers learn who the Dew Breaker is piece by piece, first through his confession, then through the people he hurt, and finally through his last crime.  The way it is told helps show the change that the Dew Breaker went through and what he saw to come to the decision to stop.

2.  Part 1:  Danticat begins with the confession so the reader knows the basis of the story but not all of the detail.  As you continue to read, you learn more of the details, and who the Dew Breaker really is.  The story ends with the last crime to look at how the Dew Breaker had changed over time and through the multiple crimes he committed.  It shows that he is human and how he got to where he is "today."

3. Part 1:  The stories from the multiple characters shows the extent of the oppression that the people of Haiti had to go through.  

     Part 2:  While not every character knew or saw the dew breaker, they felt the wake of his actions.  Some of the characters 'saw' the dew breaker kill family members and the rest had some sort of close relationship with someone who witnessed some of the crimes.

     Part 3:  the dew breaker cause suffering in multiple people's lives while he also gave them new opportunities; he gave them motive to move to New York to get away from the suffering.

4.  Part 1:  Anne marries the dew breaker because he is the first one that comforted her once she discovered that her brother, the preacher, had been killed.

     Part 2:  Anne stays with the dew breaker because he is all she knows, she has no where else to go really and does not want to change the status quo.

      Part 3:  The relationship between Ka's parents shows that forgiveness is possible, that people change and they heal.

     Part 4:  The last section of "The Dew Breaker" brings us full circle by showing where Anne and the Dew Breaker met and started a new life.  It also lets us into the dew breaker's mind to understand a little bit of what he was thinking