Black Dog of Fate: Parts I, II, & III

Question 1:
I believe that the one person that remains most vivid while we are reading through the book is Peter's grandmother. I believe this because she helped him form his identity through the various activities they used to and through the stories she used to tell. I think another memory that remains vivid, at least in my mind, is his Armenian family sitting around the table on Sunday nights. I believe that this gave Peter stability--knowing, even though his family is not the type of family he dreams of, this is his family.

Question 2:
I think the first few sections of the book are structured wonderfully, because they give us an idea of how each of these three individuals played a huge role in his life. I believe he started with hi grandmother because she was most influential and he knew her best. I think he ended with his father because, for the beginning of his life, Peter's father was distant and although he remained distant, as Peter got older, his dad because influential in many different ways.

Question 3:
In the quote, I think Greene is saying that in each memory of the past, we can learn something and apply it to our futures. I really believe there are two different memories that "let the future in" for Peter. The first is baking with his grandma because he did it very often and even though he felt embarrassed to do it, it was fun for him and he enjoyed it. The second memory that helped shape Peter's future was probably the sunday night dinner table. I believe that these sunday night dinners helped shape Peter into who he is today because, as I said before, it gave him a sense of stability and knowing that this is what family looks like--not always what we would hope for but the best we could ever wish for.

Dew Breaker Dialogue :)

Dew Breaker Dialogue

1. Some regard the preacher’s outspoken sermons against the Duvalier dictatorship as selfish: "Not all the church members agreed with the preacher’s political line. . . . Some would even tell you, ‘If the pastor continues like this, I leave the church. He should think about his life. He should think about our lives" (186). His own sister, Anne, wonders "What made him think he could denounce the powerful on the radio, of all places, and not risk the safety of those he loved?" (215). Is the preacher right in speaking out against the regime, even when it puts his loved ones and his congregation in danger?

I believe in the beauty of speaking your mind and doing what you believe is right no matter what odds are against you. I believe that the preacher is completely within his human rights to write his sermons against the regime. If the congregants do not believe in his sermons, they do not have to attend them. Whether or not there is danger in speaking out against the regime, it is a basic human right to have an opinion and to speak it.

I agree, I think it is much more important to look at the big picture and try to speak out against the regime to make the country a safer place rather than let the fear of being hurt or having others hurt  keep you from doing what’s right. Though I understand why you guys see it as selfish isn’t it worth it to speak out against the regime. If other people let the fear of getting themselves hurt or their loved ones we wouldn’t have some of  the most important people in our history today. Look at Martin Luther King Jr.

I think it’s selfish of the preacher in a way because he knows that the regime will go after him. He says that he’s been planning for the day that they come for him. He is obviously aware of why his wife died. I think there comes a point in a situation like this where you need to value the relationships you have instead of sacrificing it all.

I can see why you could view it as selfish but you have to ask yourself, if not him then who? Somebody has to make the sacrifice, even though it will put their lives and the lives of their loved ones in danger, don’t you think a man who firmly believes in a positive afterlife would make a good candidate?

I think he should be trying to use his voice against the regime, yes, but not in a way that threatens his family. Like when Harry ended things with Ginny so Voldemort wouldn’t go after her.

But it’s different. We know that, in this regime, you can be killed for just about anything you say against the government. If the preacher knew of a way to undermine the government discreetly, I’m sure he was doing that. But he also felt it was his responsibility as a preacher and a valued member of his community to inform his congregants and anybody else who would listen about the horrors going on around them.

*Snaps for sammy*

You say he knew what he was doing, so he knew that his family would die too. Isn’t that not a good thing for a person to do? I understand why he was doing what he did, but shouldn’t he have separated himself from everyone at that point so that he was only risking his own life?

You’re forgetting the most important thing about this character. He often dreams of coming back from the dead and his sister believes in miracles. They are both people of faith. “Death” to them is a tragedy, but not terrible. Death just means separation from each other. But his wife, in his mind, is in a truly better place. He’s just upset she was taken from him. We can’t take our view of death and put it into this character, he doesn’t think like that.

The whole point of his message is to gain supporters who believe in him because two voices is better than one.  

I agree that it is selfish of the preacher for putting everyone he loves in danger instead of protecting them.

I agree when everyone says that he is putting his congregants and family in danger, but why would his wife’s death be a reason to stay silent? his wife deserves justice and to give her that, the preacher must stand up for what he believes in, no matter what danger may exist. if the congregants do not agree with him, they do not have to go to church there...simple as that.

If Danticat wants us to see the Preacher as this martyr, though, why give us the Preacher through Anne’s eyes? She sees him as so uncaring about her, about all that their family has suffered, even about her epilepsy.

I think that the reason Danticat shows us the Preacher in Anne’s eyes is because it tells the tale of a family somewhat divided, but still united. Even though Anne criticizes the Preacher, at the end of the story, she wants to go back into the barracks/prison to see him...that shows that the bond exists no matter how much criticism she has for him.

I think the reason we see him as a martyr is BECAUSE we see him through his own eyes, Anne’s eyes, and the Dew Breaker’s eyes. We see him in three dimensions (which is more than all the other characters in this book). It’s because we get this 360 degree view of him that we can adequately weigh out the good with the bad and reach our own, educated, conclusion.

I agree I think that Danticat is giving us that 360 degree view of him to allow  us as readers to fully understand his intentions and motivations which makes us see him as a martyr. I think it was crucial to understand Anne’s point of view of him to prove that though he seems he is this great angel, he is still a flawed human being . which allows us to judge him for ourselves.

I agree with Sammy. I do believe having multiple perspectives of the Preacher helps us form our own, somewhat unbiased, opinions of who is he is as a person and why he does what he does.

In my opinion, the preacher sees himself as a martyr, but no one else does. It says that in his congregation they were “mostly fearful for the preacher and for themselves. They were glad that the preacher was finally showing some sign of grief and hinting that he might change his ways” (208). Danticat even says that the ones who think this are the most loyal. None of the preachers followers see him in this way. Even the most devoted see the danger posed to all of them and wish he would either separate himself or stay quiet.

I understand where you’re coming from, Kiley, but we shouldn’t be judging the “rightness” of the Preacher’s actions based on how other people view him. No matter what he does, the Preacher believes he is right.

I know what the preacher believes. But he shouldn’t threaten the lives of all these people. Doesn’t that make him just as bad as the regime? If he wants to spread his word, he can go out onto the street where an entire congregation of people aren’t going to be killed just for being in his church. I totally agree that he should be speaking out against the regime, but just not in a way that is going to get so many people killed.

I think he is just trying to fight for what he believes is correct for him.

I agree with Kiley. Well, I see her point. But I would counter that with one thought. If he were to do what she suggests, and just preach on the street, does he have any real power? I think the whole point is that, in his church, during his sermon, all eyes are on him. He holds everyone’s attention and what he says matters. The same can’t be said in a different environment. On the other hand, it is kinda irresponsible of him to put the lives of random people in danger. I agree on that.

Kiley, I don’t think there is a way for him to speak out against the regime without getting anyone else hurt due to the brutality of the regime. I also agree with Sammy, power comes in numbers and the more supporters he has the better. I understand that it’s

The Dew Breaker: The Book of Miracles

Summary

The Book of Miracles focuses around a family of three, the mother Anne, her husband, and her daughter. The story takes place in New York on Christmas Eve. Anne and her husband pick up their grown daughter at her apartment and drive the far journey to their church for Christmas Eve Mass. During the car ride, we learn that Anne has a very strong dislike or fear of cemeteries because when she was young and living in Haiti, her brother drowned while they were at the beach. As they pass a cemetery, Anne's daughter attempts to comfort her, but at that moment Anne is reminded how distant her and her daughter are from each other. They arrive at the church and Anne sees many other small reminders that her daughter doesn't understand how important Mass is to her.

Later during the ceremony, Anne and her daughter see a man in a row nearby them that resembles a man who was convicted of mass murders and horrid crimes against the people of Haiti. He fled from Haiti to New York before the trial occurred. As they notice him, Anne becomes visibly upset, as does her daughter and her husband. Upon further subtle investigation, they conclude that it is not him.

I believe the central question(s) of this story is simple: How do we come to understand our loved ones? How can we show sympathy even if we do not understand their experiences?

Important Quotes from the Text

"Once again, Anne hoped that the Virgin would choose her young brother to go up to heaven and sing with the choir of angels. Technically he was not sleeping, but he'd never been buried, so his spirit was somewhere out there, wandering, searching..." (Page 77).

This quote is important to me and to the development of my central questions because it shows Anne's desperate search for closure, not just for her, but for her brother.

"It was only a mass. Nothing more. It's never as fabulous as one of your miracles." (Page 86)

This quote is important to the development of my central questions because Anne's daughter struggles to connect with her mother. She also doesn't enjoy Christmas Eve Mass as much as her father. In this quote, however, we see her daughter attempt to connect with her. Anne always tells stories, or "miracles", as she calls them. Anne doesn't seem to believe that her "miracles" have any impact, but her daughter is shwoing now that even though Mass isn't important to her, her mother's "miracles" played a very important role in her life. This might be just enough for Anne to know that she matters and maybe she and her daughter aren't as distant as she believed.

Connection

I believe Danticat does a fabulous way of exploring how families connect and help each other get through tough times. In the first story, The Book of the Dead, we meet Ka, a sculptor who sculpts only her father. "My whole adult life, I have struggled to find the proper manner of sculpting my father, a quiet and distant man..." (Page13). Ka struggles to understand her father and why he is the way he is. In the story, The Book of the Dead, We see Anne's Daughter struggle with "sculpting", or understanding, her mother and her mother's experiences.