The Dew-Breaker often references the history of Haiti and particularly the repercussions of dictator "Papa Doc" Duvalier's reign on the Haitian people. All the characters in Danticat's book of linked stories suffer from their associations with the violence of Duvalier's Haiti and attempt to understand how to live with the decisions they made in a society where every individual was either "hunter or prey," as Ka's father describes it in the first story of the collection. I'm providing you with the following links to get more acquainted with him as you read The Dew-Breaker. Please post any comments on the book or the interplay of history in the lives of the character's in Danticat's book below.
List of Duvalier links:
Papa Doc's Wiki page
Another article on Duvalier reign
Site about Haitian history
I thought I'd post some resources on torture. For those of you who are interested, there have been a lot of bizarre and interesting studies. Elaine Scarry's _The Body in Pain_ is probably the most comprehensive discussion of the structure of pain, war, the body and man as he relates to God. I came across it a few years ago when working with Jana, and I've since become more than a little obsessed with it. _The Origins of Totalitarianism_ is also good, but mainly if you have endless time--it takes me about 15-30 hours to adequately read a part, which is about my Homi Bhabha reading speed. Elizabeth Swanson Goldberg's _Beyond Terror_ is a super-easy and interesting read.
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