The Dew Breaker By Edwidge Danticat

In The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat, Bienaimé was a Tonton Macoute during the regime of the Haitian dictator, President Francois Duvalier, also known as “Papa Doc.” Tonton Macoutes are also known as dew breakers and their job is to arrest Haitians who rebel against the government. The dew breakers arrive early in the morning before the sunrise to capture the traitors and torture them. When Bienaimé failed to complete his orders properly from the president, he plans to escape Haiti to avoid his punishment. During his escape, he has to mask his identity of being a dew breaker to blend in with the public to hide his secret. After the dictatorship of Papa Doc ended, many tonton macoutes were being hunted down by the Haitian community for their

horrific crimes. Danticat’s text discusses how Bienaimé’s life as a dew breaker affects him and the people he interacted with. In “More than Hunter or Prey: Duality and Traumatic Memory in Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker,” Maria Rice Bellamy explores his relationship with his family members and his last prisoner. Even though people may argue Bienaimé should be punished for t being a horrific tonton macoute in the past, does not need to be punished because he is able to prove he is no longer a cruel criminal anymore.
The first person Bienaimé hid his identity from was Anne. When Anne first met Bienaimé, she mistook him as a prisoner due to his large cut on his face. He did not correct her because he wanted to mask his identity of being a dew breaker from her so she would not fear him. Since Bienaimé wanted to leave Haiti to escape his punishment for mishandling a prisoner, he took this chance to gain Anne’s trust and run away with her, entering America for a better life. According to the narrator, “he had never killed anyone again” (Danticat 240). When Bienaimé and Anne had their first child together, he decided to lift his mask and leak some of the truth about his past to her. This causes her to lose her full trust in him and gain fear after knowing his terrifying crimes. Still, Anne decided to keep Bienaimé’s history a secret instead of exposing him to the public because she cannot afford to lose him. According to the narrator, “It was more strained kind of attachment, yet she could no longer imagine her life without it” (240-241). Without Bienaimé, Anne would struggle earning enough money as an independent woman in America to support their child. Also since he has not continued his crimes after he moved to America with her, Anne believes Bienaimé has changed into a better man. Additionally, Bienaimé have proven himself to Anne he is now a good husband, therefore he should not be sent to rehab for his past crimes.
Even though, Bienaimé was able to explain parts of his past to his wife, he is unable to share his past with his daughter until she is an adult.

While his daughter, Ka was growing up, he would spend time with her by taking her to the Museum of Natural History and telling stories about the Egyptians. Bienaimé would also explain the definition and the reason why he calls her Ka. According to Bellamy, “By naming his daughter Ka and calling her his ʻgood angel,ʼ Bienaimé attempts to create a good twin of himself, one who will receive and reflect his goodness” (Bellamy 183). Ka is Bienaimé’s “good angel” because she rescued him from his traumatic past. She allows Bienaimé to be able to express care and love towards others rather than someone who shows no mercy and is not afraid to express his cruel powers. Although Ka did not know her father’s true past while growing up, she is able to bring out his good side. Since Bienaimé is able to prove not only can he be a good husband, but also a good father, he has shown he is no longer a harsh and cruel person he once was in the

past.
When Ka became an adult, she created a sculpture of her father as a prisoner of Haiti.

A Haitian American celebrity wanted to purchase her art piece however Bienaimé disapproves Ka selling the statue. Ka said, “when I woke up, my father was gone and so was the sculpture” (Danticat 7). Bienaimé took the sculpture with him early in the morning because he did not like a misrepresented art piece of himself to be sold. His past habit of being a Tonton Macoute allows him to be able to “kidnap” the statue like he used to kidnap Haitian traitors against the government before the morning dew appears without a trace of where he went (Bellamy 185). When evening came, Bienaimé returns and drives Ka to a lake where he disposed the sculpture during the morning. She was angry at her father for destroying her art work without her permission but it was at this moment when Bienaimé decided to share the truth about his past with her. He no longer wanted to lie to Ka about being a prisoner in Haiti during the past because he was actually the criminal. Bienaimé did not want to introduce the truth with her when she was younger because he did not want his daughter to fear him like his wife once did. By being a good father to Ka when she is young then sharing his horrific past to her when she is more mature allows her to gain a better understanding of why he took certain actions. This also provides a reason why Bienaimé does not need to be punished for his crimes because instead of traumatizing

his daughter at a young age, he showed love and care to her until Ka is old enough to understand why adults take certain actions.
Usually the idea of being sent to prison is to remind the criminal of the crime he or she has committed. However, Bienaimé does not need to be sent to prison to be reminded of his wrong behaviors from the past. Based on Ka’s observation, her father has nightmares constantly and never gives an explanation to her of what the nightmares were about. When she finally learns about his past, Ka believes his nightmares are about his time as a dew breaker. She said, “Maybe he dreams of dipping his hands in the sand on a beach in his own country and finding that what he comes up with is a fistful of blood” (Danticat 30). Back in Haiti, Tonton Macoutes’ job was to torture Haitians who went against the government. The cruel treatments that were used towards the prisoners cause many survivors and witnesses to be traumatized. These situations that Bienaimé went through in his past haunt him in his dreams as a constant reminder of those whom he had harmed before. This shows Bienaimé does not need to be sent to prison to remind him of his past crimes since he already suffers the trauma of being reminded of his actions through his dreams.
Some people may argue Bienaimé’s crimes are worthy enough to send him to have a death penalty. However, Dany provides a reason why Bienaimé should not be murdered. While Bienaimé started his new life in America, he changed his physical appearance and behavior to blend in with the public. He got slimmer and owns a barber shop where he treats his customers with care. One of his customers, Dany recognized Bienaimé as post Tonton Macoute. He was able to identify him because when he was younger, his parents were murdered and his aunt was blinded by the same dew breaker in front of him. According to the narrator, Dany “wanted to do the same thing now to the barber” (107). In the past, Bienaimé has committed many crimes as a Tonton Macoute. This leads to those who survived and lost someone dear to them from the hands of the dew breaker to seek revenge. However, Dany’s plan for revenge on Bienaimé suddenly changes after noticing how gentle he has now become. He speaks with a soft voice, cautious when giving a shave, and stopped harming people. Instead of trying to murder the criminal who is right in front of him, Dany decides to let Bienaimé live since he discovers even by killing this criminal, he will never know “why one single person had been given the power to destroy his entire life (Danticat 107). Throughout Dany’s life after his horrific past of losing his parents, he seeks for the answer to this question. However, by killing Bienaimé, his question cannot be answered because it is only Bienaimé who knows the answer. Dany also realizes Bienaimé has a family of his own so if he kills him now, he would be no different than the dew breaker who took away his parents. To end the cycle of murdering a person for a crime he or she committed in the past, Dany learns to forgive Bienaimé’s past action and continues to hope his question will one day be answered.
Based on all the evidence given, it is clear that Bienaimé’s punishment for his past crimes is not needed. He does not need to be sent to rehab because he has stopped his torturous ways after entering America. Bienaimé also has shown he is a good husband to Anne and a good father to Ka by showing his care for them in Danticat’s text. Without Bienaimé, Anne would be struggling trying to raise Ka alone in America. Ka also shows how gentle and caring Bienaimé has become instead of being a cruel and merciless criminal he once was in the past. Bienaimé does not need to be sent to prison to remind him of his past crimes because his nightmare already does it for him. Dany also reveals putting Bienaimé on a death penalty does not change the past and no knowledge will be gained. Punishing criminals are usually to teach them a lesson to not repeat their crimes again. However, Bienaimé has shown he no longer is the same criminal he once was and is now a loving husband, caring father, and a gentle. Therefore, Bienaimé does not need to be punished for his past crimes after proving he is now a better person.