Characterization of Macoute in The Dew Breaker

Characterization of Macoute in The Dew Breaker The Dew Breaker, a novel by Edwidge Danticat that tells of Jean-Claude Duvalier’s inherited dictatorship in Haiti, appears to be a novel about two things. On the one hand, it documents the life and trials of a Tonton Macoute, a government sanctioned torturer; on the other hand, it also tells of the cowardice of weak men with great power. The ‘dew breaker’ that is the eponym for the book is constantly characterized by his cowardice, his desire for forgiveness but his inability to ask for it. This conflict that the ‘dew breaker’ has within himself also tends to inspire conflict within the reader. Should one hate him or pity him? Is he unforgivable because of what he has done or is his own fear, coupled with circumstance, truly to blame? After examining the characterization of the ‘dew breaker’ and the situations in which he was placed, it can be inferred that while he may not deserve forgiveness, this man’s obvious pusillanimity make s him pitiable. The novel begins with the story of Ka, an aspiring young artist and the daughter of the ‘dew breaker’. The ‘dew breaker’ is presented as a simple Haitian barber, an escaped military prisoner with a devotedly Catholic wife and loving daughter. The reader easily falls into step with Ka and her father as they travel to Florida to sell one of Ka’s sculptures. This sculpture is inspired by the bent and broken prisoner Ka believed her father to be. Besides relating parts of her father’s â€Å"past† in Haiti, Ka also tells of a jagged, horrifying scar that has nearly ruined her father’s face. She easily recounts the story he told her as a child: that a guard working for the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier sliced open her father’s face in a random act of cruelty. It later becomes apparent that this tale is indeed a lie told to Ka for over thirty years. Towards the middle of the chapter, Ka’s father finally opens up with the t ruth after destroying his daughter’s sculpture, saying, â€Å"†¦ Ka, your father was the hunter, he was not the prey†¦ I was never in prison† (21). In one instant, everything that Danticat has told the reader about Ka’s father seems to be untrue. This man, who was known in Haiti as a Tonton Macoute, an infamous ‘dew breaker’, finally speaks the truth to his daughter and in the process destroys the innate trust Ka has in him. The idea that he kept such a secret from her for so long is surely an example of his infinite cowardice. However, it also proves he wants nothing more than love for the man he is, not hate for the man he had been. Another point of interest in The Dew Breaker is the main character’s demand that he be allowed to wear civilian clothes. In the last chapter, â€Å"The Dew Breaker†, the protagonist simply states that â€Å"he didn’t like the uniform† (196). The idea that he feels he is above other Macoutes and has the right to make demands is perfectly absurd and also cowardly. A Macoute walking home alone in standard denim runs the risk of being attacked and possibly killed; the ‘dew breaker’s’ refusal to wear the uniform proves he is a coward, a man who cannot stand the idea of imminent physical harm. This basic denial of Macoute custom sets the main character apart from all others: he is not in imminent danger because he is allowed to dress normally, he can avoid unwanted attention, and his lack of uniform saves him later when he runs into Anne outside Casernes. Had he been wearing the denim of his station, I doubt Anne would have reacted so charita bly. Incidentally, â€Å"The Dew Breaker† also presents the same conflict as seen in the beginning of the book. It offers no real resolution as the last chapter but it does leave the reader with a feeling of modern day catharsis. This chapter flashes back to the ‘dew breaker’, an active and senior member of Duvalier’s Macoutes while in Haiti. Danticat opens by describing the main character in a soft but insistent way. He is an important and self-indulgent man in the Tonton Macoutes who has been sent to kill an outspoken preacher. The ‘dew breaker’ voices a disdain of this job in the beginning of the chapter, saying that, â€Å"He wanted a perfect view of the church entrance in case the opportunity came to do the job from inside his car†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (183). This obvious lack of courage produces a key moment in the novel: the Macoute is afraid to take a chance with the preacher’s unrestrained congregation. It is doubtless that, if the ‘d ew breaker’ was alone during the public assassination of the preacher, the entire situation would have resulted in his own death. To protect himself, the ‘dew breaker’ chooses to bring along a group of other Macoutes. The preacher is roughly but quietly taken away, giving the illusion that he has â€Å"disappeared† like all the rest. The quiet, subtle way in which the preacher was taken to Casernes helps to exemplify the main character’s inflated concern for himself. He is not willing risk his life in any way, even to execute a duty given to him by the faction he so loves. The concern mentioned above is also present pages later, after the preacher has been taken to Casernes for questioning. Though it is surprising that the preacher was not restrained during interrogation, this small oversight by both the main character and Danticat serves a great purpose. In a marvelous last act of heroism, the preacher reaches for a splintered piece of wood from his broken chair and stabs ‘dew breaker’ â€Å"in [his] right cheek and [sinks] it in an inch or so† (226). Danticat goes on to further wound the ‘dew breaker’, saying that, â€Å"The fat man’s shock worked in [the preacher’s] favor, for it allowed him a few seconds to slide the piece of wood down the fat man’s face, tearing the skin down his jawline† (226). The action itself earns the preacher the quick death he so desires: he is immediately shot in the chest by the ‘dew breaker’, a man who cannot stand the idea of bruised pride. This m agnificent show of valor on the preacher’s part forever damages the ‘dew breaker’; it also contributes greatly to a weakness in character that will be present for the rest of his life. With the blood of the preacher on his hands, the ‘dew breaker’ becomes completely terrified. A huge gash in his face and dripping with blood, he stumbles out of Casernes, pushing aside his superior’s assurance of asylum. The fact that he did not stay to face the consequences of his actions shows his cowardice yet again. He cannot bear the thought of punishment or reprimand even from an institution he has devoted his life to. Whenever there is a chance he might endure harm, the ‘dew breaker’ is quick to withdraw from the situation, either by blaming it on others or by running away. The constant theme of cowardice and fear in The Dew Breaker is important to the story’s plot and also to the characterizations within. The ‘dew breaker’ as presented by Danticat is a man who evoked terror in the people; there mere mention of his name could send a Haitian into a fit of shivers or a bout of unwanted memories. It is ironic, then, that he should ultimately be the one who is most afraid and the one who would have to flee for his life. The ‘dew breaker’ was such a contradictory mess of both fear and courage, weakness and power, that one could not help but feel sorry for him. It is heart wrenching to think that a human being could do such terrible things and then struggle so completely with those facts afterwards. It’s the story every person wants to hear: the story of a man battling his inner demons and his past to become more than he ever was before. While the ‘dew breaker’ does fall short of forgiveness and absolution, he also doe manage to achieve a kind of pitiable half-life, his attempt to be a good man despite his history of bad deeds. Ultimately, it is the ‘dew breaker’s’ cowardice and lack of strength that makes him so close to the reader’s own heart. After all, we are all vulnerable in our own way.

The Treatment of Women in Afghanistan Research Paper

The Treatment of Women in Afghanistan - Research Paper Example Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 The Treatment of Women in Afghanistan Before the Taliban 3 The Treatment of Women in Afghanistan During the Taliban 4 The Treatment of Women In Afghanistan After the Taliban 5 How Afghanistan is Still Not Where It Needs to be in Respect to Women’s Rights 6 Conclusion 8 Works cited 9 The Treatment of Women in Afghanistan Before the Taliban The treatment of women in Afghanistan before the Taliban is seen to have been relatively quite fair. The Afghan women’s right to freely choose their possession and work is seen to have been written into the 1980 Afghanistan constitution when Afghanistan signed both the UN Convention on the elimination of Discrimination Against Women as well as the International bill of rights for women that had been issued by the UN in 1979 (Verdirame 176). Under the convention, the right to work is considered as being an inalienable right of all human beings and when Afghanistan become a signatory nation, women in the country were seen to quickly emerge as key participants in the country’s economy and held key positions as farmers, teachers, doctors, equal partners in the country’s civil service and engineers. In a 2001, US congress report, it was pointed out that before the Taliban; women were treated in a affair manner that saw them emerge as active leaders in both politics and public life. This is exemplified by the fact that women teachers in the country essentially represented an impressive 70% of the teachers in the country, in addition to their also accounting for an estimated 40% of the doctors as well as a vast majority of the health workers’. Of note also is that, over half of the university students in Afghanistan were women. In fact, in 1977 women were seen to essentially make up an estimated over 15 percent of the country’s highest legislative branch; a percentage that is notably higher than the 14 percent of women that served in the United States con gress as at the time when the report was being presented in 2001 (US Congress 21276). The freedom that women enjoyed before the Taliban was also seen to allow those living in cities to wear western-style clothing and makeup (Banting 23). The Treatment of Women in Afghanistan During the Taliban When the severely repressive Taliban regime first came into power, its treatment of women is seen to have been quite biased an unfair. The Taliban repressed the women’s right to education by issuing an edict in 1997 that sought to try and enforce a nationwide ban on access to public education for all girls and women in the country and transformed most of girls’ schools that were being run by the former state into all-male institutions (Linschoten and Kuehn 108). When determined Afghani attempted to still educating their children while complying with the law by setting up numerous private educational institutions, the Taliban responded by issuing another repressive edict that stip ulated that all private funded education in the country be limited to only those girls that happened to be under the age of eight years in addition to this education being limited to the study of the Koran only. In 1997, the Taliban issued an edict that banned all women from engaging in any work in public places (Crews and Tarzi 98). Although this edict affected all the different sectors of the economy across the country, the health sector is seen to have been most severely affected primarily as a result of the large number of

Marketing in success of any business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing in success of any business - Essay Example As the world gradual growth to become a global marketplace, every business owner find themselves trapped in the sticky web of the market competition and getting out of it becomes a nightmare. However, any entrepreneur can play his or her cards well and emerge victoriously in this market issue by making use of the Holly Scriptures which will provide a guideline of marketing in a divine way. For centuries that have passed, the Christian bible has remained relevant in its teaching it is believed that whoever is guided by it is doing the right. Hence, the Bible has become applicable even in businesses since anyone transacting a business is expected to maintain some biblical ethics regarding the business. Therefore, this paper cannot be termed as complete without quoting some verse from these Holly scriptures called the bible. In relation to good marketing or advertisement, the bible states, â€Å"It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfil it. Do not let your mouth lead yo u into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, â€Å"My vow was a mistake.† Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God† (Ecclesiastes 5: 5-7). ... Finally, it is not in good order to cheat as one carries a burden of remembering what he or she said and may at long last lead to someone's destruction. The best advertisement is a pillar of any business success and no matter what one business is, having a well planned marketing strategy is of great significant value in business prosperity (Parente, 2004). If no advertisements are made for the products and services offered by a business, then it will be a tough mountain climbing game for ones’ business. Having the adequate knowledge about an effective business advertisement allows one to have good plans to pull off better results (Hackley, 2005). Firstly, in order to have an attractive and effective advertisement to a potential customer, the advertisement has to be memorable because if the potential customer can not recall what the advertisement was talking about or the product being sold, it becomes a waste of time and resources (Copley, 2004). The ability to remember about t he advertisement is usually the stamp of a result oriented advertisement. Secondly, the target population is another concept that a business should pinpoint as not everyone will be satisfied with goods and services produced by a company (Copley, 2004). This identification of a target group helps one to know where to do their advertisements (Hackley, 2005). Thirdly, an advertisement needs to be entertaining to the potential customer making them more attentive when watching the advertisement or listening to it over the radio. Lastly, the advertisement should be eye catching and focused to achieve the maximum attention from viewers thus requiring one to select the best design for the advert. A number of economists and other brainy fellows are not happy about advertisements with