Point of View

Edwidge Danticat tells her novel The Dew Breaker from the first and third-person narrative modes. These vary based on the character and the story within the novel. The Book of the Dead, Monkey Tails, and The Funeral Singer are told from the first-person point of view from the perspectives of Ka, Michel, and Freda, respectively. The stories Seven, Water Child, The Book of Miracles, Night Talkers, The Bridal Seamstress, and The Dew Breaker are all told from the third-person narrative point of view. The characters of Ka, Michel, and Freda all seem to be relatively internal with their thoughts and feelings. It makes sense that they must narrate their own stories so that the reader has a better idea of them and understands them on a more personal level than would otherwise be possible. This is especially important when it comes to Ka, not only...