The Dew Breaker

“A ka is the double of the body, […] the body’s companion through life and after life. It guides the body through the kingdom of the dead.” 

The motif of doubles recurs throughout the novel. These figures can either guide an individual to peace or haunt their every waking minute. This is best demonstrated through Ka’s father. Ka is the ancient Egyptian word for the soul, and he bestows this name upon his daughter because he believes that he can achieve redemption through her. But as we learn later in the novel, Ka’s father is also haunted by the double of the preacher, whose incorporeal presence follows him through to the present day.

“Ka, your father was the hunter, he was not the prey.” 

Ka’s father says this after revealing that he was a perpetrator of the Haitian regime. Framing the regime and its citizens as hunter and prey emphasizes the unequal relationship between them: The totalitarian government was armed with all the power, while the general populace was defenseless, with no recourse to fight back. Casting the conflict in this way suggests that Ka’s father feels deep guilt for his crimes.

“‘People here are more practical maybe,’ the daughter said, ‘but there, in Haiti or the Philippines, that’s where people see everything, even things they’re not supposed to see.’”

This line, spoken by Ka, addresses the cultural differences between America and countries like Haiti. She also touches upon differences between immigrants like her parents and their Haitian American children, who must negotiate between two cultures.