The Book of the Dead Summary

Summary The Book of the Dead Short Story by Edwidge Danticat This summary of the short story includes targeted passages from the text for you to read on your own. Background “The Book of the Dead” is from Edwidge Danticat’s book The Dew Breaker, which is about a Haitian American person with a secret past. The country of Haiti has had many political troubles. For part of the twentieth century, Haiti was ruled by dictators, people who have total control over the country they rule. During this time, many Haitians experienced poverty, were beaten by the police, and had few rights. Summary In a hotel in Florida, Annie Bienaimé sits in a chair across from the hotel manager and a police officer. Annie’s father is missing. The officer asks Annie where she and her father are from. Annie says that they are from Haiti, even though she grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Annie has never been to Haiti, but she wishes that she had been born there, like her parents. Annie tells the men that she lives in New York. She and her father are going to Tampa, Florida. The manager says in a kind way that they will try to find her father. Annie describes her father for the men. He is 64 years old, with a wide face, thinning black and gray hair, dark brown eyes, and dark brown skin. She says that her father has some fake teeth. He lost his front teeth ten years ago, when he had a bad dream and fell out of bed. He has nightmares about being in prison in Haiti. He also has scars on the side of his face from prison. Summary The hotel manager asks why Annie thinks her father ran away. He asks whether Annie and her father had a fight. Annie begins to tell her father’s story. TARGETED PASSAGE Read this passage from the selection to learn more about Annie’s relationship with her father. I had never tried to tell my father’s story in words before now, but my first sculpture of him was the reason for our trip: a two-foot-high mahogany figure of my father, naked, crouching on the floor, his back arched like the curve of a crescent moon, his downcast eyes fixed on his short stubby fingers and the wide palms of his hands. It was hardly revolutionary, minimalist at best, but it was my favorite of all my attempted representations of him. It was the way I had imagined him in prison. 20 mahogany: a reddish-brown wood. revolutionary: causing a big change. minimalist: made in a very simple style. READING CHECK What feelings are hinted at in the details of Annie’s sculpture of her father? Annie says that the last time she saw her father was the night before. They arrived at the hotel late at night and went to bed. Annie thought about the famous television actress who wants to buy the sculpture of Annie’s father. This is Annie’s first big sale as an artist. She wants to bring the sculpture to the actress in person. She thought her father would enjoy the trip, too. But when Annie woke up the next morning, her father and the sculpture were gone. Annie looked around the hotel and the nearby businesses, but she could not find her father. She decided to ask for help. While the police look for Annie’s father, she waits in the hotel room in case he comes back. While she waits, she remembers her mother telling her the story about how she and Annie’s father met. They first saw each other on the sidewalk in front of the prison in Haiti. Annie’s father was hurt before being let out of prison. On the sidewalk, he fell into Annie’s mother’s arms. They got married and moved to New York. Annie’s mother says that she and Annie’s father were like seeds planted in a rock. When Annie was born, they took root, or found a place that felt like home. In the hotel room, Annie calls her mother. She tells her mother that her father has been gone for about eight hours. Annie’s mother is worried. She says she will come to Florida if they Summary can’t find him soon. Annie calls the actress, Gabrielle Fonteneau, who is also Haitian American. On the phone, Gabrielle explains why she wants to buy Annie’s sculpture. Gabrielle’s father was also in prison in Haiti. He counted the days in prison by scratching marks on the wall with his fingernails. A prison guard didn’t like this, so he pulled off all of her father’s fingernails. Gabrielle likes how strong Annie’s father’s hands look in the sculpture. Annie and Gabrielle plan to have lunch the next day at Gabrielle’s home, where Gabrielle’s parents live, too. While she waits, Annie remembers how her father likes to visit museums. His favorite is the ancient Egyptian exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. He says that the Egyptians were like Haitian people. The pharaohs, or Egyptian rulers, were like the Haitian dictators. Looking at the mummies (dead bodies wrapped in strips of cloth), he says the Egyptians showed great sadness for their dead. Annie’s father finally comes back to the hotel. He does not have the sculpture. He asks Annie to sit down and talk with him. Annie is confused. She asks where the sculpture is. Her father says that he doesn’t want Annie to sell the sculpture. He drives Annie to see the sculpture. In the car, Annie worries that her father might be sick, or even dying. They stop at a lake and sit on a bench. Annie’s father says that the sculpture is in the water. Annie is angry. Her father says that the first time he saw the sculpture, he wanted to be buried with it, like the ancient Egyptians were buried with treasures when they died. He asks Annie if she remembers when he read The Book of the Dead to her. Annie’s father retells the ancient Egyptian story about how dead people were tested to see if they were good or bad. Their heart was put on a scale. If it was heavy, the dead person could not go to the other world, or the afterlife. Annie’s father says that a sculpture should not be made of him. In Haiti, he says, he was a guard in the prison—not a prisoner. He lied to Annie about his past. A prisoner had cut his face. He would have gone back into the prison to hurt the prisoner, but then he met Annie’s mother. He tells Annie that his bad dreams are about what he did to prisoners. Annie and her father return to the hotel. She calls the hotel manager and the police officer. She says that she has found her father. While her father showers, Annie calls her mother. Her mother knows the truth about her husband’s past. Annie asks her mother how she can love her father. Her mother thinks that they have both saved Annie’s father. They made him stop hurting people. The Book of the Dead: a group of writings from a very old civilization in the African country of Egypt. The writings include magic spells to help protect the dead. The writings were buried with the dead person. Summary The next day, Annie and her father go to Gabrielle Fonteneau’s house. In the car, Annie’s father says that he and her mother could never go back to Haiti because of what he did at the prison. At Gabrielle’s house, they meet Gabrielle’s parents. Gabrielle’s father, Mr. Fonteneau, asks where their family is from in Haiti. Annie’s father lies. Annie realizes that he lies to keep the Fonteneaus from knowing about his past. Mrs. Fonteneau says that lunch is ready. Annie and her father go to wash their hands before eating. Annie’s father tells her that admires the life the Fonteneaus have and what Gabrielle has done to help her parents. During lunch, Mr. Fonteneau asks Annie’s father when was the last time he was in Haiti. Annie’s father says that he has not gone back to Haiti for 26 years. Mrs. Fonteneau says that they go to Haiti every year. While they describe Haiti’s beauty, Annie is thinking. She wonders what her father’s nightmares are like. Maybe he dreams of putting his hands in the sand on a beach in Haiti. When he pulls up his hands, they are covered in blood. After lunch, Mr. and Mrs. Fonteneau take Annie’s father to look at their garden. While he is gone, Annie tells Gabrielle the truth. She does not have the sculpture. She explains that her father threw it away. Gabrielle is upset. She wonders if Annie has been lying to her the whole time. TARGETED PASSAGE Read this passage from the selection to learn more about how Gabrielle and Annie each feel about the loss of the sculpture. “I’m really disappointed,” she says. “I wanted it for a reason. My father goes home when he looks at a piece of art. He goes home deep inside himself. For a long time, he used to hide his fingers from people. It’s like he was making a fist all the time. I wanted to give him this thing so that he knows we understand what happened to him.” 136 “I am truly sorry,” I say. 137 Over her shoulders, I see her parents guiding my father through rows of lemongrass. I want to promise her that I will make her another sculpture, one especially modeled on her father. But I don’t know when I will be able to work on anything again. I have lost my subject, the father I loved as well as pitied. 135 modeled: made to look like someone or something. subject: the person or thing an artwork is about. pitied: felt sorry for. READING CHECK Why does Annie think she might not be able to make another sculpture?