Bigger isn’t always better
November 13th, 2006 Alyssa
My main goal while reading the end of the text was to come to some sort of conclusion on my feelings towards “the dew breaker” a.k.a. “the barber.” By the way, do we ever learn his name? I can’t find it, but maybe I’m just blind. I read the last chapter hoping to gain cosure on the identity of this contradictory character. After reading I found a specific aspect of the chapter which allowed me to believe that the dewbreaker had, in some way, been redeemed.
I was awestruck and disgusted by the dewbreakers rise to power and lack of remorse. One passage which really affected me was on page 196: “he enjoyed watching his body grow wider and meatier just as his sense of power did.” He was not just gorging on food, but also on his own people. He fed off of their hope and fear. He enlarged himself in order to feel like God (199), but he ended up seeming more like a devil. I really didn’t want to like this guy, but then something happened to change my mind. After killing the preacher, he had a strange reaction: “It was only then that he emptied his stomache and once he’d begun, it seemed as if his retching would never stop” (230). He was a pro at killing and torturing, so the reader is forced to see the importance of his reaction to this moment. He made an attempt to purge his sins, and I think the reader is supposed to understand that his purging will be a lifelong occurence, hence “his retching would never stop.” As much as I want to hate him, I can’t because he really does seem to attempt redemption. Or maybe we are supposed to understand that an external agent is at work, causing him to purge. Either way, I’m glad he took off the pounds.
Entry Filed under: Reflections
