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Papa’s Scar
The sculpture is the wooden statue Ka carves of Papa and sells to Gabrielle Fonteneau, a well-known Haitian American actress. It depicts Papa as Ka imagines him in prison, and thus represents the image of Papa has in her mind—an image that is soon revealed to be false. The sculpted version of Papa depicts him on his knees, with a “downcast” look. It conveys what Ka believes was Papa’s suffering in prison, but also his dignity and inner strength. In reality, Papa was a torturer, not a prisoner. The reality of what he actually looked like inside prison would thus be aggressive, frightening, powerful, and distinctly undignified. Another important aspect of the sculpture is that Ka leaves the imperfections in the wood, without smoothing them over. This contrasts with Papa’s attitude toward his own life. Rather than accepting his imperfections, Papa attempts to smooth them over with untruths.
Gabrielle Fonteneau wants to buy the sculpture because it reminds her of her own father. In depicting the man Ka believes Papa was, she has managed to create a true image of a father—just not her own. The sculpture ends up being the reason why Papa finally reveals to Ka that he has been lying about his past throughout her life. Crucially, he doesn’t tell her straight away, but rather steals the sculpture and submerges it in a lake first, ruining it forever. This act highlights the extreme lengths to which Papa is willing to go in order to bury and conceal the past—even harming Ka’s career in the process. At the same time, although the sculpture remains at the bottom of the lake, its power transcends this fate. Even submerged, it still forces Papa to tell Ka the truth. As a result, the sculpture represents the way in which the truth will force itself out into the open, even if it takes many years.
The Sculpture Quotes in The Dew Breaker
The The Dew Breaker quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Sculpture. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Book of the Dead
Quotes
I’d used a piece of mahogany that was naturally flawed, with a few superficial cracks along what was now the back. I’d thought these cracks beautiful and had made no effort to sand or polish them away, as they seemed like the wood's own scars, like the one my father had on his face. But I was also a little worried about the cracks. Would they seem amateurish and unintentional, like a mistake? Could the wood come apart with simple movements or with age? Would the client be satisfied?
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Sculpture Symbol Timeline in The Dew Breaker
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Sculpture appears in The Dew Breaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Book of the Dead
...that she and Papa are in Florida on their way to Tampa to deliver a sculpture. Ka is not an artist “in the way [she’d] like to be,” but has created...
(full context)
...inquiring if he and Ka had a fight. Ka reflects on the fact that the sculpture she made of Papa depicts him kneeling and looking down, as she imagined he would...
(full context)
...previous night, before Papa disappeared, he commented that their hotel room was “like paradise.” The sculpture Ka made has cracks along its surface, which she chose not to polish down because...
(full context)
...will come back. Ka then calls Gabrielle, who thanks her for travelling to deliver the sculpture. She adds that she loves it because the figure looks “regal and humble,” like her...
(full context)
...sunset and immediately complains about the smoke in the hotel room. Ka notices that the sculpture is missing, and Papa says he needs to talk to her about it, because he...
(full context)
...a bench in front of the lake and Ka joins him. Papa confirms that the sculpture is in the lake, and although Ka tries to remain composed, she panics as she...
(full context)
...name. Switching from English to Haitian Creole, Papa explains that when he first saw Ka’s sculpture, he wanted to be buried with it and take it with him to the afterlife....
(full context)
...“I did not want to hurt anyone.” He then repeats that he doesn’t deserve a sculpture, saying: “Your father was the hunter, he was not the prey.” Ka asks what he...
(full context)
...thinks they should go to lunch with Gabrielle and tell her in person that the sculpture is gone.
(full context)
...Mr. and Mrs. Fonteneau show Papa around the garden, and Ka tells Gabrielle that the sculpture is gone. Gabrielle frowns and says that she’s “very disappointed,” as she wanted to give...
(full context)
