Book Of Negroes Key Quotes

Approximately 10.7 million Africans were taken to North America over the course of history, for the sole purpose to be used as slaves. Although it is impossible to understand how the stolen people must have felt, imagery in novels can help. Images are able to place the reader into the world of the protagonist and can create a strong connection between the reader and the novel. Lawrence Hill uses imagery very strongly in his books and due to that, he is able to connect readers to his novels at a very personal level. The reader can feel what the characters are feeling, by understanding what the characters see in their lives. In The Book of Negroes, Hill uses imagery to show how humans’ have ability to overcome horrific circumstances during the time when Aminata is stolen and taken to North America, her time in Charlestown, as well as her time in New York City and Nova Scotia.

Q1: Why do you think that Aminata reacted the way she did after Appleby had burned her clothes and cut her hair?

The main character Anthony is from Cleveland and is described as a vigilant and defensive black boy. On the first day of his new school, he is excited to encounter new classmates. He only has black friends in his old town. Because he had lived in blacktown, he is curious about meeting and making white friends.

At the age of eleven, she was abducted and taken from her home. Home is a place where she felt safe. She says "I would never feel truly at home again until I found my way back to Bayo" (p. 240). Even though Aminata was taken far away from her home, she never stopped trying to return to the only place she felt at ease. Additionally, Aminata took risks which often put her life in grave danger. When she ran away from Lindo, she says "Here I was all alone and surrounded by trees of another continent and I was free again" (p.287). Aminata often tried to put her life and her fate in her own hand and when possible tried to do whatever possible to maintain the little power she had. Fleeing and escaping to Canvas town is a dangerous move and can have serious repercussion is Lindo decided to come back and take her but she did it anyway. She risked her life and well-being in order to be free again. At the end of the story, she realizes that even when she has to opportunity to return to Africa, not in Bayo but a town called Freetown, she still wasn't free and didn't feel at home. In many instances, Aminata attempts whatever possible in order to free herself and escape this horrendous world she lives in, even if it meant risking her

While being in slaved Aminata does not allow anyone to take advantage of her. Such aspects of being a slave are dehumanizing one’s identity, culture, religion, and language. Aminata is very stubborn and looks to religion as a way to save her, Aminata stays true to herself and fights the slave traders to stick with her true name; Aminata. From her resilience, she is seen as a special slave which helps her survive from the very moment she is captured. Due to her skills of language, she is able to be heard by everyone, so others who are being held captive can tell her their name and talk to her especially for communication purposes. "They wanted me to know them. Who they were. Their names." (Hill 96) Strength obtains from knowledge, She knows she is worthy. To prove she is equal, Aminata negotiates an alliance with the slave traders in Sierra Leone and a works a wage for writing the original book of negroes. Aminata affirms her identity, her genealogy, and her power over the words she writes (Carleton University). Her needs to find herself and get home drives her needs for survival. In addition to this Aminata’s social content and knowledge, helps separates her from the other slaves that surround

Aminata shares the struggles of these losses, how it affects her life, how it makes her fight for what she believes in and makes her become a strong independant women for young women to look up to because she was such an important female character.

Stokely Carmichael gave his most famous speech on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley in 1966. His speech, “Black Power,” addresses the issue of black racism in America and gives strategies for advancing black civil rights. His use of ethos, logos, and pathos is successful in getting the audience to engage and connect with his speech.

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Dubois is a influential work in African American literature and is an American classic. In this book Dubois proposes that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." His concepts of life behind the veil of race and the resulting "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others," have become touchstones for thinking about race in America. In addition to these lasting concepts, Souls offers an evaluation of the progress of the races and the possibilities for future progress as the nation entered the twentieth century.

W.E.B. Du Bois writes a collection of essays on race, preferably the African American race, entitled The Souls of Black Folks. In the forethought, Du Bois lets the reader know gather together an introduction of the rest of the book. He introduces you to his concept of “the veil” Drawing from his own personal experiences, Du Bois develops a remarkable book on how the world is divided by a color line. The divide being between white and privileged, and black and controlled. I will attempt to break down the thought process of Du Bois during the entirety of this synopsis of chapters 1, 3, and 6.

Aunt Hester was a threat to most white and black women. She was very beautiful and noble-looking. This made her superior to other women. Unfortunately, this worked against her. Captain Anthony was very controlling as all slave owners were. As he saw that Aunt Hester had an advantage, she suffered countless whippings at his hands. This was his way of showing Aunt Hester that he was in control and that she has no power.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird racism was a problem in Maycomb. Atticus quoted, “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.” “Lee #224)

     Between 1910 and 1920, in a movement known as the Great Migration, hundreds of thousands of African Americans uprooted from their homes in the South and moved North to the big cities in search of jobs. They left the South because of racial violence and economic discrimination. Their migration was an expression of their changing attitudes toward themselves, and has been described as "something like a spiritual emancipation." Many migrants moved to Harlem, a neighborhood on the upper west side of Manhattan. In the 1920's, Harlem became the worlds largest black community; also home to a highly diverse mix of cultures. This unprecedented outburst of creative activity exposed their unique culture and encouraged

After the journey across the Atlantic Ocean occurs, the slaves on this particular ship are now forced to call America their new home. Many of these slaves are transported to different plantations and Aminata is taken to Robinson Appleby’s plantation. On the plantation, Aminata lives a life in which she works hard everyday, however, there comes a moment where she is stripped and she loses all that is important to her. “I screamed as I have never screamed before. I didn’t recognize myself. I had no clothes, no hair, no beauty, no womanhood.” (203). This conflict arises when Appleby realizes that Aminata has been seeing another slave, who Appleby does not own, and she is also pregnant (due to that other slave). Due to that, and Aminata’s attitude, Appleby decides to use her as a symbol of defiance and what happens when someone defies him. Aminata very desperate in wanting to get out of this situation. The reader can imagine her condition in their head as her having no control, no say, and her being in complete pain. This is all occurring as Master Appleby is stripping her down, burning her clothes and shaving her head. As the quote states, after this encounter, Aminata feels as if she owns nothing and feels like she is nothing. This is definitely not pleasant imagery but the author helps to put the reader in the position of Aminata. Explaining the overall condition of slaves at the time and showing how Aminata will later “get over this” and be accustomed to this reckless

In the article "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain", Langston Hughes explains the struggles faced by a young, middle-class, African American poet. When conversing with Hughes, the young poet told Hughes that he wished to write like a white poet, not an African American. The young poet was uncomfortable and unsure of his works because they were different than white poetry. Instead of celebrating his individuality, he wanted to conform to the standards set by white Americans. Hughes believed that the young poet had potential, but that his desire to be like white artists would ruin his chance to be a great poet.

Aminata responds to the horrific circumstances of a slave by adapting to her surroundings through learning and utilising her various skills. When she arrives on the slave ship, she uses her language and midwifery skills to assist Tom, the ship’s doctor. Aminata is fluent in Bamanankan as well as Fulfulde and can understand some Maninka due to its similarities to Bamanankan which allows her to communicate with Tom who can speak basic Maninka. Her ability to converse with both Tom and the other captives makes her of importance to Tom as she provides a way to talk with the captives, thus allowing him to evaluate the health of the captives and administer the proper treatment. Her midwifery skills are also valued because she is the only individual on the ship who possesses such expertise. In return for her services, Tom takes her to his sleeping quarters and provides her