Summary In the novel The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill uses the silent and afflicted to demonstrate the strength and perseverance of those who are oppressed. Summary of the Novel This novel follows the life of Aminata Diallo who is brought back to London in 1802 to petition against the slave trade. As she waits for the King to make his appearance she begins to recount the astonishing events that took place in her life on paper. She starts of with how she was abducted from her parents at the young age of 11. In South Carolina, Aminata is auctioned off to an indigo plantation, along with a man from her village who has lost his senses during the ocean crossing. Aminata must navigate the dangers of disease and other obstacles all while searching
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• Important Point
• Lawrence Hill's novel "The Book of Negroes" explores the life of an African woman who is kidnapped and sold into slavery as a child. Aminata Diallo shows that she is a fluent speaker of both her parents' tribes tongues. She begins to learn "the King's English" during her crossing of the Middle Passage, and picks up the slave language of Gullah on an indigo plantation in South Carolina. It is Aminata's facility for languages that allows her to survive and even thrive in the face of danger.
Supporting Point
• Lawrence Hill uses the character of Aminata to show us how patient some of these oppressed individuals are during hard times, throughout the novel she demonstrates various degrees of patience which helps her get through the situations she is put in. There were numerous situations in the novel where Aminata could have reacted differently but because of her patience she ended up surviving the hard …show more content…
Women arrived in American colonies as a minority, part of the experience for these women was being outnumbered by men. In this novel the protagonist is an African woman and rarely do we get to see a female perspective on the African slave trade so Lawrence Hill gave his readers a different view on this historical event. By showing us an African woman who overcame this hard time Lawrence Hill makes it evident that true strength is not defined by race or gender. “Beauty comes and goes. Strength, you keep forever”
Supporting Point 3
• It is due to her literacy that she survives and thrives not only as a servant but as a human being.
Conclusion
• After reading this novel the reader develops a new respect for people who went through these hard times, and especially for the struggle the women went through. We come to the realization that slavery is a serious matter and in order to get through it and survive, one must be strong and needs courage in the face of immediate danger.
Possible Quotes
• “That, I decided, was what it meant to be a slave: your past didn’t matter; in the present you were invisible and you had no claim on the future” (189).
• “Many times during that long journey, I was terrified beyond description, yet somehow my mind remained intact.
• Men and women the age of my parents lost their minds on that journey”
• Important Point
• Lawrence Hill's novel "The Book of Negroes" explores the life of an African woman who is kidnapped and sold into slavery as a child. Aminata Diallo shows that she is a fluent speaker of both her parents' tribes tongues. She begins to learn "the King's English" during her crossing of the Middle Passage, and picks up the slave language of Gullah on an indigo plantation in South Carolina. It is Aminata's facility for languages that allows her to survive and even thrive in the face of danger.
Supporting Point
• Lawrence Hill uses the character of Aminata to show us how patient some of these oppressed individuals are during hard times, throughout the novel she demonstrates various degrees of patience which helps her get through the situations she is put in. There were numerous situations in the novel where Aminata could have reacted differently but because of her patience she ended up surviving the hard …show more content…
Women arrived in American colonies as a minority, part of the experience for these women was being outnumbered by men. In this novel the protagonist is an African woman and rarely do we get to see a female perspective on the African slave trade so Lawrence Hill gave his readers a different view on this historical event. By showing us an African woman who overcame this hard time Lawrence Hill makes it evident that true strength is not defined by race or gender. “Beauty comes and goes. Strength, you keep forever”
Supporting Point 3
• It is due to her literacy that she survives and thrives not only as a servant but as a human being.
Conclusion
• After reading this novel the reader develops a new respect for people who went through these hard times, and especially for the struggle the women went through. We come to the realization that slavery is a serious matter and in order to get through it and survive, one must be strong and needs courage in the face of immediate danger.
Possible Quotes
• “That, I decided, was what it meant to be a slave: your past didn’t matter; in the present you were invisible and you had no claim on the future” (189).
• “Many times during that long journey, I was terrified beyond description, yet somehow my mind remained intact.
• Men and women the age of my parents lost their minds on that journey”